Florida Locals Fight More Anti-Union Legislation
March 24, 2011
IAEP members in Florida are once again joining their union brothers and sisters across the state to fight new anti-union legislation in both the House and the Senate.
Despite still battling changes to their pensions, public employees in Florida once again face cuts to their collective bargaining rights through the introduction of Senate Bill 830 and House Bill 1023. Both bills are designed to further weaken public employee unions through changes to dues deduction and the current collective bargaining process.
“Much like the ongoing fights in Wisconsin and Ohio, public employees in Florida are facing attacks on their most basic rights,” said IAEP National Representative Bret Cyr. “Our members are fighting for their livelihoods, their rights and their voice in determining their working conditions.”
While Senate Bill 830 would prohibit any public employer from deducting dues from an employee’s paycheck, House Bill 1023 would force many public employee unions to hold a new election before being certified to bargain with the employer. Under House Bill 1023, any union which has less than half of any bargaining unit paying dues to the union on July 1, 2011, would be required to go through another election process before the union could represent that bargaining unit in negotiations.
“I think these measures are just shrewd attempts to disband any and all public employee unions in the state of Florida as quickly and efficiently as possible,” said Cyr. “Right now I don’t believe you’ll find any public employee union with over 50% membership in Florida.”
The single most effective thing members can do to counteract the house bill right now is to begin a strong push for membership in their own locals.
“Our members can fight back hard against these bills simply by signing up to pay dues within their local,” said Cyr. “If we can build within our locals, then our power will be tenfold at the bargaining table and these measures will fall on deaf ears.”
“The more people show they’re committed, the more the powers that be have to take us seriously and treat us with respect,” Cyr continued. “If we won’t respect our own power, they won’t.”
The IAEP will continue to work with our brothers and sisters with SEIU and the Coastal Florida Police Benevolent Association to lobby on behalf of public employees in Florida and will continue to provide you with updates as more information becomes available. You can also add your voice to the fight by checking for updates and ongoing actions here.