City of Fort Dodge v. Iowa Public Employment Relations Board

LARSON, Justice.

This sole issue to be decided in this appeal is whether clothing, or a clothing allowance, is a mandatory subject of bargaining under Iowa Public Employment Relations Act, chapter 20 of The Code. Local 6-502 of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union, AFL-CIO, is “the employee organization” representing the employees of the City of Fort Dodge.

The City had been requested to furnish items of work clothing (or as the PER Board treated it, a clothing allowance for those items). There is no issue here as to its providing protective clothing for employees such as…