More anti-union bills coming

From Twitter

Florida Republicans and Gov. Ron DeSantis are preparing the most sweeping set of anti-worker bills in the country — rolling back labor protections for kids as young as 14 and even classifying older workers as interns or apprentices.

In 2020, more than 60% of Florida voters backed an amendment raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. But now, in an anti-democratic move, legislators could get around the will of the people.

One senator asked bill sponsor Jonathan Martin in March how the bill would stop companies, like major Florida grocery store Publix, from exploiting the law to pay workers less.

Martin said of the impacted workers: “They could quit.”

Another bill, HB 1225, would further dismantle the state’s child labor laws, eliminating protections for children as young as 14.

Orlando Weekly reported earlier this month that Gov. Ron DeSantis’s office is pushing the bill.

DeSantis said recently he wants teenagers to replace immigrant workers. The top industry for undocumented workers in Florida is construction, according to the Florida Policy Institute.

HB 1289 would gut the state’s unemployment system, dramatically increasing the bureaucratic red tape people need to stay out of poverty when they’ve lost their jobs. Florida’s maximum unemployment benefit is just $275 per week. Last month, Floridians spoke out about being stiffed on unemployment payments.

Finally, HB 6033 would repeal protections for temporary and day laborers, some of the most exploited workers in the country, including bans on fees for things as basic as getting their own paychecks. Workers who are veterans, formerly incarcerated, and immigrants are disproportionately represented among temp employees.

The bill is backed by Pacesetters, which hired one of the state’s top lobbyists to help kill protections. But on Thursday, workers spoke out at a hearing — and ultimately, the committee decided to postpone the bill, worsening its chances of passage by the time the session ends in early May.