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04/23/04
E Messenger
The
Electronic Newsletter of the
Florida
AFL-CIO
New
Members according to the AFL-CIO Work in Progress
This week's WIP: 700
Year to date: 49,737
VICTORY
FOR UNITE AT POINT BLANK!
UNITE
ANNOUNCES RESOLUTION OF ALL DISPUTES WITH DHB INDUSTRIES
- All Litigation Between
Both Parties Will be Withdrawn Immediately -
NEW YORK, N.Y., April 20 -- UNITE announced today that it has reached a
settlement agreement with DHB Industries following a lengthy labor dispute
concerning the organization of the employees of DHB's
Point Blank subsidiary at its Oakland Park, Florida facility. All
litigation between the parties will be withdrawn immediately.
The
Company has recognized the Union based on a showing of union authorization
cards, confirmed by a neutral third party, that a majority of employees at
the Oakland Park facility have indicated their desire for union
representation. As a result, a three-year collective bargaining
agreement has been successfully negotiated and was ratified by the Point
Blank Oakland Park employees on
Monday, April 19, 2004
.
Both parties are pleased with the settlement and look forward to a long
and productive collective bargaining relationship.
UNITE is the nation's largest apparel and textiles workers union,
representing more than 200,000 workers in the apparel, textile, laundry
and other industries throughout the
United States
and
Canada
.
STATE
NEWS
THE
BUDGET THE BUDGET THE BUDGET THE BUDGET THE BUDGE
House
Speaker says there is no money for Marlins this year
(04/20/2004 © Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
TALLAHASSEE -- A
$60 million state subsidy the World Series champion Florida Marlins sought
to help offset the planned costs of building a new stadium won't be
awarded by lawmakers this year. House Speaker Johnnie Byrd has decided not
to support the plan and his chamber won't be putting any money into next
year's budget to help the Marlins, his office said Tuesday.
Editorial:
Fix Flawed Budget System
(
04/21/2004
© Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
The Florida Senate
backed down from its threat to cut social service spending for the sake of
fiscal responsibility. That's a good thing in the short run. Programs
would have been eliminated that are vital to the health and well-being of
many Floridians.
LEGISLATURE:
A soft cap
(
04/21/2004
© Jacksonville
- Florida Times Union)
The Florida House
showed long-term vision when it voted to impose a new spending cap. Under
the proposed con- stitutional amendment,
spending couldn't increase faster than household income. If revenues went
up at a quicker rate, the excess amounts would have to be put in a state
savings account or returned to taxpayers.
Legislative
agenda: Fight funding shifts
(04/21/2004 © Miami
Herald)
Some Florida
lawmakers are considering voting against the state budget as a way of
demanding fair distribution of state funds. It's a bold strategy but one
that is called for by circumstances. Large counties, and
South Florida
counties in particular,
stand to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in a shift of funding that
affects schools, the courts, juvenile detention, Medicaid and other areas.
Bush
seeks unity on spending
(04/21/2004 © Tallahassee
Democrat)
Gov. Jeb Bush on
Tuesday tried to broker an agreement between the House and Senate on two
very different spending proposals that could be before voters in November,
but the sponsor of the Senate measure left the closed-door meeting saying
he's not interested in a melded plan.
Budget
Battle
(
04/21/2004
© Tampa
Tribune)
As the legislative
session begins winding down, the annual political standoff has begun. This
year, the turf battle includes skirmishes over more than specific
allocations. House and Senate leaders are battling over how future
Legislatures will determine spending. Both the House and the Senate have
approved proposals that would put restrictions on how lawmakers can spend
state money.
Budget
probably will be resolved by Byrd, King
(04/22/2004 © Palm
Beach Post)
TALLAHASSEE --
Budget negotiators remained stuck Wednesday on a variety of key
differences that likely will be decided behind closed doors this weekend
by House Speaker Johnnie Byrd and Senate President Jim King.
