Florida's Brazen Assault on Public Sector Workers Puts Unions in Survival Mode

[marmar]

Florida’s Brazen Assault on Public Sector Workers Puts Unions in Survival Mode
More than 50,000 Florida workers have lost their union membership in the advent of S.B. 256.

MCKENNA SCHUELER JUNE 5, 2024


(In These Times) TALLAHASSEE , FLORIDA — Early one February morning, Chris Pagel, a retired U.S. Army combat engineer and physical education teacher, begins his three-and-a-half drive from Nassau County to the Florida Capitol in Tallahassee. He’s opposing a bill designed to build on S.B. 256 — an anti-union law passed last year that has, so far, already caused more than 50,000 public employees to lose their union representation.

Later, standing in front of lawmakers, he questions why he bothered making the drive at all. ​“I’ve been here before,” he says during public testimony. ​“The Republicans have already made up their mind. Democrats fight it.”

More than a decade in the making, S.B. 256 essentially requires unions to have a lot of dues-paying members while simultaneously making it harder for them to do so. While the law bans public sector unions from deducting dues directly from members’ paychecks, it also requires at least 60% of a bargaining unit to pay dues or risk losing their union status.

Shortly after signing the bill, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis framed it in a statement as an effort to ​“reign in out-of-control unions” that he said take money away from teachers and misuse government funds for political aims. In the same announcement, he specifically mentioned teachers unions, many of which were already required to maintain at least 50% membership under a law approved by then Gov. Rick Scott in 2018. ....................(more)

https://inthesetimes.com/article/florida-target-public-sector-workers-anti-union-senate-bill-256-decertification-teachers-desantis

[FakeNoose]

1. No union workers should ever vote for Repukes - ever!

No hourly-paid workers of any kind, unionized or not, have anything to gain from the corrupt, racist, misogynist, lying fascist Repuke Party. If you work for wages, they don't care about you. They will do nothing to help American workers or their families.

On the other hand, the Democratic Party welcomes you with open arms.