ISSUES
MORE ISSUES
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
In Iowa, we have a skills gap, a worker shortage and continue to see a loss of jobs in our rural and urban communities. We must implement a true, comprehensive economic plan that will keep jobs here, attract new manufacturing and technology jobs, strengthen small businesses, welcome unions and their support of workers rights, ensure a sustainable wage for all Iowa families, and close the skills gap through training and education to Iowa’s untapped talent. This past legislative session, our Governor signed a bill changing our tax structure to an inequitable 4% flat tax. Not only will this structure raise taxes for many in our lower economic brackets, it will also cut the funding available for education, healthcare, and other necessary resources. Additionally, Iowa pays lower wages than all the states that surround it. It’s time to raise our minimum wage to a sustainable wage, so that Iowans are able to take care of themselves and their families.
LABOR & UNION EMPOWERMENT
Unions are critical to the safety and well being of our workforce. When we have strong unions, we have a stronger state. We’ve seen the damage caused by gutting collective bargaining in 2017, which affected our teachers, nurses, and all public employees. It is time to once again put the worker first and provide a meaningful avenue to negotiate. As Governor, I will do everything in my power to restore and enhance collective bargaining and expand unions throughout the state. We must also work to minimize or eliminate the recertification process and allow union dues to be paid automatically to ease the challenges every day union members face to participate. Unlike previous administrations, I will actively listen to and engage with labor throughout my Governorship and ensure that the voice of labor is represented in state departments and on boards and commissions.
CLEAN WATER/ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Iowa has always been a place of fruitful soil and fields of opportunity. With the very pressing threat of climate change affecting our world, Iowa must move forward as a leader with an environmental justice plan that centers on protecting our rural communities, communities of color, communities with disabilities, our children and the sick. Protecting our waterways while creating good paying renewable energy jobs to enhance our lives and further strengthen our economy. We also need to create pathways for more people to enter into farming, invest in regenerative agricultural practices to protect our water and prevent soil loss and run off, and establish a new blueprint for agriculture in the state where both small and large farms can plug in and thrive; with sustainability in mind.