Education
funding
Schools
may face budget crunch
(04/21/2004 © Ocala
Star Banner)
TALLAHASSEE -
Public school funding will receive a modest boost in the $57 billion state
budget lawmakers are trying to agree upon, in part because of the
allocation toward class-size reduction.
Keep
School Aid Formula
(04/22/2004 © Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
House and Senate
conferees couldn't decide how state education funds should be divided
among Florida school districts, so they tossed the political hot potato to
the leaders of their respective chambers. Unless Senate President Jim King
and House Speaker Johnnie Byrd are willing to put good state policy above
their own parochial interests, that could be very bad news for
South Florida
.
Lawmakers
focus on cost-of-living factor in budget talks
(04/22/2004 © Ft.
Pierce Tribune)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.-
Lawmakers in the state House on Thursday criticized a Senate plan to
change the way Florida's multibillion-dollar public school budget is
adjusted to send millions more each year to the six districts that have a
higher cost of living.
Budget
talk stalls on schools
(
04/23/2004
© Tallahassee
Democrat)
The Senate wants
to play Robin Hood with the complex formula that determines how school
districts are funded each year. A plan pushed by Senate President Jim King
would lop millions off the cost-of-living adjustment that six
South Florida
big-city school
districts get and redistribute the wealth mostly to the smaller counties
to the north.
Pre-K
Lawmakers
seem ready to negotiate pre-K deal
(
04/21/2004
© Orlando
Sentinel)
TALLAHASSEE
-- State lawmakers, so
far unable to iron out a deal to create a universal pre-kindergarten plan,
appear headed for formal negotiations on the issue. "We're still not
worked out," said Rep. Gus Barreiro,
R-Miami
Beach
, who is sponsoring the
House pre-K plan.
Senate
OKs prekindergarten plan
(04/22/2004 © Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
TALLAHASSEE The
Florida Senate gave preliminary approval Wednesday to the universal prekindergarten
program voters ordered in 2002, but its version would provide only half
the classroom time proponents envisioned.
Modified
pre-K plan emerges
(04/22/2004 © Orlando
Sentinel)
A universal
pre-kindergarten program won preliminary approval from the Florida Senate
on Wednesday, but it provides only half the classroom time first
envisioned by proponents.
Push
for pre-K standards propels Senate debate
(04/22/2004 © Palm
Beach Post)
TALLAHASSEE --
Senate Republicans fought back attempts Wednesday to toughen academic
standards on their proposal to implement the universal pre-kindergarten
constitutional amendment, setting up a floor vote on the bill for as
early as today.
Pre-kindergarten
bills undermine voters and 4-year-olds
(
04/23/2004
© Tallahassee
Democrat)
Gov. Jeb Bush and
the Legislature are providing another lesson in how not to implement
constitutional amendments initiated by
Florida
voters. In November
2002, Floridians voted to implement a "high-quality" statewide prekindergarten
program by 2005.
Essential
early boost
(04/21/2004 © Florida
Today)
The Legislature
has just nine days to meet voters' demand for a quality pre-kindergarten
program for 4-year-olds, but bills so far are a blueprint for a shack, not
a sturdy structure to house the future of Florida's children.
Education policy
Taillights
will tell if beauty s first
(
04/22/2004
© Daytona
Beach News-Journal)
Beauty has its
price. State lawmakers want educators to pay it. Legislators would
penalize teachers who live in expensive but choice counties, sending those
school districts less money. They reason teachers and staff will accept
lower salaries to live in a beautiful place, even if it costs more to live
there.
Editorial:
The FCAT prism
(
04/21/2004
© Bradenton
Herald)
Is the glass half
full or half empty? One can look at the latest Florida Comprehensive
Achievement Test results for
Manatee
County
schools either way.
School
Bill Deserves OK
(
04/22/2004
© Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
State lawmakers
have an opportunity to establish a model program to better serve foster
children. All they have to do is vote a bill out of the Florida House of
Representatives; they're that close. Unfortunately, the bill, CS/HB 279,
seems to be "tied up" in committee, not a good place to be as
the Florida Legislature begins to wind down its 60-day session.
