Metro Jacksonville

I guess in Jacksonville the Police, and Firefighters still LOVE their Chamber of Commerce  ::) , even though fake police, firefighters and teachers were hired for a tv ad against unions  

QuotePosted: 11:02 PM Apr 5, 2011

Firefighters, Teachers, Police Speak Out Against FL Chamber
Firefighters, teachers and police officers are upset with the Florida Chamber of Commerce.
Reporter: Lanetra Bennett
Email Address: lanetra.bennett@wctv.tv
 
Story  11 Comments Font Size:    The Fraternal Order of Police, Florida Education Association, and Florida Professional Firefighters spoke out against the chamber at the Capitol Tuesday morning.

The groups say the Florida Chamber of Commerce is releasing a misleading TV ad that says workers are struggling because of union dues being deducted.

The workers say the truth is the low pay by the state and no raises.

Rep. Wayne Taylor, (D) Daytona Beach said, "Our police officers, we trust them to protect us. Our teachers, we trust them to teach our children. Our firefighters, we trust them to take care of us when we're sick or injured. it pains me so that we can give them what they actually deserve."

The groups oppose Senate Bill 830 and the recently passed House Bill 1021 because they say the legislation would radically change how workers are represented on the job.



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http://www.wctv.tv/news/headlines/119299244.html

Hmmmm, yeah, just like the United Way deductions that Publix coerces its employees to make  ::)

At least the Union will fight for you.

Quotethe FL CoC sees nothing wrong hiring FAKE firefighters, police and teachers for an ad favoring a union-busting measure that will help decimate benefits and protections for... REAL firefighters, police, and teachers.

The bill in the ad is quickly moving its way through our right-wing legislature.  It explicity FORBIDS a state employee from VOLUNTARILY deducting money from thier paycheck to a union.  (So much for "deregulation".) 

Even though here in Florida, no employee has to join a union or pay dues (which the ad disingenuously implies).  Even though less than 6% of our workers belong to any union, public or private.  Even though the public employees of this state WANT the convenience of being able to deduct their dues from their paychecks, as they are allowed to deduct anything else in every other instance.****

This is all about silencing the working class, period.  But the GOP legislators can't even think up a good excuse to push this bill through.  The senate sponsor, Sen. Thrasher, tried to say that the paycheck deduction is about costing the state money, which is a lie.  His house co-sponsor, Chris Dorworth, even admits that cost has nothing to do with it. They tried some argument about fairness, but that doesn't fly either.

****Corporations will still be able to deduct money from employees’ paychecks for corporate political action committees, which can then donate funds to candidates hand-picked by the company executives.

Unions are speaking out against this type of "help".  The Florida State Fraternal Order of Police:

The Florida Chamber of Commerce aired a TV commercial using actors as police and fire officers against the payroll deduction for unions.  The Chamber has been supporting the anti-union bills under consideration.  This being the last straw, the Florida State Lodge cancelled our membership in the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce and demanded a full refund of our dues.

The Florida CoC is going to be very busy.  There are dozens of anti-worker bills that they have been asked to support. Besides eliminating the allowance of paycheck deductions, here is a sample of some others:

Bill to cut workers’ pensions

Bill to cancel tenure for teachers

Bill to shut workers out of politics

Bill to force public-sector unions out of existence, unless a union can show more than 50 percent membership in a workplace, each and every year.

At the very least, I hope that future ads won't insult my intelligence by trying to say that public employees want any of this crap.

Republican Dorworth caught in a LIE. Just like the Chamber of Commerce!

QuoteMARCH 28, 2011 Looking for REAL union members who support 'paycheck protection' bill

During committee debate on HB 1021, which would prohibit governments from collecting union dues through automatic payroll deduction, sponsor Rep. Chris Dorwoth told lawmakers that individual members of unions had told them they backed Dorworth's idea. Skeptical, Democratic Rep. Ron Saunders took to the House floor last week during debate and dared reporters to make a public records request to Dorworth's office to see if any proof of Dorworth's claim existed.

So we bit.

The House Office of Public Information provided the Buzz 12 pages of public records related to "union support" for HB 1021. We found no letter, e-mail or transcription of a phone call that indicated someone supporting Dorworth's bill was a union member.

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/content/looking-union-members-who-support-paycheck-protection-bill

Perhaps they told them verbally?

Maybe they sent over a copy of The Journal Of the James Madison Institute. (Rick Scott's policy wonks?)

I picked up a copy at my local library... donated by some generous benefactor.

I wonder who it was. Don't they know that people in libraries read?

http://www.jamesmadison.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/materials/Journal_WinterSpring2011.pdf