We are pleased to let you know that the next DMCC Annual Meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, December 13^th from 3:00-5:00PM. The meeting will be held at the new Master Builders of Iowa headquarters (ELEVATE Business and Events Center) at 4100 Westown Parkway, West Des Moines, IA.  

We’re happy to have guests with us from Eastern Iowa who will be doing a presentation to DMCC members on the “Built By Pro’s” organization. We want to strategize on how DMCC can replicate a model in Central Iowa.  

DMCC members and all signatory contractors in Central Iowa are invited to attend.  Please RSVP to attend by clicking on this link.

The National Railway Labor Conference and The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (BMWED) are drawing their lines in the sand after President Joe Biden called on Congress to pass legislation that would enforce the tentative rail labor agreement.

In a statement, the BMWED said pressuring Congress to pass legislation does not fix the problems or concerns of their workers.

“It both denies railroad workers their right to strike while also denying them of the benefit they would likely otherwise obtain if they were not denied their right to strike,” the statement says. “Additionally, passing legislation to adopt tentative agreements that exclude paid sick leave for railroad workers will not address rail service issues. Rather, it will worsen supply chain issues and further sicken, infuriate, and disenfranchise railroad workers as they continue shouldering the burdens of the railroads’ mismanagement.”

The BMWED says it is calling upon President Biden and any member of Congress “that truly supports the working class to act swiftly by passing any sort of reforms and regulations that will provide paid sick leave for all Railroad Workers.”

In a press conference on rail preparations, Association of American Railroads (AAR) President and CEO Ian Jefferies told reporters that, “If the unions are interested in a holistic discussion for structural changes as it relates to their sick time, I think absolutely the railroad carriers would be up for a holistic discussion but [they] have not done it in the zero hour.”



According to the AAR, the Presidential Emergency Board reviewed the union’s request for additional paid sick days and instead offered additional salary. Each union has its own sick day policy, according to National Railway Labor Conference. If an employee is sick, they need to be out of work between 4 to 7 days before they collect their version of sick pay. In the tentative deal, the PEB offered one additional personal day for their use. This would bring a total of three personal days for railroad workers. A worker must provide 48 hours notice to request a personal day.

Brendan Branon, National Railway Labor Conference chairman, told CNBC the future of collective bargaining is in the hands of Congress and urged that the legislation they pass to follow the recommendations of the PEB, a board created by Biden in July to resolve the ongoing dispute between major freight rail carriers and their unions. The board crafts its recommendations under a principle known as pattern bargaining, which is the process used by trade unions and employers where demands and entitlements are made.

“Pattern bargaining promotes stability in collective bargaining, and it encourages settlement,” Branon said. “There’s any number of arbitrators and PEBs who have recognized that this is not only acceptable, this is the most appropriate form to settle complex negotiations, especially multi-employer, multi-craft agreements.” Branon said a number of industries including the railroads have developed a set of clear practices in bargaining and the additional negotiating by the unions after the tentative agreement departs from the framework recommended by the PEB.

“Departing from a pattern would establish a precedent that there’s still a better outcome achievable and I think it would pose significant stress and risk for collective bargaining in the future for the railroad industry,” warns Branon. “I think it would also apply to the airline industry as well, where there are a number of significant outstanding negotiations, especially with the large pilot groups. Not to mention the ongoing Amtrak negotiations and all of those other industries under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).”

The posturing from the NRLC and the unions comes after President Biden called on Congress to pass the tentative agreement. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement that the House would proceed with legislation to avert a rail strike.

The railroad industry forecasts that a strike could inflict economic damage of $2 billion per day. Other industry groups have also warned of a direct hit to GDP and inflation increase. According to the Association of American Railroads (AAR) 40% of cargo based by weight and long distance freight is moved by rail.

The alignment of the four unions that have voted not to ratify a labor deal has provided a clear timeline for strike prep plans among the freight railroads and with sensitive cargo including chemicals.

The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS) announced last week it was extending its status quo period through December 8 to align with the BMWED (Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees), SMART-TD, and the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers. If no agreement is reached by then and Congress does not intervene, a coordinated strike could start on December 9. Railroad unions that voted for ratification have said they will not cross the picket lines and will support their fellow union workers, posing the risk of a nationwide freight rail shutdown. Their deals are moving forward.