FCAT
scores level; bar to be raised again
(04/22/2004 © North
Port Sun Herald)
An unusual
dichotomy existed between state and county school officials Monday when
the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test scores for third and 12th grades
were announced.
Misuse
and abuse of the FCAT
(04/22/2004 © Palm
Beach Post)
Gov. Bush and his
corporate voucher gang make a big show of squinting and shrugging at the
FCAT double standard they have set. It's right
in front of their noses: Public school students have to take the FCAT.
For
fair tuitions
(
04/23/2004
© Miami
Herald)
The Florida House
appropriations committee today considers a bill that would allow the
children of undocumented immigrants to pay the same in-state tuition fees
as their high-school classmates. The committee should give the bill its
blessing so that the measure may have a chance to win full legislative
approval before adjournment next week.
The
Dirty Byrd strikes again!
Byrd
flies home on jet HMO chartered
(04/21/2004 © St.
Petersburg Times)
TALLAHASSEE -
House Speaker Johnnie Byrd flew home from a weekend of campaign
fundraising on a private jet chartered by a Tampa HMO that is pushing
legislation potentially worth millions of dollars to the company.
Byrd
tied to bid to revive dog track permit
(04/21/2004 © St.
Petersburg Times)
TALLAHASSEE - A
last-minute amendment tucked into a racing bill would revive a long-dead
greyhound racing permit in Monroe County and benefit a key financial
backer in House Speaker Johnnie Byrd's race for the U.S. Senate.
Byrd
went AWOL
(04/22/2004 © Orlando
Sentinel)
With no budget
agreement in place, a host of major issues flapping in the breeze and less
than two weeks left in this year's legislative session, lawmakers should
be working feverishly to fulfill their electoral obligations. Not House
Speaker Johnnie Byrd. The most powerful arbiter in the state House
recently decided to skip town for a few days.
House
Speaker changes sponsor of voucher bill
(04/23/2004 © Palm
Beach Post)
TALLAHASSEE -- The
House sponsor of a bill to increase school voucher accountability has seen
his control of the legislation yanked following his criticism of a
controversial measure pushed by House Speaker and U.S. Senate contender
Johnnie Byrd.
Byrd
s flight of fancy
(04/23/2004 © St.
Petersburg Times)
Not content to
have canceled a House session so he could travel to New York to line his
pockets with campaign contributions, Speaker Johnnie Byrd must have
decided he could call more attention to his political decadence through
his flight home.
Cut the
gas tax? Not a real good
idea.
Siphoning
public funds
(04/21/2004 © Sarasota
Herald-Tribune)
Siphoning public
funds Gas-tax rebate scheme takes money the state can't spare Some Florida
politicians, especially House Speaker Johnnie Byrd, are determined to give
Florida drivers money that the state can't spare to offset the effect of
gas prices that aren't really that high.
Senate
chief wary of gas cut
(04/22/2004 © Orlando
Sentinel)
TALLAHASSEE -- A
plan to provide Florida drivers with a one-month, 10-cent break from the
state's gas tax will likely be taken up by the Senate, but that chamber's
president said he is still skeptical. The Senate has set aside $70 million
to pay for the break in August, indicating its willingness to at least
consider it.
Roads
too crowded? Cut the gas tax!
(
04/23/2004
© Pensacola
News Journal)
Let's see ... the
governor and legislative leaders say there isn't enough money to build all
the classrooms needed to reduce class size as mandated by
Florida
voters.
Gas
price cut will be taken up by Senate
(04/21/2004 © Gainesville
Sun)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.
plan to provide Florida drivers with a one-month, 10-cent break from the
state's gas tax will be taken up by the Senate, one of that chamber's top
lawmakers said Wednesday. If the Senate goes along with the plan that
already has widespread House support, the break would take effect in
August.
