Urbandale Picketing Workers File for Unemployment

Twenty-eight child-care workers who are claiming they haven't been paid, carpooled to state government offices this morning to file for unemployment, for lost wages, and even to seek a meeting with Gov. Terry Branstad.

Branstad was not in his office, but Schillinger said they still are pursuing a meeting with him. "We just want him to know how this is being run."

Jamie Schillinger, co-director of the , said they were told by unemployment officials that they were eligible for benefits because their workplace was closed.

She said the women aren't giving up, but are upset because they believed owner Theresa Mulhern .

By 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Schillinger said she called West Des Moines police to ask that an officer escort her into the West Des Moines center to speak to Mulhern.

"We'd just had it...These girls are crying because they don't have money for their kids. They don't have money to buy food. I had to borrow money from my mom just to put gas in my car to get out here to stand up for our rights. We're not going to let her win." said Schillinger.

She said she saw Mulhern, who refused to talk with her and told the officer that Schillinger was not allowed on the property.

Mulhern has not responded to e-mail, telephone or in-person requests for comment since the women began picketing. On Monday, she released a statement saying paychecks were delayed because of a clerical error.

Schillinger said the women have been grateful for the support of many people - parents have dropped off bottled water for them, one mom brought them all bagels this morning. Area restaurants have sent them food or given them vouchers for food, picketers said Wednesday.

Meanwhile, state officials are not ignoring the situation.

Roger Munns, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Human Services, which regulates child-care centers, said Wednesday afternoon that child-care licensing officials met with Mulhern and told her she would not be allowed to exceed staffing ratios required by state law to accommodate extra children from the Urbandale center.

"We are monitoring the situation," he said, noting that both centers are licensed. "They have a full license as of today," he said.

He said the human services in not involved in the labor dispute, is charged with ensuring that the center does not take on more children than it has staff to safely supervise.

"She's made it quite clear to the owner that we're not looking the other way on this," he said of the licensing inspector.