SULLIVAN'S SALVOS

August 25, 2025

Sullivan’s Salvos 8/28/25

In this edition:

*RIP Linda Herring

*Congratulations Steve Nachazel!

*Labor Day

*Great Labor Quote!

*Labor in the Family

*Labor Day Picnic

*Labor Info

*United Way Community Needs Assessment

*Did You Know?

*RIP Linda Herring

I was sad to see the passing of Linda Herring of Tiffin. Linda was a mentor to me, and one of the true heroes of our county. From her obituary:

“Linda’s greatest calling in life was caring for children. Over the course of 50 years, she opened her home and heart to more than 600 children through the foster care system. Whether it was welcoming a child in the middle of the night or ensuring they had everything they needed, Linda was truly an angel on Earth who gave without measure. Many children and families of those she fostered have stayed in touch long after their placement, a testament to the lasting impact she had on their lives.”

I am proud to say that the Board honored Linda for her lifetime of good works on January 9, 2020. You can see video of that meeting here: https://johnson-county.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=35

God bless you, Linda. RIP.

*Congratulations Steve Nachazel!

Johnson County is losing a top-flight employee with the retirement of Social Services Navigator Steve Nachazel. I have to say, you could spend from now until eternity and you are not going to find a kinder, gentler, more caring, harder working employee than Steve.

Steve and I go back quite a ways – I’m guessing about 30 years. And trust me when I tell you, he has earned this retirement! Steve spends every day helping folks who need assistance with Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP, and every other benefits program. Steve just politely, patiently, and skillfully helps the folks who need it most. Not every hero wears a cape!

Congratulations, Steve, and thanks for everything!

*Labor Day

Happy Labor Day Monday, September 1! I love Labor Day. Every Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day we set aside time to recall the folks whose service has given us our freedom. I have long felt we need to treat Labor Day in a similar fashion.

Please take a moment this Labor Day to remember the people who fought (and often died) to give us child labor laws, 40-hour weeks, weekends, overtime, vacations, the minimum wage, sick leave, parental leave, OSHA, employment nondiscrimination, pensions, Social Security, health insurance, and so much more.

Do not be fooled! Benevolent corporations did not GIVE these benefits to workers! They were earned by workers who sacrificed! It is a shame that so many average Janes and Joes have chosen to support our corporate masters versus supporting those whose efforts really benefit the masses.

Trust me – the average person has nothing to fear from unions. We all benefit when folks have safe and healthy workplaces. We all benefit when workers get adequate rest. We all benefit when workers receive good training. We all benefit when folks earn a living wage and have health insurance. Unions help improve the quality of life for all of us.

I feel as though I have accomplished some good labor-related things as a member of the Board of Supervisors. In response to the gutting of Prop 20, I led the charge to extend our collective bargaining agreements through June of 2021. Johnson County was the first county, city, or school district in Iowa to do so. We built our projects using Project Labor Agreements until the GOP prevented us from doing so. I have maintained very good relationships with our six (now 5) bargaining units, three (now two) PPME and three AFSCME. Finally, I have treated County employees with the respect they deserve.

I was proud to be a member of Local 716 of the American Federation of Teachers for 30 years. I am proud to now be a member of Laborer’s Local 43, where my Dad worked for 30+ years. I am proud to have spent 20 years as a Delegate to the Iowa City Federation of Labor. Happy Labor Day!

*Great Labor Quote!

The singer/songwriter Steve Earle said it best: “If you have a boss, you need a union!” Amen, brother!

*Labor in the Family

My nephew Levi is a recent college grad. He just started a job, and told me that he joined AFSCME the very first day he could.

That makes him the 4th generation of Sullivans in Cedar Rapids to carry a union card!

His Great Grandparents died long before he was born. His Grandpa died a few years before he was born. But they would be so damn proud! I am proud, too! Solidarity, nephew!

*Labor Day Picnic

The Iowa City Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, is holding our annual Labor Day Picnic from noon-4pm on Monday, September 1 at Lower City Park in Iowa City. All friends of Labor are welcome. Please bring a dish to share.

*Labor Info

From the Economic Policy Institute, Report By Heidi Scheirholz, Margaret Poydock, Celine McNicholas, Lynne Rhinehart, and Daniel Perez, August 25, 2020.

Who are today’s union workers? While historically union members had been predominately white men, today’s union workers are a diverse group.

More than one in nine workers (16.4 million) are covered by a union contract (Shierholz 2020).

Almost two-thirds (65.2%) of workers covered by a union contract are women and/or people of color. Almost half (46.2%) are women. More than a third (36.1%) are Black, Hispanic, Asian American/Pacific Islander, or other people of color.

Black workers are the major racial/ethnic group most likely to be represented by unions: 13.5% of Black workers are covered by a contract, compared with 12.2% of white workers, 10.2% of Hispanic workers, and 10.5% of AAPI workers.

More than half (54.7%) of workers covered by a union contract have an associate degree or more education. More than two out of five (43.1%) have a bachelor’s degree or more education.

