LET'S HELP STOP THIS UNION-BUSTING BILL SB1296

LET'S HELP STOP THIS UNION-BUSTING BILL SB1296 THAT IS BOUND TO MAKE SALARIES AND CONDITIONS EVEN WORSE FOR OUR ALREADY GROSSLY UNDERPAID FLORIDA TEACHERS  WHO OFTEN HOLD A SECOND JOB TO MAKE ENDS MEET.  If you are a teacher or hospital worker or know one, the idea is to let the legislators know that this hurts you or your friends, neighbors and family who already struggle to make ends meet.  This bill will make things harder for working families. 

This bill forces teacher and hospital employee unions and each union member, to jump through many more onerous hoops every year just to maintain a collective bargaining unit. It also creates a "two-tier system"—or rather, a caste system—where decertifying teacher and hospital worker unions is easier than decertifying police and firefighter unions.  It would also allow for circumventing collective bargaining on certain funding appropriated by the Legislature  that would require modification of a bargaining agreement, but this exception would not apply to law enforcement and firefighters.  It would also require the union to reimburse the employer for any release time elected union representatives have for union work representing members.  It also requires an endless list of proof for virtually everything the union does and every cent it spends.

We now know it is on the agenda for the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee for Monday, March 2nd, 12 p.m., 412 Knott Building

THE FEA IS ASKING PEOPLE TO CALL AS MANY OF THE STATE SENATORS ON THE COMMITTEE AS POSSIBLE AS WELL AS YOUR OWN STATE SENATOR. If you follow the links provided in the email, it will walk you through everything.  The FEA is also trying to keep track of all the calls made so please record your results. 

We encourage you to keep making phone calls and please be sure you are documenting the outcomes of those calls. We are at a standstill waiting for an announcement that budget conference will begin. Now is a great time to email your legislators and tell them to pass a budget that is worthy of Florida’s students, educators and school communities. Links we shared in the chat last night include:

• SB 1296 phone call page with all the information you need to call senators,

• The suggested scripts because we know many of you like to print them out,

• A great video President Spar shared at the start of the call,

• The full text of SB 1296 so you can read the bill for yourself, and

• An independent analysis of SB 1296 prepared by Senate staff.

FEA | 213 S. Adams St. Tallahassee, FL 32301 | 850.201.2800 | Fax 850.222.1840