Dear Editor,
The Legislative Workers Caucus, 40-plus legislators that meet weekly during the legislative session, opposes Gov. Scott’s proposal to interfere with the bargaining rights of teachers negotiating around their health insurance benefits. One of the core values of the caucus is to protect collective bargaining and workers’ rights. Another is fiscal responsibility. Scott’s plan does not support either of our values.
Furthermore, Scott’s proposal was not vetted by legislators through the normal committee process, eliminates bargaining rights, and claims unsubstantiated savings. His numbers have not been verified by our independent Joint Fiscal Office, which would normally happen with a policy change of this magnitude. Additionally, any potential savings that might be realized would not necessarily be applied toward property tax reduction. As a result of the lack of process, we neither know how accurate the numbers for this proposal are nor how those numbers may or may not impact property taxes.
The Legislative Workers Caucus does not support a budget that goes against our core values of collective bargaining and fiscal responsibility.
Rep. Johannah Leddy Donovan and Rep. Cindy Weed, co-chairs of the the Legislative Workers Caucus
