Check the new
WhoseFlorida for updates
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Same Story - 3 different takes. What a difference a
headline makes...
Judge:
Justify changes in state workers' rules - TALLAHASSEE · A judge
ordered Gov. Jeb Bush's administration to justify changes to
disciplinary rules and layoff preferences for state workers.
Judge tosses parts of union suit
A circuit judge threw out parts of a lawsuit against the Service First
personnel plan Friday, but he told the state to justify elimination of
employee bumping rights and changes in disciplinary rules.
Service
First lawsuit clears first hurdle - TALLAHASSEE
“On Friday, Dec. 28, Circuit Judge Kevin Davey approved three
counts of AFSCME Council 79's lawsuit challenging the constitutionality
of the Service First law. Judge Davey threw out four of the counts, but
AFSCME believes the great majority of its case remains intact. The judge
intends to hold another hearing in the case in February.
Council 79 Statement on Ruling-- "Although
we would have liked all seven legal arguments to go forward, we are
happy with the issues that the judge has retained because they contain
80 percent or more of what we wanted," President Wynn said.
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Service
First again under microscope
Ben Patterson has a list - three lists, actually - raising
some questions about Florida's new Service First state
personnel system.
State
employees retain right to pay increases
Bush lauds move but disproves of political games
Gov. Jeb Bush didn't like the political gamesmanship displayed by the
House and Senate during the special session, but he said Wednesday
that he's glad state employees' pay raises didn't become a casualty of
that budget battle. 11/1
The
folly of bonuses during crisis
If Florida lawmakers insist that raising taxes is irresponsible in a
time of economic distress, then they might consider this political
corollary: Handing out bonuses is not smart business when employees
are being laid off. 10/31
Democratic
candidates rap governor for low teacher salaries, tax cuts -Former
Attorney General Janet Reno, attorney Bill McBride, House Minority
Leader Lois Frankel and state Sen. Daryl Jones told members of the
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees that Bush
has failed the public schools and has not looked out for workers.10/29
Audit:
Elevator safety may be at risk
More than a year after the state turned over responsibility for
inspecting Florida's elevators and escalators to the private sector,
an audit released this week shows the state can't be sure those
inspectors are doing their jobs or even are adequately certified.
AFSCME union representative Jeanette Wynn criticized our
Service First initiative in her Nov. 20 column, suggesting
an employee was terminated after a car accident without
cause. In fact, her supervisors had documented extensive
grounds for her dismissal, but delayed it out of
sensitivity to her unfortunate accident.
Ms. Wynn then sought to take away from Gov. Jeb Bush
any credit for preserving state employees' pay raises. In
fact, after championing a 2-percent across-the-board raise
plus an additional 1 percent in bonuses, he signed into
law the Legislature's 2.5-percent raise with no bonuses.
He then worked hard to keep that raise - even after Sept.
11 - for those earning less than $90,000. All this was
done with no help from AFSCME, which has yet to fulfill
its statutory duty to ratify a contract submitted in June.
If the state of Florida was truly "rushing to lay
off thousands of workers," the Leon County
unemployment rate would not be just 2.7 percent, third
lowest in the state and well ahead of the state average of
4.9 percent. These are smear and fear tactics, and are not
responsible.
Service First has given thousands of state employees
free health care; increased benefits; an optional cash
payout for annual leave; performance bonuses; and expanded
educational vouchers to community colleges and technical
centers. Despite the union's delays and finger-pointing,
Gov. Bush has demonstrated commitment to protect pay
raises for state employees and reward them for good
service to our people. The union should focus on serving
its members, not playing politics with their pay raises.
CYNTHIA A. HENDERSON
Secretary, Department of Management Services
top
I started working for the state in 1974. Being a
state employee meant something back then. You were
paid a fair wage, got decent benefits and received respect
from the public. Man have things changed! Pay
has not stayed equal or even close to the private sector.
Benefits have been cut or employee contributions have
risen quickly. The govenor has the public believing
that we are a bunch of lazy malcontents. And if you
dare to think you are going to be able to stick around for
a retirement, think again! Managers look at people
who have been around for 20+ years as "too
expensive". They can hire someone at a fraction
of what they are paying the 20 year + person and have a
nice little chunk of rate money to give themselves and
their cronies. Just ask DEP Environmental Crimes
Bureau Chief Bobby Deemer. He ran off a few old
timers and it would be interesting to know where the rate
money being paid those people went.
I recently retired from the state. I have to say I
feel it was just in time. Service First means
service first to those supervisors who wish to rule over
you and has nothing to do with service to the public.
I feel sorry for the many hard working state employees
that stayed with the state years ago when they could of
went to better jobs elsewhere. They are now in a
position where if they leave they will either lose on what
they get in retirement or have to go to a government
agency that is a participant in the state system.
Now in order to stay working with the state they have to
not make any waves and fear that they are getting too high
in the pay scale for their position.
There is life outside of state employment. Get out
as soon as you can, run fast and run far!
....Phoenix Rising, 10/10
(Top)
Could
there be a clearer demonstration of the failure of
privatizing public services than the WTC disaster? How
long will our "leaders" mislead us?
..."A second insight revealed by the awful gaping
hole in the Manhattan skyline was how ill-served we have
been by a politics that perpetuates the illusion that we are
all on our own and, in particular, that holds the
institutions of public service in contempt. For two decades,
politicians of both parties have celebrated the pursuit of
private gain over public service. Shrinking government has
become a preoccupation of political leaders through
deregulation, privatization, and cuts in public services....
One result is that the U.S. is the only major nation that
leaves airline and airport security in the hands of private
corporations, which by their very nature are motivated to
spend as little as possible. So the system was tossed in the
lap of lowest-bid contractors who hired people for minimum
wages. Training has been inadequate and supervision
extremely lax. Turnover was 126 percent a year and the
average employee stayed in airline security for only six
months. Getting a job at Burger King or McDonald's might
represent upward mobility for the average security worker.
In an anti-government political climate the airline
corporations were able to shrug off the government
inspections that consistently revealed how easy it was to
bring weapons on board. The competition for customers
sacrificed safety to avoid any inconvenience. How else to
explain the insane notion that a 3-1/2 inch knife blade is
not a weapon?
Private provision of public services has been the dominant
philosophy of government in our time. Only natural, the
economists told us. People were motivated by money. It's
human nature. "Greed is good," said the movie
character in the send-up of Wall Street -- a sentiment
echoed by politicians of both parties: 'Collective solutions
are a thing of the past. The era of big government is over.
You are on your own.' Public service was "old"
economy, just for losers. A teacher in New York City schools
starts at $30,000. A brand new securities lawyer starts at
$120,000. Does anyone believe that this represents sensible
priorities?" (...More)
....excerpted from "Three Things We Learned (from the
WTC disaster)"
(Top)
Gov. Jeb Bush has said that "economic impact of our
proposals will likely be minimal." The facts tell a
different story.
Just a month into the new budget year, the Agency for
Workforce Innovation has released data that indicates that
3,723 state jobs were eliminated statewide with 2,269 of
those coming from budget cuts, another 1,308 lost to
privatization and 146 jobs chopped in reorganizations.
Roughly half of the positions cut - 1,253 - had workers in
them compared with 2,470 vacant positions that will go
unfilled, piling more work on the remaining workers.
These layoffs and reductions are unnecessary and reckless.
Florida already has the country's most efficient state
government: it is the second smallest per capita and the
least expensive at an annual cost of just $33 per taxpayer.
(The current figure is assuredly lower, but the Bush
administration refused to calculate the amount for last
year.)
At an average salary of $30,713, the 3,723 jobs cut will
take $114.3 million in lost payroll from the communities of
Florida.
The state reported that 751 of those laid off found other
state jobs, much of the time at reduced pay and without
benefits; 105 went to private industry, often without
benefits; 66 retired; 21 resigned; and 259 workers applied
for unemployment compensation.
Later in the year, communities will suffer additional
economic harm when as the governor pushes privatization of
state food service, custodial, maintenance and grounds
keeping workers. The governor has refused to require
contractors privatizing services to maintain health and
retirement benefits.
These are most low-paid and minority parts of the workforce.
If low-income workers lose their benefits, then communities
will have to care for their families. This too won't save
money.
Labor Day brought little to cheer about for those state
workers who stayed in their jobs.
State workers received a 2.5 percent raise with a $600
minimum -- well below the inflation rate of 3.2 percent.
This year, the average state worker will lose $241 annually
against inflation.
Although Governor Bush talks about a well-trained state
government, the budget strips educational opportunity from
thousands of workers.
Traditionally, state workers could take up to 6 hours per
semester free with space permitting (paying students got the
priority). That system cost $10 million, but this year's
budget appropriates just $500,000 for classes and forbids
the State University System granting waivers to employees
out of their own funds.
According to the Department of Management Services, only 161
state workers were approved for education vouchers for the
current academic term. That's down from 6,255 tuition
waivers that were granted for non-State University System
employees last school year.
Governor Bush and the Legislature have taken millions of
dollars in educational opportunity away from our
communities.
... Jeanette D. Wynn, President AFSCME Florida Council 79
(Top)
Whats
wrong with this picture ?
 | State
personnel services go private
A giant Jacksonville company was chosen
Wednesday to take over personnel services for
state agencies - a massive privatization
affecting the jobs of 1,200 state workers. -
Convergys Corp. beat out IBM, Computer Sciences
Corp. and Epix for a seven-year contract that
will cost the state $39.8 million
annually...
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| Bank
official blames hidden IRS returns on workload
PITTSBURGH - Employees at an IRS processing
center run by Mellon Bank hid thousands of tax
returns or put them with papers to be shredded
apparently because they couldn't keep up with
the workload, Mellon's chairman says.- At least
40,000 federal tax returns and payments totaling
$810 million were either lost or destroyed at
the Pittsburgh center, which handled documents
sent by taxpayers in New England and parts of
New York state. (Officials are not sure whether
identity theft is involved and it will be quite
some time before they figure it all out)
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Government like a business? Mellon Bank
contracts with IRS to process tax returns. You get
the picture: By November 15, employees are burnt
out. They're pressured by contractual
deadlines, swimming in returns and no end in sight-
what else to do? Trash them? Make
them disappear...
State personnel services go private - not a
comforting thought for state workers. Where
will our personnel records wind up? Don't
recall Florida Human Service Employees in their
worst moments shredding employee files - not that
Convergys employees would do that - but they're not
exactly a "Jacksonville company".
They are big though - This is from their
website: convergys.com
2000
Revenues:
$2.16 billion
Headquarters:
Cincinnati, OH
Major
Service Markets: United States, Canada, United
Kingdom, Europe, Israel, Latin America
Total
Employees: Over 45,000
"Convergys
Corporation (NYSE: CVG) enables companies to create
greater value from their customer relationships
through the application of our billing solutions and
interactive customer care. Supported by our fully
integrated, multi-channel customer contact centers
and state-of-the-art data centers, our solutions
offer a "high-tech, human-touch" approach
that couples highly skilled customer service
representatives with advanced customer and
information management technologies."
Oh
Oh! Not the cozy down the hall, neighborly kind of
approach we're used to. A "high-tech
human touch"?? Remember when our health
insurance went to EDS? That was a
high-tech human experience from Hell.
.... Quixote, 9/6
(Top)
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The state is in final negotiations with vendors for
privatizing the State's Human Resource functions. I'm in
Human Resources and they are telling us it will be just a
couple of more weeks and they'll get a contract signed. But
our jobs in HR will not be available in the private sector
in the same locations, like when they contract out
maintenance or food service. There are three large computer
corporations that the state is negotiating with (IBM is one
of them) and they want to have a web-based HR service, so
the work will be done from who knows where, probably from
another state. That is great use of the state taxpayer
dollars, right? Send the money out of state! Oh, Jeb is also
hiding the fact that there has been no cost-analysis done
EVER to show that this will or will not be cheaper for the
taxpayers.
The other think that I am concerned about is that all the
data that the private vendor will get it's hands on after it
gets the contract (except for your medical information and
your social security number) is public record! You bet, they
will be selling your data to anyone and everyone who wants
it. State employees will be on every mailing list and
calling list there is! And this company will be making a
profit off of it while I am job hunting and taking
unemployment compensation benefits for the first time in my
life.
... Almost Gone, 8/29/01
(Top)
Well, after more than 15 years of career service in
serving the state well, I sit on my rear end collecting
unemployment and costing the state almost as much money
as when I was working. When you count up my unemployment
and the people's pay that are supposed to be helping me
find work again it may even be more. Plus add all this
to the fact that I was told right up to the day that I
was let go by a lying supervisor that I would have a
job. This wasn't supposed to save the state money, this
was used to let supervisors get rid of people that they
didn't want around any more. I found people breaking the
law. I told the Democrat, when higher ups wouldn't
listen, and they didn't even want to do anything about
it. So much for investigative reporting. ....
Screwed in Tally, 8/17
(WF: This is not an isolated event - many senior
state employees at the higher end of their pay scale
have been let go -- saving the state money, and
eliminating old employees who might not be afraid to
speak their mind when they see something they think is
"not right."
