Contacts:
Brad Greve, President, Great River Area Labor Federation and United Steelworkers Local 105:563-343-7652
Julia McMeekan, Field Organizer, Great River Area Labor Federation: 309-738-1446
Jennifer Sherer, Director, University of Iowa Labor Center: 319-321-8320
Save Our Labor Center: Public Hearing Wednesday in Bettendorf
Elected officials and local leaders will convene Wednesday night to gather public input from Quad Cities-area residents about the University of Iowa’s controversial recent announcement of its intent to close the University’s 67-year-old Labor Center.
WHAT: Public Hearing on the future of the University of Iowa Labor Center and its impact in eastern Iowa
WHEN: 6-7 pm, Wednesday, August 22
WHERE: 880 Devils’ Glen Road, Bettendorf (USW 105 hall)
WHO: Workers, community members, students, alumni, and concerned members of the public will testify before a panel of elected officials, labor, faith, and community leaders
Leaders on hand to take input will include: State Representative Phyllis Thede, Mayor of Muscatine Diana Broderson, Great River Area Labor Federation President Brad Greve, Iowa State Education Association Associate Executive Director for Field Services Coy Marquardt, and Diocese of Davenport Catholic Campaign for Human Development Director Loxi Hopkins, along with UI Labor Center Director Jennifer Sherer.
Save Our Labor Center coalition members planned the hearing after learning UI leaders had taken no input from any of the UI faculty, students, workers, or community members whose research, teaching, workplaces, and communities are directly affected by the Center. The Quad Cities event is the third in a series of statewide hearings to assess the Center’s impact and potential consequences of closing it. All hearings are open to the public, and members of the Iowa Board of Regents have been invited to attend.
The UI Labor Center, currently housed in the UI College of Law, is the sole entity in the UI Regents system devoted to education and research for and about Iowa workers. In early July, the College of Law informed Labor Center staff that in one year’s time, the Center’s university funding would be eliminated and its entire staff would be terminated, while the UI funding traditionally allocated to the Center would remain in the College of Law budget. Strong reactions to the UI’s announcement on campus and across the state have continued to call for restoring the Center’s funding.
Updates on hearing schedules and outcomes will appear on www.saveourlaborcenter.com
Organizational members of the Save Our Labor Center coalition include the Iowa Federation of Labor AFL-CIO; Iowa State Education Association; UI and UNI chapters of the American Association of University Professors; Iowans for Public Education; Iowa State Building and Construction Trades Council; Center for Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa; Iowa Professional Firefighters; Teamsters Local 238; Iowa League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC); Davenport Diocese Office of Social Action and Catholic Charities; Iowa Interfaith Alliance; along with thousands of concerned Iowans.
Lance Coles
Communications Director
Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO
2000 Walker, Suite A
Des Moines, IA 50317
515-669-8046
lance@iowaaflcio.org
www.iowaaflcio.org
www.iowalabornews.com
https://www.facebook.com/IowaAFLCIO
http://www.youtube.com/AFLCIOIowa
Proud APWU Retiree
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