It’s Still the Economy Stupid!  

We have written about economic issues and politics many times. Locally and on a state level the key words seem to be economic development and high paying jobs. I am going to zero in on construction jobs this time, since our members and their families are directly impacted by this sector of the economy. All crafts, union and non-union, are directly affected by the lack of concern for existing federal labor laws and state statutes by the administrations in Tallahassee and Washington .  

As an organizer, I have the opportunity to get deeply involved in many jobs and witness violations and non-compliance, first hand. The list of examples is long so I will just share a few of them with you. There is a Davis Bacon job underway here, which has an out of town electrical contractor on it. Employees are told they cannot engage in organizing activities, because this is Florida , a right to work state, and federal law doesn’t apply here. Oh? The employer also decides who gets paid what rate, regardless of federal law. Employees are told to report to work at 6:45 am and do not get paid until 7:00 . Oh, but this is Florida ! The sad truth is, I think these people really thought it was OK.  

The state of Florida has a statute, Chapter 480 Part II, which has to do with electrical licensing. The following sentence is the key: “Since electrical and alarm contractors are responsible for the work they perform in this state, all individuals working on the site must either be an employee of the contractor and work under the license of the contractor, or be individually licensed themselves to perform electrical or alarm duties.” This is pretty clear. So a temporary staffing agency that advertises for electricians and sends them out to a job site would have to be a licensed electrical contractor, right? Try to get the state of Florida to do something about it. We must be “business friendly”.  

Another really big violation, which has a major impact on the economy in our state, is Workers Compensation Fraud. It drives the cost to legitimate contractors up so high that it is very difficult for them to be competitive. Last year there were 749 cases of WC fraud in the state. It appears that this too is very difficult for our “business friendly” state to do much about it.  

The reason I am pointing out these things is because they do impact all workers and their ability to make a decent living and provide for their families. When wages are driven down and benefits such as health care and retirement are non-existent on construction jobs everyone ultimately suffers.  The kinds of violations mentioned above contribute immensely to the health of the overall economy.  

Jeb Bush claims that Florida ’s economy is healthy and that he is responsible for 600,000 new jobs. If there were 600,000 new jobs so far during his term in office what kinds of jobs are they, or were they? The latest available unemployment figures show that over 400,000 are unemployed as of September 2002. How many more have exhausted their unemployment benefits and how many didn’t even qualify?  

The economy is in the dump and people are hurting. To hear the Bush viewpoint things aren’t that bad and all that is needed is just another tax break for the wealthy and corporate America . Some of it will surely trickle down to the workers!  

Non-compliance of existing labor laws and related laws is a major factor in bringing the economy down as it relates to working families. Having the “fox in charge of the chicken coupe” is an understatement with the two Bush administrations.

                                                Bill Sweeney

                                                            Organizer

MCBRIDE CLOSES GAP  

The latest polling numbers indicate very good news for Gubernatorial candidate, Bill McBride.  With less than two weeks until the general election, Bill McBride has closed the gap to a virtual dead heat.  The race is even at 47-47 with approximately 6% undecided.  The election will be decided by the undecided, soft and crossover votes.  

I am proud to say that of our members living in the state of Florida we are now 90% registered to vote.  Last week we reported these numbers at the AFL/CIO political retreat.  Our local union is as well off or ahead in the State regarding these registration numbers.   Again, this race is going to be extremely close and it is an absolute that “Every Vote Counts” in this race.  

The AFL-CIO has sent approximately 40 people to work on the campaign.  One of their parts of the plan is for each member to get three people to vote.  Have each of these get three people to vote and each of them to get three people and so on.  With a good democratic turn out  working families of Florida will win.  

John Barrington

MEMBERS’ CORNER

Dates to Remember: