DES MOINES - AFSCME Iowa Council 61 President Danny Homan issued the following statement regarding the layoffs of 69 Iowa Workforce Development employees and 111 Iowa Department of Public Defense (Iowa National Guard) workers due to the shutdown:
"The consequences of these layoffs are appalling. At Iowa Workforce Development these layoffs will result in only three people being left to respond to work place fatalities and injuries for our entire state. Work places will be less safe, which will result in more dangerous accidents on the job. Job assistance for veterans is also being heavily impacted by these layoffs. Workforce Development employees working in information technology and labor market information are also being laid off and will face financial hardship.
"At the Iowa Department of Public Defense, hardworking maintenance workers, custodial workers, and others are receiving layoff notices. These laid-off state workers, along with a thousand furloughed federal employees of the Iowa National Guard, are facing severe financial stress on their families.
"I have to ask Congressmen Latham and King if their plan to hold the federal government hostage is really worth it. Do Congressman Latham and Congressman King really want to continue to compromise worker safety, fail to honor our veterans, and threaten the economic security of public employees and their families? I strongly urge them to do the responsible thing and end this insanity before it causes any more damage to Iowa communities."
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