Press Releases
Teamsters Condemn Florida Bill to Kill Public Sector Unions
State Senator Ingoglia, Legislature Attack Working Families
Press Contact: Matt McQuaid Phone: (202) 624-6877 Email: mmcquaid@teamster.org
(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) – The Teamsters are condemning State Senator Blaise Ingoglia and other members of the Florida Legislature for their sponsorship of Senate Bill 256 (SB 256), legislation crafted to destroy public sector unions.
If passed, the bill would outlaw mutually negotiated agreements between employers and workers and mandate recertification elections forced upon workers by the government. Workers would be compelled to read anti-labor propaganda before joining a union under the legislation, which would also impact how union members pay dues.
“This isn’t just an attack on public sector union members, it’s an attack on all workers,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. “Union members make more money than nonunion workers doing the exact same job. When unions are weaker, working people have less money in their pockets, and the whole country suffers.”
“SB 256 is an attack on workers’ freedom of choice, freedom of association, and freedom of speech,” said Thor Johnson, Teamsters Southern Region International Vice President. “For a group of people that claim to hate cancel culture, Florida legislators sure seem pretty hell-bent on canceling the only institutions that exists solely to advocate for the working class.”
“If the elected officials pushing this garbage actually represented working people, instead of greedy corporations, it would never occur to them in the first place to go on the attack against ordinary families,” said Jim Shurling, President of Teamsters Joint Council 75. “These politicians don’t want first responders, health care workers, or other public servants to have a voice on the job. They want that power reserved for the billionaire class.”
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.2 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org to learn more. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and “like” us on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.