(The following appeared on the Palm Beach Post website on March 22, 2011.)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The statewide teachers’ union gave more than $3.4 million in campaign contributions last year, mostly to Democrats. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees doled out nearly $1.4 million, much of it directly to the state Democratic Party. The AFL-CIO and other labor groups gave hundreds of thousands of dollars more.
Public-employee unions are one of the last bastions of Democratic money – and power – in a state tightly controlled by Republicans. And this session, GOP lawmakers are seeking to deal those unions a major blow with bills designed to limit their ability to collect and use dues for political purposes.
One bill bans government from automatically deducting dues from paychecks and requires members to specifically authorize the use of their dues for political purposes. Another would require unions to tell their members every year what they must do to decertify.
The full story is on the Palm Beach Post website.