FLORIDA’S DEMOCRACY IS UNDER SIEGE! DARKNESS CONTINUES TO SPREAD OVER FLORIDA’S GOVERNMENT! OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS SILENCED IN THE NAME OF CORPORATE GREED!
The terror continues in this week’s Legislative Update: The Destruction of Democracy. Tune in to find out the whole story on what’s happening in the State Capitol and how working Floridians are fighting back!
Floridians’ right to organize: under siege! Our say in local governments: consumed by big money! Citizens’ voice in our democracy: stifled by the terror of Tallahassee.
Week five of the 2020 Legislative Session saw the thrills, chills and terror continue from the State Capitol here in Tallahassee. Get the full picture with the newest episode of the Florida AFL-CIO’s Legislative Update: Razing Our Rights!
An out-of-state billionaire funded think tank has cooked up a new scheme to attack the unions representing our teachers, state and municipal workers, law enforcement officers, firefighters and other public sector workers. The bill is similar to policies that have been enacted in Alaska (although currently being blocked by a court order) to change the ways in which union members can keep their membership.
HB 1 will make it far more difficult for all public sector workers to exercise their constitutional right to stay in their union!
THE DETAILS
· HB 1 would require dues authorizations to be renewed every three years or upon authorization of a new contract, meaning the union would have to chase down re-authorization forms from members who have no intention of leaving the union.
· After the employer receives a signed dues authorization, deductions would not start until the employer goes on to “confirm with the employee, electronically or by other means, that he or she authorized the deduction of dues and uniform assessments.” This puts the employer in charge of the dues authorization process for the first time in history. Our public sector workers will have an indeterminate period of confusion and fear as they wait for their employer to verify their membership. There is no time frame or penalty for employers in the bill.
Public sector workers understand their Right to Work. This language is intended to tip the scales against membership.
· HB 1 is unnecessary. Florida’s workers NEVER have to join their union. It is their choice and they can cancel their membership at any time.
· HB 1 places a burden on workers who want to be a member in their union. It forces them to reauthorize every three years or upon authorization of a new contract, even though they can already quit at any time.
· HB 1 will create chaos. There are no time limits or other requirements for the employer to confirm the membership authorizations. They can simply ignore the requests for long periods of time.
HB 1 is the product of wealthy out-of-state special interests. The bill does not address any problems in Florida and does nothing to improve the situation for our public sector employees.
TAKE ACTION
Call your Representative and let them know that you stand against this legislation.
New legislation coming out of Tallahassee is seeking to destroy the rights and way of life that all Floridians hold dear!
On the agenda of terror: cloaking our government’s sinister actions from the people, wreaking havoc on our public education system and stealing our voice from direct democracy.
Get the details and find out how working people are fighting back in this week’s Florida AFL-CIO Legislative Update!
The lethal leviathan that is the Florida Legislature continues it’s campaign of destruction throughout the Sunshine State!
Efforts to further hide the machinations of our State government from the people! The colossus of Tallahassee continued to consume any and all power our local governments have! Direct democracy inches closer to death as big money continues it’s all out assault on the people of Florida!
All this and more in this newest episode of the Florida AFL-CIO’s Legislative Update: Horrors in the Halls of Power!
In the interest of safety for our delegates, guests, and staff, this year the Florida AFL-CIO COPE Endorsing Convention will be held digitally via Zoom Video Communications.
The virtual convention will be held June 20th and 21st, 2020, from 9 A.M.. to 12 P.M. EST on Saturday and from 9 A.M. to Adjournment on Sunday.
For more information on convention, including registration, please email Helen Parker, Convention Manager at hparker@flaflcio.org