SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
August 30, 2026
Sullivan’s Salvos 9/3/26
In this edition:
*Labor Day
*Great Labor Quote!
*Labor Day Picnic
*Consequential – Minimum Wage
*Salvos Salutes – 2017
*Did You Know?
*Labor Day
Happy Labor Day Monday, September 7! 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 bargaining units. 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!
*Consequential – Minimum Wage
One of my proudest accomplishments in my 22-year career as a County Supervisor was the effort to increase the minimum wage. Here is the story:
I was sitting around at a labor event, and talking with longtime friend Peter Fisher. Pete (now retired) was an Economist, a Professor in the UI Urban and Regional Planning Department, and the tax and finance expert at the Iowa Policy Project (later Common Good Iowa). I was complaining because it felt as though every positive thing Johnson County did came with a high price tag. This price tag was paid by us all. I wanted to see the wealthier folks carry a bigger piece of the financial burden.
Peter pointed out that local governments were much more limited than state governments, which can use income, inheritance, property, sales, and many other types of taxes. State governments have even fewer tools than the federal government, which can also print money. I was wishing there was a way for the county to help the poor people of our community without forcing the middle-class folks to shoulder most of the burden.
After I left Peter’s side, I ambled over to another old friend, Paul McAndrew. Paul is a longtime labor lawyer and a great guy. Out of nowhere, Paul noted that it had been a decade since Iowa has raised the minimum wage. (It is now two decades.) He said, “Too bad you cannot do it locally.”
Cue the lightbulbs, lightning bolts, harp sounds, and every other imagery for an idea! I went right back to Peter, and floated the idea. He was intrigued, but we both knew the key issue was Iowa Code. Would this be legal?
I began trying to form a coalition. I started with my then-colleague Janelle Rettig, who had always been great on issues of economic justice. She was all in. And if you know Janelle, you know she fought like hell for this! Jesse Case from Teamsters 238 was then the President of the Iowa City Federation of Labor, and he was all in. Local labor activists had recently gotten together with local immigrants to form a new organization – the Center for Worker Justice (CWJ). The CWJ would be a great help.
As I mentioned before, we needed to know if this would be legal. County Attorney Janet Lyness did not see any prohibitions in the Iowa Code. (Lots of local lawyers – including a couple City Attorneys – claimed it was not legal. But they never took us to court, and WE DID IT, so how certain were they?)
This process was interesting. While we were building support amongst the community, we were doing so very quietly. We had a meeting early on with State Senators Bolkcom and Dvorsky, who were very supportive. But as they pointed out, the Iowa Legislature likely had the votes and the desire to prevent us from moving forward. So we quietly worked out all the details in January through April, and we were ready to go in May after the Legislature adjourned.
Once the Legislature was finished, we rolled out our plan. We created a local committee to oversee the effort. It included two economists, a labor leader, the Director of the Crisis Center, an advocate for immigrants, a small business owner, the manager of a temporary staffing agency, and myself.
The ordinance had to be drafted. God Bless Janet Lyness! I created a lot of extra work for her over the years, but if I was doing the right thing for the right reason, Janet always said yes. She drafted a great ordinance, which I am proud of to this day.
There were *SO* many questions to address. Did the ordinance cover businesses who did work in Johnson County but were not located here? (No.) Did the ordinance cover businesses that were located here doing work elsewhere? (Yes.) What about tipped employees? (They had to earn at least $10.10, and that could be a combination of the tipped wage plus tips.) The list of questions was long, but Janet got through them.
Our goal was to get the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour. There were several reasons for using that number. Upon his first election, President Obama got the minimum wage raised to the current $7.25/hour. But an effort to tie the minimum wage to the cost of living failed. It did not take long to see that while $7.25 was a great improvement, it was still too low. Our own US Senator Tom Harkin (who was a huge supporter of our effort!) had introduced a bill in 2013 to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10. Unfortunately, Senator Harkin could not get the votes. But one positive offshoot of his failed effort was that we had a LOT of very good research about the impact of $10.10. So if we targeted $10.10, we could use all of Harkin’s data to make our case.
We decided to phase the new minimum wage in over a 12-month period. Two months after passage, it was to go up 95 cents to $8.20. A few months later, it went up another 95 cents to $9.15. Finally, at one year, it would go up to $10.10. It would then be tied annually to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
I had long negotiations with some providers of Medicaid services. They wanted to pay their workers the higher wage, but Iowa’s low Medicaid reimbursement rates would not support the higher amount. I had worked in that field a long time. I knew these people. We had all worked together. They knew I was going to have their backs. We reached an uneasy agreement – we were just going to trust each other. Luckily, because of their efforts, things worked out. But low Medicaid reimbursements are still a huge problem in Iowa and elsewhere.
