Proposed legislation in Florida eyes public employee union dues

Largely mirroring a Senate proposal, a House bill filed Wednesday would make changes for public-employee unions, including preventing workers from having union dues deducted from their paychecks.

Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, filed the measure (HB 1197) for consideration during the legislative session that will start Tuesday. Sen. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, filed the Senate version (SB 1458) on Tuesday.

Both would bar payroll deductions for dues and require union members to pay dues directly to their unions. Similar legislation has been filed in recent years. 

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The dues change would not apply to unions representing law-enforcement officers, correctional officers, correctional probation officers and firefighters. Both bills also would require unions to report membership information.

Unions whose membership is less than 50 percent of the eligible employees would have to petition the state Public Employees Relations Commission for recertification as the representative of workers in the bargaining units.

And those requirements too would not apply to unions representing law-enforcement officers, correctional officers, correctional probation officers and firefighters.

Previewing legislative session:Powered by money and politics, Florida's election-year legislative session set to start

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