Florida Professional Fire Fighters and the International Association of Fire Fighters launched a new media campaign today to help fight back against Gov. Rick Scott’s proposal to mandate public employees to contribute 5 percent towards their retirement benefits and a bill to eliminate automatic payroll deductions from unions. The bill will also prohibit unions from using workers dues to finance political committees.
Fire fight fighters say, if public employees are hit with this new tax, the rest of Floridians cannot be far behind. The new ad says politicians must stop scapegoating those who protect and serve.
“They want us to pay for the economic mess that Wall Street dumped on counties, states and cities,” the fire fighters ad states. “We are fighting back just like we fight to protect you.”
Florida’s Retirement System is an award winning system, the best run in the US, has the lowest costs and is currently over-funded by any actuarial standards, the fire fighters said in a statement. So, well funded it is that, the Florida Legislature has skimmed almost 13 billion dollars from the fund since 1998.
“Even in 2009, the retirement system’s worst year ever, when it lost over 19% in net earnings, the legislature still had the audacity to come in and pull nearly 350 million dollars from the pension fund,” fire fighters said. “… Despite all the rhetoric you have and will hear about the condition of the pension fund this year, hundreds of millions of dollars will be taken from the trust fund to fund the Governor’s office expenses and other state needs during this legislative session.”
Fire fighters said, Florida is a Right to Work State and union dues deductions are a right guaranteed by Florida’s Constitution. If an employee chooses to not pay union dues, that’s their choice and there are no consequences. The Union will still represent those employees and grant them every benefit that those members who pay dues receive, the fire fighters state.
“Neither Senator Thrasher, Governor Scott, or anyone else has the right to stop them (from paying dues),” said fire fighters. “The people of Florida granted all employees the choice to belong to a Union or not, to pay union dues or not, and only the people of Florida can take that right away.”
