AFSCME District Council 48 Penni's Florida Page

Workers
Serving
Milwaukee

Penni's Florida Diary

Staff rep Penni Secore rushed down to Florida in March 2001, on loan to the AFSCME unions there as part of a team dealing with Gov. Jeb Bush's proposals. This is her report.

Orlando, FL - Well here I am, part of an AFSCME International team quickly organized and sent to Florida to help Council 79 down here get the word out and organize to resist Gov. Jeb Bush's attempt to reduce the state workforce, privatize essential services and stifle worker power. I was asked on a Thursday to leave the next Friday. Seven other AFSCME veterans are on the team, from places like Arizona, Colorado, Ohio and Michigan.
Why are we here? The biggest issue is the legislation Gov. Bush is trying to pass concerning state workers under his so-called "Service First" proposal. Here is just some of what his proposals would do:

Eliminate 25% of state jobs, 5% this fiscal year.
Privatize critical services, starting with child welfare and with other programs that support the lowest income families.
Eliminate a range of civil service protections. This one is quite a list. The legislation proposed would wipe out all grievance and appeals except in the case of firings, erase layoff rights for all employees, including seniority rights, and replace the civil service systems with "at will" employment where department heads determine who keeps their jobs.

     As if these problems were not enough, union membership in Florida is not high. Only about 10% of state workers are unionized, about 6,500 members.
     Our rallies and meetings are for all state employees - unionized or not -- because the impact of these proposals on them could be severe. We started in late March, holding lunch hour meetings at various affected work sites, setting up committees and arranging more work site visits where we'll be handing out petitions.
     We spoke and handed out petitions at Democratic Party meetings and interfaith gatherings, seeking to explain in a little more detail what Jeb Bush's proposals really mean - not only to the state employees but to the citizens of Florida.
     Then we started house calling on union members to get even more people mobilized. On April 9 we held a Lobby Day rally at the Capitol in Tallahassee, which involved quite a bit of organization and mobilization. The campaign has had some success but Florida has nowhere near the union strength we are used to in Wisconsin, so it is going to be a long uphill battle.
     The work is door to door, on the phones, creating and spreading information. The best help has to be right here on the ground in Florida. But aside from sending good vibrations to support our efforts, you can help if you have any friends or relatives in Florida. Call them, tell them what’s going on and get them on our side to protect workers’ rights and the quality and range of their state services. As you can tell, the issues are very important and we have a lot of work to do.

Penni Secore
Staff Representative, AFSCME DC 48

You can keep up with the overall campaign through AFSCME International's Internet home, which has established a Florida Campaign center.