Author: myfusa

Action item #1
We have less than 24 hours to take action. HB 835 will be heard in the House State Administration and Technology Appropriations Subcommittee on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. EDT. We must join together and stand up to those who would try to divide us. Tell members of the State Administration and Technology Appropriations Subcommittee to reject big government overreach and to vote no on HB 835.

Action item #2
Whether you are in your first year of teaching, in DROP, or somewhere in between, your long-term future depends on a healthy Florida Retirement System. Senate Bill 84 would close the pension system to new education hires as of July 1, 2022, effectively destabilizing and threatening the health of the system. This isn’t a new concept. Lawmakers have been chipping away at your retirement for years. This bill could be heard as soon as Wednesday, so make sure you send your message as soon as possible. Don’t let lawmakers take away your hard-earned retirement. Tell them to VOTE NO on SB 84!

Please make your voices heard and pass this on to your colleagues and friends.

The March FUSA Council meeting will take place virtually on Friday Feb 26th at 9am. Details and Zoom link to follow via email.

Help fight for your rights as educators by contacting your state senator and representative regarding the latest bills being pushed through the Florida Legislature. These harmful bills contain numerous provisions that take away educators’ freedom.

Urgent action is needed on the companion bills SB 1014 / HB 835 and the UFF Legislative Toolkit makes it easy to learn more and take action (included are bill overviews, talking points, letter templates and more).

UFF Legislative Toolkit:
https://feaweb.org/issues-action/2021-legislative-session/uff-legislative-toolkit/

Learn more about SB 1014 / HB 835:
https://feaweb.org/news/bills/senate-bill-1014

Please take action and pass this info on to others!

This year is a very busy year for anti-union bills in the FL Legislature. Next year is an election year so they are cramming a lot in this year. Some of them are “zombie” bills that show up each legislative session. Some are outright blatant in their attempt to undermine union power, collective bargaining, and the pension system in the state. We need all members to get involved. 

Note: our parent union, United Faculty of Florida (UFF), is an issue-based, not party-affiliated union. They will work with both sides of the aisle to protect education interests and union interests in FL. Likewise, our legislators need to hear from union members regardless of their party affiliation (or no affiliation).

UFF has provided a 5 page PDF on the various anti-union legislation going through committees and coming to the floor. It is looking very bad for a number of them. Please review the PDF for details:

• Anti-union legislation this session

Here is a step-by-step PDF on how you can get involved by tracking bills and contacting your legislators:

• Finding elected officials and tracking bills.pdf 

More helpful information from UFF

• Find your legislator here: https://feaweb.org/issues-action/find-your-legislator/ (Links to an external site.) — As the above bills are scheduled, we will ask you to ask members to call legislators on the committees.
• FEA Legislative session updates: https://feaweb.org/issues-action/2021-legislative-session/ (Links to an external site.) — An excellent resource from our state affiliate, Florida Education Association
• UFF Legislative Fellows application: https://forms.gle/7nBkNRpkGfcKeMVf7 (Links to an external site.) —  Open to any member, term to last throughout session, organizing will be around legislative session, building membership to meet the 50% threshold in HB 835. Applications due March 21.
• 2021 Virtual Working Families Lobby Corps signup: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Kxgff24iPlDn1VTJinze4gm_KEf-p1aINT9UgQvDEaw/ (Links to an external site.) — Through the AFL-CIO, members can sign up to help AFL-CIO, one of our affiliated unions, with its advocacy against union-busting and education-hobbling bills—this session’s work will be ENTIRELY VIRTUAL.
• Info on Virtual Working Families Lobby Corps: http://flaflcio.org/virtual-working-families-lobby-corps/ (Links to an external site.) — contains helpful information on the above program.

From UFF — Call Gov. DeSantis at 850-717-9337 and tell him to give college and university workers access to COVID-19 vaccines. For more information read the UFF Press release.

The February FUSA Council meeting will take place virtually on Friday Feb 24th at 9am. Details and Zoom link to follow via email.

Senate Bill 78 is part of a national push by billionaire-funded think tanks to make the unionization process needlessly complicated and to suppress union membership. If passed, the legislation would put administration in charge of the membership process for the first time in Florida’s history and prevent union members from automatically renewing their membership, endangering your union protection.

Leadership in the Florida Senate is pushing this union-busting legislation in the middle of a pandemic. This legislation not only sets a dangerous precedent, but it is also an insult to the working people keeping Florida functioning (like educators and first responders, who oppose this move).

Call your senator and tell them to vote no on SB 78. (Simple “I oppose Senate bill 78” messages are the most effective.)
Click here to look up your state senator.

Sign -up for this virtual event, hosted by NEA, Jan 28 @ 6pm:

https://www.mobilize.us/nea/event/373215/?utm_source=NEAHE