Gas-tax
bill gets teeth
(04/21/2004 © Palm
Beach Post)
TALLAHASSEE -- Gas
station owners should face hard time behind bars if they fail to pass
along to customers a proposed 10-cent tax break on fuel, a House panel
decided Tuesday.
Making
choices
(
04/23/2004
© Tallahassee
Democrat)
Maybe it's to be
expected in an election year, or maybe it's just more of the same from our
chronically shortsighted Legislature. Whatever the motivation, the result
is identical. Lawmakers' undying love affair with tax holidays may keep a
few bucks in consumers' pockets, but the cost to social programs and other
state needs is higher in the long run.
Gas-tax
holiday worth a dime, some say
(
04/21/2004
© Daytona
Beach News-Journal)
As she watched the
numbers on the gas pump dizzily click higher, Thelma Holt pondered the
effects of a proposed cut to
Florida
's gas tax. Lawmakers in
Tallahassee
had just discussed a
plan to reduce the tax by 10 cents a gallon in August as a way to provide
temporary relief to soaring gas prices.
Those
crazy kids at the Capitol!
Comment
on greased bill gets House member a reprimand
(
04/23/2004
© St.
Petersburg Times)
TALLAHASSEE
- A legislator who
accused her colleagues of being influenced by campaign contributions has
been reprimanded in a letter from the House leadership. In the letter to
Rep. Susan Bucher, D-Royal Palm Beach, Sandra Murman,
R-Tampa, and Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, who co-chair the Rules Committee,
pointed out that House rules require "civil discourse in connection
with debate
Editorial:
Sausages smell better
(
04/21/2004
© St.
Petersburg Times)
An adage commonly
attributed to
Bismarck
holds that to have
respect for laws and sausages, one should not see them being made. If the
comparison is to the Florida Legislature, then it is unfair to the sausage
industry.
Late-breaking
lunacy
(
04/22/2004
© Tallahassee
Democrat)
Things can't go on
like this much longer, the late humorist Will Rogers once observed -and
added dryly: "They didn't. They got worse." So it is in the
Florida Legislature as the days trickle down to a dizzying few and bills
move like quicksilver.
Group
of legislators claims middle ground
(04/23/2004 © Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
TALLAHASSEE Just
in case anyone didn't get the message that this was a group of
faith-loving, flag-waving Democrats, an aide made sure the video crew got
the correct image. Before 10 of the self-proclaimed moderate to
conservative legislators announced formation of the Florida Mainstream
Democratic Forum on Thursday, the aide brought in a flag, pole and even an
eagle for the top of the pole.
18
seek to shed liberal tag
(04/23/2004 © Miami
Herald)
TALLAHASSEE -
Saying they want to shed their liberal tag and embrace their populist
roots, a group of 18 Democrats has splintered from state legislative
colleagues to form a new, more conservative fundraising organization. The
group, Florida Mainstream Democrats, is dominated by
South Florida
lawmakers, including six
from
Broward
County
.
GOP
Moderates Struggle to Be Heard
(
04/21/2004
© Miami
Herald)
WASHINGTON - Rep. Amo
Houghton is a throwback: an unassuming, old-money multimillionaire known
around Congress for being a very nice guy. Just as unusual, he's a
Republican moderate.
Rudy
Bradley Memo
(
04/22/2004
© Capitol
News Service)
In December Rudy
Bradley voted to give Verizon the largest rate
increase in state history. In 2002 Bradley voted with Verizon
over other competitors, at the time he read a Verizon
drafted statement verbatum.
Florida
election 2004
Despite
apparent dismissals, Crist campaign seems
likely
(04/21/2004 © Jacksonville
- Florida Times Union)
TALLAHASSEE --
Anyone hunting for a clue to Charlie Crist's
future need look no farther than the coffee table in his office. The book
that sits there, Forerunners Courageous: Stories of Frontier
Florida
, was written by former
Gov. LeRoy Collins,
Wife
of wealthy businessman to join GOP Senate candidates
(04/21/2004 © St.
