The Florida House just passed a bill that overrides local living wage and sick time ordinances, meaning that South Florida employees could take a 40 percent cut in pay ...
According to a recent MIT study, someone in Broward County must earn at least $11.72 an hour, working full-time, in order to support themselves. To support a child as well, an hourly wage of $22.95 is required to meet daily expenses [ed. note: state minimum wage is $7.79 per hour] ...
Miami-Dade enacted a living wage ordinance in 1999, "to allow citizens to support themselves and their families above the poverty line and with dignity." It applies to any county contract over $100,000 and any work at Miami-Dade Aviation Department facilities.
The bill, which passed Thursday 75 to 43, also overrides benefits granted by local governments such as paid sick leave and domestic partner benefits, according to the Sun Sentinel.The Florida Chamber of Commerce, Disney World, and Darden Restaurants [brands include Red Lobster, Olive Garden, and LongHorn Steakhouse, among others] were backers of the bill.
“Workers who do not have access to paid sick days are one-and-a-half times more likely to go to work sick with a contagious illness, putting their co-workers and customers at risk, and costing an estimated $160 billion each year in lost productivity. Children are more likely to go to school sick when their parents can't get off work to care for them, causing illness to spread. Delaying treatment for illness can cause conditions to worsen, leading to more emergency room visits and increased costs for public health insurance programs.
An estimated 40 million workers, or forty percent of the workforce, cannot take sick days without losing wages or possibly their jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (Efforts to Kill Paid Leave Ordinances Tied to ALEC ).Other paid sick leave laws have been passed in San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, New York, and Washington DC.
However, corporate-backed bills passed at the state level have nullified and permanently preempted paid sick leave ordinances at the local level.
Similar bills introduced in Florida, Arizona, Indiana, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Washington have been linked to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). This kind of legislation will drive down wages even further, punish a beleaguered labor force battered by harsh economic conditions, while offering yet another plum to corporate America earning record profits.
ALEC is EVIL. I intend to boycott Darden and Disney - and all other corporate sponsors of ALEC-inspired legislation.
