On March 11, 2018, Florida Governor Rick Scott (R) signed HB 7055 into law, changing collective bargaining between school districts and unions. The House version passed on March 5^th with a vote of 74 to 39 after amendment, while the Senate voted 20 to 17 to approve the amended version on March 5^th as well.

The bill requires a union that has fewer than half of the bargaining unit as members to ask the Public Employees Relations Commission for recertification as the exclusive representative of all of the employees in the bargaining unit. The union must petition the Commission within 1 month after it applies for renewal of registration.

The concern for many worker freedom advocates has been that many workers have not been given the opportunity to vote for the representation that they want.

In fact, James Sherk, formerly of the Heritage Foundation, published a report on August 30, 2016, which said that 94% of union members never voted for a union.  

The problem is that with exclusive representation, non-union members are not able to bargain for their own benefits with their employer. They must follow the union’s agreement even if it’s not what they want. Further, it is very difficult for workers to vote the union out.

This new bill addresses some of these concerns. Because this bill gives workers a chance to vote on union representation if most don’t join the union, Americans for Tax Reform and the Center for Worker Freedom support this bill.

As Senator Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, correctly said, “Workers should decide what’s best for workers,” saying the new process would “ensure that teachers do have the representation of their choice.”

Americans for Tax Reform and the Center for Worker Freedom believe all workers should have the choice of whether to join a union or not.