Now that the legislative session has come to a close, I wanted to update you all on some recent Iowa CCI victories.

1)       We successfully stopped the corporate agriculture lobby from gutting a clean water and environmental bill that we worked to pass last year
2)      We won reforms to Iowa’s sunshine laws that provide more transparency, oversight, and accountability to lobbyists trying to wine, dine, and influence legislators
3)      We recovered nearly $10,000 for migrant workers being exploited by an unscrupulous employer
 
See: Laundry told to give back pay to workers  and  Winners and losers from 2010 legislative session

Excerpt: LOSERS

AGRICULTURE: The Iowa Farm Bureau, the voice of the agriculture industry, lost several battles. The group wanted to grandfather in animal operations so they didn't have to make improvements to their facilities to meet new rules restricting manure from being applied to frozen ground.

LOBBYISTS: One new law shines more sunlight on lobbyists who wine and dine lawmakers during the session.

There are many more victories to celebrate, but these three are big.  Congratulations!  Thanks to all of you who emailed or called your legislators, attended the legislative forums in Iowa City, and came to our two rally and lobby days at the state capitol in Des Moines.  And thank you to all of you for your support.  These are the people’s victories!!!

In the coming weeks there have been proposals to convene a CCI meeting in Iowa City to discuss how local organizing around local issues like payday lending, sanctuary city for immigrants, and urban chickens relate to Iowa CCI’s statewide work and can help us grow our people power to take on corporate interests.  Iowa CCI members statewide will also be flexing our muscles statewide to impact the gubernatorial elections and to bring our local and statewide fight to bust up big ag and tear down factory farm polluters to the national stage.

We are also sending a bus to Kansas City the last week of April for a coordinated “hit” (basically a direct action street protest) against the big banks that tanked our economy, took a taxpayer bailout at the expense of working Iowans, and now aren’t even paying income taxes.  And our statewide annual convention is also scheduled for July 17.  Stay tuned to how you can plug in.

For a more just and democratic society,

David Goodner, Community Organizer
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement

david@iowacci.org
www.iowacci.org

We talk.  We act.  We get it done.