(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Assault on our Rights: Why Profits Come Before People in Florida [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-09-02 Americans have an awful lot of disagreements on an awful lot of topics, but surely there is one basic principle on which we can be united? That’s the right for people to have safe, fairly-paid, jobs with dignity. Aside from real-life versions of Mr Burns from The Simpsons, there can’t be anyone out there thinking this is a bad thing? Right? Wrong. The Florida State House with its Republican super-majority is consistently making sure that profits come before people for millions of workers in the state. Indeed, their recent actions have been so egregious that Floridians, working for Florida, are most impacted. We are talking about people who keep our drinking water clean, make sure our parks are maintained and even teach our children. This happened when Senate Bill 256 was passed in 2023, a piece of legislation whose sole aim was to disenfranchise public sector workers and remove their ability to fight for a safe working environment and a living wage. SB256 required at least 60% of union members to be paying a due for its legal right to exist, when previously there was no threshold for most public sector unions. What’s more, paying those dues was made even harder with a ban on those dues being taken directly from salary payments, if that’s what those members wanted. The bar was raised … and then raised some more, to add insult to injury. According to a recent WLRN study, this law has shuttered 54 public sector unions, seeing 63,000 public employees across Florida being disenfranchised. In that same article, Rich Templin, the director of politics and public policy for the AFL-CIO Florida, warned that the loss of the ability to have collective-bargaining will drive away workers from the public sector. “When they’re gone, it’s not going to take long for average Floridians to feel it,” warned Templin. Sadly there are hundreds of thousands of workers in Florida who don’t even have the chance to form a union, and whose lives have been put in danger by one particularly cruel piece of legislation from the Florida House. House Bill 433 prevents cities and counties from requiring employers giving their employees water breaks and other protections from extreme heat conditions. Extreme heat conditions in Florida means months of 110 degree temperatures almost every day for those who are cutting our lawns, trimming our hedges or repairing our roofs. The motivation is simple: every minute spent not working and seeking shade is profit lost for those companies that lobbied the Republican party in Florida for this law, and got exactly what they wanted. In this Labor Day week, a line in the stand must be drawn in this constant assault on workers. I am running for Florida House District 111 to restore the rights for all Floridians to have dignity, security and safety in their jobs. To this end, I am proud to receive the endorsement of the South Florida AFL-CIO to make sure that this fight continues and is won. By Laura Kelley, Democratic Nominee for Florida House District 111 I would be grateful for your support [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/9/2/2267378/-The-Assault-on-our-Rights-Why-Profits-Come-Before-People-in-Florida?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/