Iowa City, IA
We reported in the December 2007 UE NEWS that the University of Iowa had sued UE Local 896/COGS, in an attempt to escape their obligations under contract language they agreed to earlier last year, specifically language requiring them to give the union job information about employees the union represents.
On Tuesday, December 4, a Johnson County judge dismissed the employer’s suit. Local 896 President Gwen Gruber told the local media the union was “very pleased” with the ruling, which “affirms our contention that the lawsuit was nothing more than a union-busting effort by the Board of Regents.” Gruber added, “It’s time for the Regents to abide by their agreement with the union and quit wasting taxpayer’s money on these shenanigans.”
But the Regents are continuing to waste taxpayer’s money in this manner. They are still refusing to provide the union with information required by the contract. A hearing by the Iowa Public Employment Relations Board on the union’s charge against the university, for unilaterally changing the contract and bargaining in bad faith, was heard in December, and a decision is pending. A grievance on the employer’s violation of the contract is headed for arbitration.