Letter to the Editor April 21, 2015 Bullying in our schools and our community has been a hot topic for several years. Bullying is an issue of concern across my district and was the impetus behind the formation of a group called Not In Our Town a couple years ago to combat all types of bullying- from the school yard to the workplace. Bullying takes many forms, and it permeates every corner of our society. It’s an unfortunate but inherent part of human interaction, a problem that we must always be on the lookout for. I received an anonymous letter from someone in the Marshalltown area with a concern about bullying on a large scale. The letter detailed how the local United Auto Workers (UAW) union had generated a list of non-union members in area UAW organized locations and distributed this list to their members. The letter writer was concerned that this list could lead to retaliation against these non-union members, a rational concern given the history of unions. Iowa is a Right-To-Work (RTW) state, and workers cannot be forced to join a union in order to hold a job. What this means is union membership is voluntary. This law protects the freedom of conscience of the individual workers, an important value to Iowans. In order to verify the letter’s claims, I reached out to several folks that worked in UAW shops. I found that lists degrading non-union members were in fact published. One was published in the Amalgamated UAW Local 893 newsletter “Rank-N-File”, November 20, 2014, published in Marshalltown. The list was titled “Scabs” and listed the names by location, including locations outside of Marshalltown. I also received a photo of a poster in a Waterloo John Deere plant with a similar list of non-union member names by location titled “FreeRiders”. This would be UAW Local 838. It appears that this practice is widespread in UAW organized locations. We all can recognize the intent in publishing these lists. It is to intimidate the non-union members, to make sure the union faithful know who the so-called “Scabs” are. Most Iowans recognize this as a despicable tactic unbecoming of a free and respectful society. Without question, this is a bullying tactic. I would like to hear from anyone in Marshall or Tama county who has exercised their “right-to-work” as a non-union member in an organized union facility. I am particularly interested in hearing from those that have experienced any form of intimidation or harm to person or property as a result of exercising their choice to not join the union. I can be reached at 641-750-3594 or by email at dean.fisher@legis.iowa.gov Regards, Rep. Dean Fisher R – Tama