Category: Florida News

Florida news.

Budget News

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  Legislative Update House and Senate budget conferees met throughout the weekend after agreement was reached on allocations to the various budget entities. This Legislative Update was delayed to report on those activities as it relates to higher education. Unfortunately, some of the compromises made are potentially harmful to UFF members. Note: The final 2017 Legislative Update will probably be on May 8th should session end on time. Check the progress of the following: Details… Continue reading

Florida Legislature, Update 7

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  Legislative Update – Session Update #7 May 1, 2017 Legislature Poised to End May 5th House and Senate budget conferees met throughout the weekend after agreement was reached on allocations to the various budget entities. This Legislative Update was delayed to report on those activities as it relates to higher education. Unfortunately, some of the compromises made are potentially harmful to UFF members. Note: The final 2017 Legislative Update will probably be on May… Continue reading

Florida Legislature, Update 5

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  Legislative Update – Session Update #5 April 13, 2017 House and Senate Adopt 2017-18 Budget Proposals Both House and Senate passed their versions of the 2017-18 state budget this week. This paves the way for joint meetings of the House and Senate members appointed to the various conference committees to meet in the coming weeks with hopes of an agreement to be reached by May 2nd. This allows for the 72-hour waiting period where… Continue reading

Union Busting

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  Union Busting Bill Today we saw the release of the first anti-union legislation to be filed for the 2017 legislative session (HB 11 Information) . This union busting bill comes as no surprise as we have seen efforts like this in Florida before – and numerous nationwide attempts to weaken unions. This is politically and ideologically motivated. If a senate companion is filed and the bills are passed by both chambers, HB 11 by… Continue reading

Florida Legislature, Update 2

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  Legislative Update Pre-Session #2 February 24, 2017 Who Says Public Employee Unions Do Not Have Power? Representative Scott Plakon (R-Seminole) obviously thinks UFF and other public employee unions are not good for Florida as he has filed HB 11 which establishes a decertification process for those public sector unions having less than 50% membership. This union busting tactic is not new for Plakon as he filed a similar bill in 2011. That bill never… Continue reading

Florida Legislature, Opening Session

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  Legislative Update February 10, 2017 Higher Education was at center stage this week in Senate interim committee meetings. The Legislature officially convenes the 2017 Legislative Session on Tuesday, March 7th. On Monday, February 6, the Senate Education Committee passed SB 374 which has been dubbed the “College Competitiveness Act” by Senate leaders. According to Senate President Joe Negron’s press release, “Senate Bill 374 reinstates a statewide coordinating board for the Florida Community College System,… Continue reading

US Supreme Court

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  Supreme Court petition There’s a possibility that Joe Biden could call a vote on Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court before swearing in new senators on January 3rd, and while the sitting senators will be 34 Democrats, 30 Republicans and 2 Independents. Read the details and sign the petition.   Continue reading

CBA Ratification

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Collective Bargaining Agreement 2015-2018 Overwhelmingly Ratified The UFF-FIU overwhelmingly ratified (131-8) the proposed Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) on February 3 and 4, 2016. The FIU Board of Trustees unanimously ratified the same proposed agreement on February 10, 2016. We now have a new CBA! For a draft of the proposal, 2015-2018_UFF_CBA_FINAL.pdf We extend our gratitude to Alan Gumerson, chair of the UFF-FIU bargaining team, and Meredith Newman, chair of the FIU Administration team, and their… Continue reading