Union workers hail from a variety of sectors, but the biggest numbers are found in the public sector (7.9 million) and in private-sector industries like education and health services (2.1 million), manufacturing (1.4 million), transportation and utilities (1.2 million), construction (1.1 million), and wholesale and retail trade (917,000).

Since industries vary in size, industries with the highest numbers of union workers aren’t always the industries with the highest union coverage rate. The highest shares of workers covered by a union contract (the “union coverage rate”) are public-sector workers (37.8%) and private-sector workers in the transportation and utilities (19.4%), construction (14.1%), information (10.4%), manufacturing (9.8%), and educational and health services (9.4%) industries.

Unions raise wages for both union and nonunion workers! On average, a worker covered by a union contract earns 11.2% more in wages than a peer with similar education, occupation, and experience in a nonunionized workplace in the same industry; this wage advantage is known as the “union wage premium.”

And unions don’t just help union workers—they help all of us. When union density is high, nonunion workers benefit, because unions effectively set broader standards—including higher wages, as noted by Rosenfeld, Denice, and Laird (2016)—that nonunion employers must meet in order to attract and retain the workers they need (and to avoid facing a union organizing drive themselves).

The combination of the direct effect of unions on union members and this “spillover” effect to nonunion workers means unions are crucial in raising wages for working people and reducing income inequality. Research shows that deunionization accounts for a sizable share of the growth in inequality between typical (median) workers and workers at the high end of the wage distribution in recent decades—on the order of 13–20% for women and 33–37% for men.

Unions help raise wages for women and lessen racial wage gaps. Unions help raise women’s pay. Hourly wages for women represented by a union are 5.8% higher on average than for nonunionized women with comparable characteristics. Rigorous research shows that unions reduce gender wage gaps within given employers: For example, Biasi and Sarsons (2020) show that the expiration of teacher collective bargaining agreements led to a gender gap in wages between male and female teachers with similar credentials.

Unions also help close wage gaps for Black and Hispanic workers. Since collective bargaining lifts wages of Black and Hispanic workers closer to those of their white counterparts, Black and Hispanic workers get a larger boost from unionization. White workers represented by union are paid “just” 8.7% more than their nonunionized peers who are white, but Black workers represented by union are paid 13.7% more than their nonunionized peers who are Black, and Hispanic workers represented by unions are paid 20.1% more than their nonunionized peers who are Hispanic.

Unions provide workers with better benefits, including paid leave and health care. Union workers are more likely to be covered by employer-provided health insurance. More than nine in 10 workers covered by a union contract (94%) have access to employer-sponsored health benefits, compared with just 68% of nonunion workers. Further, union employers contribute more to their employee’s health care benefits. Union employers pay 86% of workers’ health care premiums while nonunion employers pay 79% of their workers’ health care premiums (BLS-EB 2019a).

Union workers also have greater access to paid sick days. Nine in 10 workers covered by a union contract (91%) have access to paid sick days, compared with 73% of nonunion workers. Almost all union workers in state and local government (97%) have paid sick days, compared with 86% of their nonunion peers. In the private sector, 86% of union workers have paid sick days compared with 72% of their nonunion peers (BLS-EB 2019b).

*United Way Community Needs Assessment

Johnson County is one of several organizations that collaborated with the United Way of Johnson and Washington Counties on a Community Needs Assessment. I am going to spend four weeks of Salvos highlighting four different areas of community need. This week: Healthy Community.

Some alarming stats:

*17% of Johnson County residents have not seen a dentist in over two years.

*23% of Johnson County residents have no primary health care provider.

*75% of women who have been homeless have also endured domestic and/or sexual abuse.

*Iowa ranks last in the nation for psych beds.

*39% of Johnson County residents are food insecure, yet ineligible for SNAP.

*11.5% of Johnson County is considered food insecure.

Community Goals:

1. Everyone receives the healthcare they need.

2. Everyone has access to safe, secure housing, with supports to maintain long-term stability.

3. Everyone in our community has enough food to eat.

*DID YOU KNOW? In the wake of the massive unrest from the Haymarket Square Incident and other labor protests, Congress passed an act making Labor Day a legal holiday. On June 28, 1894, President Cleveland signed it into law.

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-

www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov.

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

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As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan29@gmail.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod

August 19, 2025

I know January 1 is the official New Year, but in Iowa City, the New Year always feels like mid-August. Having lived here over 40 years, my circadian rhythms are set to a new academic year being the real new year.

Whether you live life by the semester or not, I hope you have a great academic year!

My granddaughter Zuri starts Third Grade at Horace Mann this year, and our whole household is excited!

I love the improvements that were made at Mann! It is interesting; I was on the Facilities Master Plan (FMP) Committee that decided what the ICCSD would ask voters to approve in the huge 2017 bond issue. (I served on the bond campaign as well.) Mitch Gross (then a West High teacher, now the West High Principal) and I led the charge to ensure that as few schools as possible got closed, and that every school got improvements. The consultants would have closed Mann, Lincoln, Longfellow, Hills, and Coralville Central. We argued to not only keep those schools, but to invest heavily in them. Thankfully, our side won the day!

It is a bit ironic, because I never imagined that 8 years later, my granddaughter would be attending one of the schools we saved! But I am really glad she is!

