The wife of a prison guard who was murdered by an inmate at the Anamosa State Penitentiary is calling for changes in Iowa’s collective bargaining law.
“My heart aches as I stand here today, not just as a grieving wife, but as a voice for justice and change,” Sara McFarland, wife of the late Robert McFarland, said during a rally organized by the Iowa Federation of Labor AFL-CIO.
Robert McFarland and prison nurse Lorena Schulte were killed nearly two years ago as two inmates attempted to escape. Sara McFarland said prison staff like her late husband should be allowed to bargain over work conditions and safety issues. Under current law, prison staff are not classified as public safety officers and therefore are only allowed to discuss their wages during union contract talks.
“I promised Robert I would not stop fighting until his brother and sister officers were safe at work…To the lawmakers that say corrections work in a controlled environment so they shoukd not be considered public safety…talk to the officers who do this job every day, then you will see just how wrong you are,” Sara McFarland said. “…My husband died stopping an escape attempt and keeping the public safe.”
Other union members at the event in the Iowa Capitol rotunda urged Iowans to rally around union priorities like raising the minimum wage and letting Iowans see a doctor of their choice if they’re injured at work. Iowa Federation of Labor president Charlie Wishman acknowledged it will require electing new people to the state legislature and congress who support union priorities.
“I know that everybody here, you’re going to do everything you can to get your members registered (to vote)< ” Wishman said, “…and we’re get ou,t and we’re going to fight.”
There was no mention of a bill pending in the legislature that would change the rules for union recertification votes before collective bargaining talks begin for state and local government workers.