March 1, 2011. Bills would effectively wipe out collective bargaining
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Capital Bureau
Link to original article at Tallahassee.com
In a move that could bring Wisconsin-style protests to Florida, four Republican legislators are sponsoring bills that would effectively wipe out collective bargaining for government employees.
Proposals would end payroll deduction of union dues, dump labor organizations that don’t enlist at least half of the workers they represent and require annual reminders to employees about how they can decertify a union.
“I’m not sure what’s going on, but I’m sure I don’t like what I see,” said Matt Puckett, a lobbyist for the Police Benevolent Association. “It’s kind of an aggressive attack on organized labor.”
Puckett said the PBA has more than 50 percent membership among the police and prison officers it bargains for, so it would not be in danger of decertification. Doug Martin, legislative director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said AFSCME membership is only about 5 percent at the state level, though much higher in some city and county locals.
“There could be serious constitutional problems with the bills because the Constitution says public employees have the right to collective bargaining,” said Martin. “The Supreme Court has set out certain standards that have to be met.”
The pending bills are:
SB 830 by state Sen. John Thrasher, a Jacksonville Republican, and HB 1021 by Rep. Chris Dorworth, R-Lake Mary, would end automatic union-dues deduction by public employers. The bills would also forbid use of dues for political activities. Organized labor, including AFSCME and teacher unions, are major supporters of Democrats, but Thrasher said he wasn’t trying to dam the cash flow.
HB 1023 by Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, would require recertification by July 1 for any union with membership below half of the employees it represents. Law enforcement unions like the PBA, which has generally supported Republicans in recent elections, would be exempt from the requirement.
HB 1025 by Rep. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, would make it easier for public employees to seek decertification of their unions from the Public Employees Relations Commission, which oversees labor elections. Unions would be required to send financial reports to members every year, including political contributions and salaries, along with a written explanation of how members can go about decertifying a union.
“I just believe if a union is going to represent the workers, they should have at least half of the workers as members,” Plakon said of his bill. “To me it’s common sense. I don’t see how 5 percent or 20 percent can speak for all the employees.”
Thrasher was the main sponsor of a bill last year abolishing teacher tenure and linking pay raises to student performance. Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed the bill most vocally opposed by the Florida Education Association.
But Thrasher denied that his and Dorworth’s bill is payback for last year’s raucous Senate Bill 6 fight.
“The guts of my bill just says the state shouldn’t be involved in collecting union dues,” said Thrasher, who was elected in a special election in 2009. “I’ve run three elections in 15 months and I think the mood of the voters is, where we ought to cut is in extra expenses like this.”
Martin said AFSCME has been preparing for such a ban, possibly through direct-deposit payment of dues. That way, the state wouldn’t be deducting the union dues, he said.
Rich Templin, a lobbyist for the Florida AFL-CIO, said the labor federation is evaluating the bills.
“It certainly seems to be an attack on workers’ ability to come together, collectively bargain with their employers, for the same things that all citizens are concerned about,” said Templin.
He said lawmakers will hear from employees in government and the private sector.
“I don’t think you can count out the human factor,” he said. “People don’t like their rights being taken away.”