Jobs & labor
Our vision for Iowa is one where public policy sets the ground rules for a level economic playing field for people and businesses. To achieve this vision, we must:
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Increase the minimum wage and enact paid sick and family leave.
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Crack down on wage theft and enforce workplace safety.
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Protect collective bargaining, IPERS and other public pensions.
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Reform workers’ compensation and unemployment systems to support Iowa workers in tough times.
Read Common Good Iowa's analysis and policy priorities related to jobs and labor issues:
Jobs and labor
February 20, 2026
For much of the 20th century, coal powered Iowa’s industrial growth, supplying more than 88% of the state’s electricity at its 1985 peak. Today, Iowa leads the nation in wind generation, but coal still provides about a quarter of total generation and more than three-quarters of power-sector carbon emissions. The remaining fleet anchors local economies and supports hundreds of skilled workers. But the data are conclusive: coal generation is no longer cost-competitive, it imposes millions in avoidable health and environmental damages each year, and its continuation crowds out investment in the very technologies that could secure Iowa’s next century of prosperity. The question is not whether Iowa’s coal units will close, but when and how — and who benefits when they do. With foresight and coordination, the state can transform its coal communities from symbols of the old energy economy into models of 21st-century resilience, where clean power, dignified work, and community wealth reinforce one another.
March 2026
This month, over 300 workers at the Whirlpool plant in Amana will be laid off. This is in addition to 250 layoffs last summer and another 250 reportedly under consideration. These are good-paying, union-represented positions that have anchored the local economy for generations. In the past five years, Whirlpool has reduced its Amana manufacturing workforce from over 3,000 to less than 1,000 today. While the layoffs themselves are devastating, many workers will be hit twice: first by losing their jobs, and again by discovering that Iowa’s unemployment insurance system no longer offers the protections it once did.
February 20, 2026
For much of the 20th century, coal powered Iowa’s industrial growth, supplying more than 88% of the state’s electricity at its 1985 peak. Today, Iowa leads the nation in wind generation, but coal still provides about a quarter of total generation and more than three-quarters of power-sector carbon emissions. The remaining fleet anchors local economies and supports hundreds of skilled workers. But the data are conclusive: coal generation is no longer cost-competitive, it imposes millions in avoidable health and environmental damages each year, and its continuation crowds out investment in the very technologies that could secure Iowa’s next century of prosperity. The question is not whether Iowa’s coal units will close, but when and how — and who benefits when they do. With foresight and coordination, the state can transform its coal communities from symbols of the old energy economy into models of 21st-century resilience, where clean power, dignified work, and community wealth reinforce one another.
January 2026
As our leaders cast about for solutions to Iowans’ affordability concerns, they’ve largely ignored a proven policy tool that would make a meaningful difference for up to 200,000 workers: increasing the minimum wage.
October 2025
State officials in 2024 conducted 77 child-labor investigations, including one that involved the death of a 17-year-old. According to data obtained by Common Good Iowa via open-records request, investigators issued warning letters for child-labor violations to eight businesses and issued civil monetary penalties, totaling $36,350, against four, including the one where the youth died.
April 2025
Republicans in Des Moines are again advancing legislation to slash unemployment insurance (UI) taxes for Iowa businesses. This move would give employers a break now — at the expense of the very system that protects Iowans during economic downturns. The nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency (LSA) recently released a fiscal analysis of House File 980, the latest version of the bill, and the analysis projects significant reductions in UI trust fund revenue that could put the system’s long-term stability at risk.