According to federal safety measures, railroad carriers begin prepping for a strike seven days before the strike date. The carriers start to prioritize the securing and movement of security-sensitive materials like chlorine for drinking water and hazardous materials in the rail wind down.

Ninety-six hours before a strike date, chemicals are no longer transported. According to the American Chemistry Council, railroad industry data shows a drop of 1,975 carloads of chemical shipments during the week of September 10 when the railroads stopped accepting shipments due to the previous threat.

Corey Rosenbusch, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Fertilizer Institute, told reporters that railroad carriers have told their members that ammonia shipments, a critical component for fertilizer companies, will not be allowed on the rail on December 4^th.

“It traditionally takes 5-7 days for the supply chain to catch up when you have a shutdown,” said Rosenbusch, “Fertilizer manufacturing would have to be curtailed.”

The four railroads typically move more than 80% of the agricultural freight traffic, according to the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA). “We are looking for alternatives now to position our product,” said Mike Seyfert, President and Chief Executive Officer of the NGFA. “We have zero elasticity right now. There are zero drivers, and the barge situation with the low water levels has only added to this challenge.”

Mike Sommers, CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, said an additional 70,000 drivers are needed to move ethanol shipments that would have moved by rail. AAR said that 467,000 trucks and trailers would be needed to move the amount of rail-bound freight per day if there was a strike.

Iowa Workforce Development has spent the last few weeks meeting with Iowa employers as part of an outreach blitz tied to the launch of our new Business Engagement Division. We’re contacting hundreds of Iowa companies both to ask one-on-one questions about the workforce challenges they’re facing and, more importantly, to connect them directly with any appropriate assistance our experts can identify.

Those initial discussions already have reinforced one obvious lesson – that we were right to create a special division for this.

Workforce is a complicated stew of issues, and most employers simply don’t have time to sort through the relative benefits of more than 130 workforce programs that Iowa has sprinkled throughout state government. Employers need answers now.

But there’s another thing we’ve been reminded of over the last few weeks – that some of the best workforce solutions sometimes are the obvious ones. Because they work.

Registered Apprenticeships are a perfect example of this. They’ve existed for centuries: Young workers find experienced practitioners and earn while they learn on the job. Some of our planet’s finest minds began as apprentices, including Abraham Lincoln, Leonardo da Vinci, and Benjamin Franklin.

Each year, more and more Iowans are following this same well-trodden path, and we’re building more pipelines to develop the high-demand workers we so urgently need.

The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced that Iowa set a record with 9,731 active apprentices in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022. A total of 5,402 Iowans joined apprenticeships during that period, and we led the nation by creating 163 new programs in multiple areas – including 25 new non-construction occupations. Iowans now can select from 890 different apprenticeships across the state.

Why is this growth happening? Because apprenticeships work.

Employees who join a registered apprenticeship program receive both highly skilled training and real paychecks with good wages. Workers spend part of their time in classrooms and the rest learning on the job. When training ends, apprentices end up with a nationally recognized credential and zero student loan debt. Roughly 93 percent, according to federal statistics, stay in their jobs post apprenticeship, providing their bosses with highly loyal, superbly trained employees.

Iowa needs these skilled workers. While our urban and suburban areas are growing, 68 counties lost population between 2000 and 2020, partially due to young people chasing opportunities beyond their home towns. Apprenticeships, even starting in high school, are one way communities can turn that tide and help themselves in the process.

Employers don’t have to go it alone. Iowa is leading the country in its aid for innovative apprenticeships, with more than $50 million in grants this year to support new apprenticeship programs that will help develop new health care workers, teachers, and paraeducators. We are opening up new paths to high-demand careers and building an infrastructure that will benefit Iowa for generations.

I hope you will join us this week as we celebrate National Apprenticeship Week, November 14-20. Visit www.EarnAndLearnIowa.gov(link is external) to learn more about apprenticeships. You also can contact our Business Engagement team at iaworks@iwd.iowa.gov(link sends e-mail) or simply visit your local IowaWORKS office.

Apprenticeships may not be the best choice for every occupation, but they’re excellent in a great many. And we’re finding more applications every day, growing our own future leaders in high-demand careers that are essential to Iowa’s quality of life.

The value of that certainly should be obvious.

Beth Townsend is director of Iowa Workforce Development, Iowa's state agency overseeing unemployment benefits and re-employment services.