Petersburg Times)
MIAMI - Karen Saull,
the wife of a prominent Vero Beach businessman, plans to run for U.S.
Senate, injecting the couple's fortune into a crowded Republican primary
field. Saull, in her first attempt to win
elected office, will spend "whatever it takes" for the seat of
retiring Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, her husband, Jeffrey Saull,
said Tuesday.
Democrats
shuffle in race to replace House s Kosmas
(04/23/2004 © Daytona
Beach News-Journal)
Judy Andersen will
remain on the Volusia County School Board rather than enter what is
expected to be a hard-fought legislative race -- clearing the way for
former County Councilman Jim Ward to re-enter the contest. Andersen -- who
would have had to resign her School Board position to run for state office
Pandering
to dead voters
(
04/23/2004
© Ocala Star
Banner)
Long live Manuel
Yip! The legacy of
Miami
's most famous dead voter
is being revived - and just in time for the presidential election.
Determined to keep
Florida
in the national
spotlight, legislators are poised to pass a law that will make it
infinitely easier to corrupt the voting process again
Health
insurance
Money
runs short for state s uninsured
(
04/21/2004
© Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
TALLAHASSEE
Florida
's 2.8 million residents
without health insurance will wait. State officials say there's no more
money to help them this year.
Lawmakers
propose bare-bones health plan
(04/22/2004 © Daytona
Beach News-Journal)
TALLAHASSEE --
With businesses and families struggling to pay skyrocketing
health-insurance costs, Florida lawmakers are poised to pass a plan that
would try to solve the problem by offering cheaper alternatives.
“Love that dirty
water…”
Court:
Follow law; DEP: No, change it
(04/21/2004 © Pensacola
News Journal)
Even a court's
order directing the state of Florida to clean up wastewater discharged
from dairy farms isn't enough to wake up the Legislature or the Department
of Environmental Protection.
Editorial:
Make dairies follow law
(04/21/2004 © Palm
Beach Post)
Legislators are
scrambling to undo a court ruling that would make the Florida Department
of Environmental Protection -- horrors -- actually do its job and enforce
water pollution standards for the state's 200 dairy farms.
Clean
water plans working
(
04/23/2004
© Gainesville
Sun)
lorida
is home to more than 50,000 miles of rivers and streams. With 600
freshwater springs and 1,350 miles of coastline buffering blue oceans,
Florida
's economy depends on
clean water. Over the last five years, Gov. Jeb Bush invested more than
$1.8 billion to clean up stormwater pollution,
up...
Other
legislative news
Brent
Batten: State rep stands up for taxpayers
(
04/22/2004
© Naples
Daily News)
To read this
column in English, press one. For Spanish, press two (1). State Rep. Mike
Davis of
Naples
and State Sen. Mike
Bennett of
Bradenton
are pushing legislation
that would limit the use of voice mail by government agencies. For more
information, press three, or you may quit reading at any time (3).
House
GOP foils move to beef up donations rules
(04/23/2004 © St.
Petersburg Times)
TALLAHASSEE -
House Republicans on Thursday blocked Democratic moves to make
legislators' fundraising committees more accountable and restrict how the
money can be spent.
Lawmakers
schedule Saturday sessions
(04/22/2004 © Miami
Herald)
TALLAHASSEE,
Fla. - Both the House and Senate will hold sessions on Saturday, part of a
push to ensure that their work for the legislative year - scheduled to end
April 30 - gets done on time. Senate President Jim King, R-Jacksonville,
said he expected his chamber to be in session for about three hours.
Veto
Pawned Gun Measure
(
04/23/2004
© Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)
Gov. Jeb Bush has
a bad bill headed his way that would hamstring police and prosecutors in
Florida
's urban communities. For
a chief executive who's tough on crime, a veto should be a no-brainer.
If you have
suggestions on how we may improve this online publication or have
information you would like to see posted please contact our communications
director at (850) 224 – 6926 or at rtemplin@flaflcio.org.
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Rich
Templin
Communications Director
Florida
AFL-CIO
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