Last month, the Florida Legislature jammed through legislation that would eliminate the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the taxing and governing entity for the Walt Disney World property. While the special session was supposed to focus on redistricting, legislation targeting the district and the Walt Disney Company was introduced the morning of session with no forewarning.

The legislation was filed as revenge for the private company’s decision to speak out against the Governor’s “Don’t Say Gay Bill.” While there are issues with Reedy Creek that should be examined and some changes could be made, this was a rushed proposal that simply wipes out the district, threatening thousands of union jobs and could lead to radical increases in property taxes for residents of Orange and Osceola counties.

With only a few hours’ notice, the Florida AFL-CIO was the ONLY organization that was able to quickly mobilize, educate legislators as to the perils of this move, and speak out against this attack on the workers of Central Florida in time.

For more information on the story and a look at the debate over the bill, check out our Special Session update. You can watch it here, as well as on our Facebook and YouTube pages.