Florida unions face strict restrictions — unless they tend to ally with Republicans

TALLAHASSEE – Unions which ally with Democrats, including those representing teachers and health care workers, face strict new requirements under a measure approved by the state House and sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is certain to sign it into law.

The bill was called for earlier this year by DeSantis, who is poised to announce his bid for the Republican presidential nomination. It creates what opponents say are a range of obstacles intended to undermine some public employee labor organizations.

“This bill is hypocritical, disrespectful and unnecessary,” said Rep. Felicia Robinson, D-Miami Gardens.

It cleared the Republican-controlled House on a 72-44 vote Wednesday. The only GOP member who spoke on the measure was its sponsor, Rep. Dean Black, R-Jacksonville.

“A vote for this bill is a vote for our workers,” Black said, saying it will bring more accountability and transparency to labor organizations.

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But the bill’s political shading is hard to miss. Public sector unions which usually endorse, contribute and work in the campaigns of Florida Republicans – correctional officers, law enforcement, firefighters and other first responders − are exempt from the new requirements.

The Florida measure was dubbed by DeSantis “paycheck protection.” It’s among a host of strategies which could diminish union strength that have been introduced across many Republican-led states and in Congress.

The American Legislative Exchange Council, a source for many GOP-backed bills across the nation, has laid out a template for such legislation. It’s backed by the Koch family-founded Americans for Prosperity and conservative organizations including the Freedom Foundation and the James Madison Institute.

The legislation (CS/SB 256) prohibits the use of paycheck deductions for most public-sector union dues and increases to 60% required employee membership, potentially decertifying a union that can’t meet that threshold.

A union’s current annual financial report also would have to be audited by an independent certified public accountant, a provision which even some Republican lawmakers acknowledged could prove a threatening cost for some low-budget organizations.

Audit demand could drain small unions

Rep. Hillary Cassel, D-Dania Beach, said there are more than 300 unions across Florida, including many small county teachers’ organizations, with budgets less than $5,000. The audit requirement could prove impossible for many to meet, she said.

“These unions don’t have the funds,” Cassel said.

The bill cleared the Senate last month 23-17, with Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, a former state Republican Party chair, opposing it largely because of the accounting provision, which he said was intended to “kill off the unions of Florida.”

The new standards apply to unions for librarians, garbage haulers, utility line workers, cafeteria workers, university professors and many others. But the real target of the overhaul appears to be those who fought bitterly against DeSantis last fall, and regularly help finance and support Democratic candidates in state and federal elections.

The state’s biggest teachers’ union, the Florida Education Association, and the labor organization, Service Employees International Union, which represents health care employees and others, are among the likely targets of the measure.

The measure also builds on and expands current law which requires state teachers unions to maintain 50% employee membership to retain their certification. That law was put in place five years ago, also by the GOP-led Legislature in advance of the 2018 elections, when DeSantis was first elected governor.

Democrats at low point; Republicans pile on

Since then, Florida Democrats have reached their lowest point in modern history, with none holding statewide office.

DeSantis won re-election last fall by the largest margin in a Florida governor’s race in 40 years, and the GOP has opened a wide advantage in voter registration and gained supermajorities in the state House and Senate.

The Democrat beaten by DeSantis, Charlie Crist, had chosen Karla Hermandez-Mats, president of United Teachers of Dade, as his running mate, further tying education labor organizations to Democrats.

DeSantis and ruling Republicans in the Legislature, though, appear intent on pushing even harder to cement their one-party command. And the blow against unions by supermajorities in the House and Senate may help that.

More DeSantis retaliation?

FEA President Andrew Spar said the legislation was retaliation from DeSantis.

“If Gov. DeSantis thinks he will silence us, he’s dead wrong,” Spar said. “We will do everything in our power to guarantee that Florida’s teachers, staff, professors and all public employees have a voice in their workplaces.”

Groups that helped guide the legislation hailed its passage.

Lindsay Killen, a vice president with the James Madison Institute, called it a “bold commitment to strengthening employe freedoms and taxpayer protections in the Sunshine State.”

Skylar Zander, Florida director of Americans for Prosperity, said “Florida lawmakers have made a clear statement to prioritize the state’s workforce over the self-interest of unions.”

John Kennedy is a reporter in the USA TODAY Network’s Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jkennedy2@gannett.com, or on Twitter at @JKennedyReport

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Unions tied to Democrats targeted in Florida bill headed to DeSantis