Johnson County Public Health has received a positive test for West Nile Virus on a mosquito sample from the week of July 27-August 2. The goal of the program is to monitor the presence of several species of mosquitos that can carry either West Nile Virus or Zika virus. There have been no reported cases of an infection in Johnson County.

“This is about awareness and prevention, by monitoring our numbers, we can detect and mitigate disease risk for our residents. We have not seen a surveillance test come back positive since 2023, so this is nothing to worry about, but review the ways to protect ourselves.” said Rob Thul, manager of the Environmental Health program at Johnson County Public Health. According to the CDC there has only been one case of West Nile Virus in humans reported in Iowa in 2025.

If residents are going to be outside there are simple ways to protect themselves and their family. Use an EPA registered insect repellent with the active ingredients DEET, Picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus, or PMD which can help prevent bites and are safe and effective. You can also wear loose-fitting, long-sleeved shirts and pants. Babies and Children under 3 years old should not use oil of lemon eucalyptus or PMD insect repellent. Stollers & Carriers can be covered with mosquito netting and clothing should cover their arms & legs.

Prevention of mosquitos spreading at home is simple - use screens on windows and doors and stop mosquitos from laying eggs in or near water. Empty anything that holds water weekly, like buckets, planters, toys, kiddie pools, birdbaths, as well as any trash containers, tires, etc. These containers should be scrubbed clean or turned over.

The Lone Tree Fall Festival is August 22 & 23 in Lone Tree. This event is a great opportunity to share some good times with the fine folks of Johnson County’s “panhandle”!

1. All children experience quality early learning, and start school ready to succeed.

3. All youth and their families have access to basic needs and social and emotional supports so children are ready to learn.

The Save Iowa History Coalition, along with the Iowa Labor History Society, invite the public to join speakers and musicians at the “Reverse the Decision” rally to be held on Saturday, August 23, from 1:00-3:00 p.m. at the Iowa City Public Library, 123 S. Linn Street in Iowa City.

Historians and educators will speak at the rally about the value of the vast collections that connect Iowans to each other. Local musicians will add their voices. State Representative Adam Zabner will wrap up the rally with a call to action. A mock funeral for the State Historical Society’s Iowa City building will follow the rally.

The Save Iowa History Coalition formed when Iowa’s Dept. of Administrative Services announced it will close the State Historical Society of Iowa’s library and archives in Iowa City. The coalition’s goal is to keep physical records of Iowa history accessible to all, in both Iowa City and Des Moines.

The coalition started a petition to keep physical records of Iowa history accessible to all, in both Iowa City and Des Moines: https://chng.it/ChxYphz4Xc. The petition requests that funding be restored for the State Historical Society of Iowa Libraries and Archives. It currently has more than 4,000 signatures.

From KCRG TV: “A majority of people in Johnson County say they would support a bond referendum to build a new jail. That’s according to a survey report from the University of Iowa.

Johnson County Sheriff Brad Kunkel says the current building is “at the end of its life,” which is why he’s pleasantly surprised to see 74% of people surveyed say they are in favor of a new facility.

“It really gives me hope that we will get this across the finish line and I really think this is a signal that now is the time. The momentum is here,” says Sheriff Kunkel.

UI surveyed more than 750 people this summer and nearly 3 in 4 say they’d support building a new jail. Even more said they’d be in favor of a new facility after learning about the current conditions inside the building including overcrowding, deterioration, safety issues for staff and inmates, and non-ADA compliance.”

Most of my conversations with Democrats over the past few weeks find people sharing deep concerns. They aren’t sure what is going to happen, and they aren’t sure what to do about it. I get it; I often feel the same way.

As for the “What can I do?” question? I actually have an answer. It may be unsatisfying, but I do know the answer. The answer? Work hard.

Let’s face it – none of us has much control over Donald Trump, or anything else. And it can make a person feel very powerless. What can we do? We control what we can. And one thing we can control is how hard we work.

Knock doors. Make phone calls. Write postcards. Write a letter to the editor. March in a parade. Make food for campaign staff and volunteers. Babysit for a person who plans on doing the aforementioned things. Donate money. Do something to help the cause.

A couple more thoughts… I have played a lot of sports in my life. Started as a little kid, and didn’t stop until I was over 40. Over that span, I played on some really good teams, and I played on a few really terrible teams. What advice would I give someone on a really good team? Work hard. Do your best. Have fun. What advice would I give someone on a really bad team? Work hard. Do your best. Have fun.

One more thought… There is an old Buddhist proverb that can also apply here. A student asked the Buddha, “What do I need to do to reach enlightenment?” The Buddha answered, “Chop wood and carry water.” The student then asked the Buddha, “What does one do once you reach enlightenment?” The Buddha answered, “Chop wood and carry water.”

What does this mean? There is really only one answer to the question, “What can I do?” And it never changes. Just work hard, do your best, and try to stay positive.

*DID YOU KNOW? The College Community School District includes most of northern Johnson County including Swisher and Shueyville. Most people think “College Community” refers to nearby Kirkwood Community College. In actuality, College Community is named after Western College, a college that existed from 1857 to 1919 just north of Shueyville.