One of my biggest frustrations during this period was the University of Iowa. Bruce Harreld had just taken over as the President of the UI, a job for which he was completely unqualified. He was an opponent of raising the minimum wage – he had made his money in the fast-food industry. Go figure. He said the UI would not participate. Unfortunately, Janet shared his opinion that as a State institution, they were probably exempt. It did lead to an interesting showdown at a “town hall” meeting Harreld held at the Old Capital. Kurt Friese and I confronted him on his stance. You know what he did? He left the room, and left a young woman to defend the UI stance. Kurt and I said our piece, stood up, and walked out. It was one of the weakest examples I have ever witness from a “leader.”
There were three community meetings, each of which was well-attended. Since this was an ordinance, it required three public hearings, which were also well-attended.
The ordinance passed 5-0. Though one Supervisor was quite opposed, he voted for it all three times. Some folks in the community were outraged. Some were celebrating. So what actually happened?
Our two economists studied the data. Over 10,000 Johnson County residents saw their wages go up. The data showed wages went up for another 10,000 out of county residents who commuted to Johnson County for work. It even had a small impact in cities not in Johnson County but adjacent – West Branch, Ely, and Kalona.
Critics claimed the raises would lead to higher unemployment. It did not. We were told the hours of low wage workers would be cut. They were not. We were told jobs would move elsewhere. They did not. We were told that only teenagers would be affected. In fact, the average age of people impacted was 35. We were told prices would skyrocket. They did not. The economists on our committee (two people highly respected in the profession) knew what data to look at, and they are the people who reassured us these were the results.
Unfortunately, the Iowa Legislature undid the Johnson County minimum wage in March of 2017. They followed that up with lots of draconian legislation gutting almost every kind of local control. So we got under their skin.
Was this effort worth it? Damn right it was! Our economists continued to track the data. Wages did not fall in Johnson County after our law was repealed. Low wage employers had tipped their hand – higher wages were possible.
A couple years later, I was chatting with John Solow, one of the two economists I have been mentioning. As I mentioned, John (now a Professor Emeritus) is very highly regarded in the field. My wife is a scientist. I have many friends who have Ph.Ds. I know that people who do scientific research are quite careful about making definitive statements. So I was surprised when John said, “This effort was an unequivocal success.” He had to be very confident to say that. That quote always helped seal the deal for me.
So, here we are, in 2026. Iowans and all Americans desperately need a raise. I pray we will have a Democratic President and two Democratic Houses of Congress in 2028, so that we can not only raise the federal minimum wage, but connect it to the CPI moving forward. It works. It worked here.
Meanwhile, I can honestly say that I helped make life a bit better for 20,000+ people. And that is a very good feeling!
*Salvos Salutes – 2017
What I wrote about some of the honorees from Salvos Salutes in 2017:
Mazahir Salih: Iowa City’s first black female Councilor. Iowa City’s first Muslim Councilor. The first Sudanese American elected to office in the WHOLE USA! Mazahir is not just a trailblazer, but a smart, kind, caring individual who will serve Iowa City very well.
Meghann Foster: Coralville’s Old Guard and progressives do not agree on much. They DID all agree that Meghann Foster was the best candidate for the Coralville Council. Now the real challenge – can Meghann translate this popularity into coalitions that make progressive changes? I’m betting she can!
Steve Cook: If you have ever attended any kind of fundraiser in Johnson County, you’ve probably seen Steve in action. An expert sound man, Steve volunteers his talent and equipment for countless events. Without his contributions, the show would not go on! In addition to donating thousands of dollars worth of services to the community every year, Steve is a union and political activist, and a darn good guy!
Mark Patton: The Johnson County community has made great strides when it comes to affordable housing. It was just a couple years ago that most local elected officials refused to even discuss the topic. How has this change happened? Through the hard work of a small group of committed individuals – led by Mark Patton. Mark is retiring this year after leading Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity from a small, obscure organization to a real powerhouse. His impact on affordable housing has even bigger than that. Congratulations, Mark!
Greg Hearns: The President of the Iowa City Federation of Labor, Greg led the organization through a challenging year of merger and reorganization. No one worked harder on labor issues, and this bore fruit when Greg’s union (Teamsters 238) won an overwhelming number of their recertification elections. He also managed to find the time to mobilize union members to work on local elections. Through it all, Greg has kept his focus squarely on the needs of working people.
Darius Moore: Like many African Americans, this young man has had enough of the disparities that exist in our society. So like other African American athletes, this Clear Creek Amana Senior took a knee during the National Anthem. Darius knew this was going to bring some venom his way, and it did. But he handled the whole episode with a determination, maturity, and grace that was very impressive.
The Encounter Café: Sharon Bethel Mennonite Church opened a café in downtown Iowa City. In addition to providing a welcoming space for everyone, all proceeds go to local charities. How simply beautiful!
As you can see, 2017 was a year full of people worthy of our admiration!
*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. (They wanted to avoid May 1, which had been embraced by Communists worldwide.) On June 28, 1894, President Cleveland signed it into law.
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---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 8:22 AM
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