› Why I am opposed to “Reasonable Recovery” AKA “Fair Share”

As a twenty-one year member of two different airline unions, a former committee member and someone who walked the picket line in 1998, I am uniquely qualified to speak out on the Iowa Right to Work laws.

As I listened to the various pro and con speakers Wednesday night at the Iowa Statehouse, one thing became very apparent. Not a single person speaking in support of the proposed bill spoke of being an employee of the taxpayers of the State of Iowa, but instead, they spoke of the long hours of “free” union work and their loyalty to their union.

When I was hired at Midstate Airlines in 1986 and later at Northwest Airlines in 1987, I went to work for my airline and joined my union under closed shop rules. I remained loyal to my employer and customers first and served my fellow pilots at Northwest Airlines as their Security Coordinator, working with my company to protect the passengers and crews I worked with.

This bill is an attempt by the Democrats to payback the public sector unions in the State of Iowa; it is an attempt to get the camel’s nose into the tent on this issue and nothing more. Our Representatives swear an oath to defend our Constitution, I am asking them to consider the importance of that oath. Will they sell out the taxpayers of the Iowa, or will they stand in the way of economic recovery and prosperity for future generations of Iowans?

Liberty hangs in the balance…