Despite all the hyperbole from the liberal media, a bill related to public employee labor unions sponsored by Rep. Dean Black, R-Jacksonville, cleared the Florida Legislature April 26.
With a House vote of 72 yeas and 44 nays, the bill went to the governor for his likely signature.
“A vote for this bill is a vote for our workers,” Black said on the House floor.
After the bill’s passage he said, “This bill will be better for our public sector workers and our labor unions, with more accountability, more stability and more freedom.”
Black said the bill is designed to increase union participation and benefits all Florida residents. Liberals and their media echo chamber called it “union busting.”
It increases the threshold for certifying a union from 50 percent to 60 percent It also requires re-certification if the dues-paying membership drops below 60 percent.
Black said that would ensure more people in the workplace favor union representation, A provision to require that members be provided with audited financial statements annually increases accountability as well.
It also does away with automatic union dues deductions from paychecks, an unnecessary expense to the taxpayers, and requires unions to make public the salaries of their top officers.
Police and firefighters are exempted from the law.
Many leading organizations supported the bill, including the American Legislative Exchange Council, the Freedom Foundation and the James Madison Institute.
