AFSCME members were among hundreds of military veterans who gathered at the Iowa Legislature to demand support from state lawmakers for issues that veterans and working families care about.
Joined by Will Fischer, executive director of the Union Veterans Council of the AFL-CIO and other military veterans, AFSCME Iowa Council 61 President and International Vice President Danny Homan reminded his fellow veterans Wednesday that they have the same concerns as working families.
“Veterans want quality care and services, a government that works, a system that holds those who deliver services accountable, and educational policies that work for them and their families,” said Homan. “Working families want those things too. It’s the dream of every parent to see their child graduate college and find a rewarding career. It’s at the very heart of the work they do each day.”
More than 200,000 veterans live in Iowa and make up nearly one-tenth of the state’s population. Vets face nearly the same unemployment rate as other Iowans. Six percent of Iowa’s veterans live in poverty.
AFSCME Council 61 represents thousands of veterans who work as public employees at the state, county and municipal levels. Currently, many of these veterans face attacks on their collective bargaining rights from anti-union legislators in the statehouse.
According to the Iowa Starting Line, an online news site, Fischer said the rhetoric from politicians who claim to be pro-veteran doesn’t always match their actions.
“You can’t call yourself pro-veteran if you’re anti-worker,” Fischer said. “The veteran class and the working class is one and the same.”