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Keeping Iowa a Right to Work State
Situation:
In 1988, support in the Iowa legislature for right to work dropped to nearly 30%, putting the state’s right to work law in a precarious position, with the possibility of its being repealed. Even if the governor, who supported right to work, were to veto the repeal bill, the legislature was likely to overturn that veto.
I was hired by the Iowans for Right to Work Committee (IRWC) in January 1989 to help stop the right to work repeal bill that had been introduced and to help change the legislature in the 1990 election.
Action Steps:
1. Recruit New Members: In 1988, Iowans for Right to Work had a membership base of only 424 citizens and contributors. In just two years, its membership had swelled to 56,000. I created a political action committee (PAC) to begin helping favorable legislative candidates. In its first year of existence, it was one of the top 20 PACs in the state.
2. Create a Rapid Response Network: In the pre-internet age, I created the first fax-alert network in Iowa, which allowed us to reach thousands of supporters overnight.
3. Direct Lobbying Effort: IRWC needed issues to highlight right to work-related issues. This was accomplished by drafting union violence protection language, which was lacking in the Iowa statutes, and finding legislators to introduce this language. I also orchestrated roll call votes in both houses of the legislature, which put the legislators on record. And I used the failed issue to highlight the differences between candidates in the 1990 election.
4. Grassroots Activities: I helped IRWC maintain the pressure on leadership to keep the repeal bill in committee by organizing waves of mailings, gathering petitions, and encouraging postcards, letters, and phone calls to legislators.
5. Earned Media Campaign: I drafted over 50 letters to the editor and op-eds and had IRWC members send them to local media. This resulted in at least two media hits per week on the right to work issue during the legislative session.
6. Candidate Recruitment in Key Districts: I researched districts to locate potential targets and worked with coalition partners in recruiting candidates and insuring funding.
Results:
Kept Iowa a Right to Work state: I used the public record generated by the roll call vote to help defeat over 28 incumbents and retain a pro-right to work governor. In the 1992 election, right to work supporters took over the majority in the legislature.
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