This frightens the remaining staff, and guarantees their
silence. Select exempt supervisors, no longer
protected by career service, will be less likely to
shoulder the responsibility and more likely to shift the
blame for projects gone awry. The atmosphere we
are told has already changed to a more "cover your
ass" mentality than ever.
Moreover, the loss of high level expertise in the state
system has been staggering and will not be easily
replaced.
This is the "corporate" milieu we have been
told will be more productive. We are just beginning to
see what the state workers warned us about with JEB's
"Service First".
But hold on to your reality. Folks, the campaign's
coming. The governor's spinmasters and their
propaganda press are already hard at work spinning their
tales -- you can hear them at night whispering "You
like Service First ... you like Service First...)
Florida jeopadizes 130+ million dollars in
funding for the disabled in attempting to privatize the
most effective agency in the State (every dollar spent
returns $8 in savings and tax revenue)
You really should include "a disabled person's
issue" on your article about Service First as there
is a law on the books since 1999 to privatize State of
Florida Vocational Rehabilitation.
A commission has been established to accomplish this to
the detriment of the agency and the public it serves.
Loss of staff, inefficient and lack of leadership,
attempts to give away the 130 Million Dollars Plus that
motivates the people behind this movement.
They are, at this moment, wasting your tax
dollars with this greedy plan to give away contracts to
private companies who have no qualifications or any other
claim to expertise in this field. This also in the
face of resistance by the Regional Services Administration
who have already threatened to delete Florida's share of
the allocation to States.
The commission is called the Occupational Access
opportunity Commission and you can find a wealth of
misinformation on their website. A plethora of
public forums have been held, all of which have resulted
in the public expressing grave concerns about this move to
give away tax dollars to campaign contributors and friends
of the politicians in Tallahassee. Complaints and concerns
have fallen on deaf ears.
...Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, 8/15/01
(Top)
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TALLAHASSEE - On Thursday, Aug. 2, attorneys for AFSCME
Florida Council 79 filed suit in Leon County Circuit
Court challenging the recently passed Service First law
amending the state Career Service System. Service First
pushed by Gov. Jeb Bush and business tycoons eliminates
seniority consideration of state employees during
layoffs and transfers 16,000 state workers into "at
will" employment.
"The Florida Constitution protects the right of
public employees to collectively bargain," said
AFSCME Florida President Jeanette D. Wynn. "This
lawsuit arises from the governor's refusal to bargain
with his employees and the Legislature's disdain for the
pertinent laws."
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the 70,000 Career
Service employees represented by AFSCME Florida in four
bargaining units: human services, operational services,
administrative-clerical and professional. The defendants
in the lawsuit are Gov. Jeb Bush as the employer and
Secretary of State Katherine Harris as the custodian of
state laws.
The lawsuit asks the court to declare unconstitutional
the Service First law and the section of the state
budget that imposes a contract on AFSCME-represented
bargaining units.
During nine months of contract talks, negotiators for
Gov. Jeb Bush never presented any written proposals
addressing his sweeping Service First changes. The
governor then declared impasse in January and declined
mediation, preferring instead to send the dispute to be
heard by a special master - an independent labor
relations expert agreed upon by both sides.
At the special master hearing in March the governor
still failed to provide anything in writing. The
governor failed to present any concrete proposals until
April 3 when a legislative committee was scheduled to
hear the contract impasse. This was also the same day
that the parties received the special master's report,
which ruled against the governor on almost every issue
and dubbed the plan "irrational" and
"Service Worst."
Florida law requires a cooling off period of 20 days
after the receipt of a special master report to give the
parties time to work out their differences before the
Legislature steps in to force a settlement.
This year, legislative leaders refused to observe the
20-day period. To prevent this violation of law, a
Tallahassee circuit judge at the behest of AFSCME issued
an injunction barring the legislative hearing. The
Florida Supreme Court struck down the injunction as too
restrictive on the Legislature. The state high court,
however, reaffirmed the constitutional right of public
employees to collectively bargain and to challenge any
laws denying that right.
"The Legislature cannot make laws which obliterate
constitutional rights," said Jack Dempsey, general
counsel of AFSCME International in Washington.
"Service First is a return to the political spoils
system."
Count 1 of the lawsuit addresses the legislature's abuse
of the process for resolving disputes between the
governor and his employees - by meeting the same day as
the special master report was received.
"The unanticipated and shockingly rapid procedure
utilized by the Legislature denied (AFSCME Florida) a
reasonable time and a reasonable opportunity to exercise
its rights," the lawsuit states. "(It) is an
affront to American notions of fairness and substantial
justice."
Count 2 of the lawsuit addresses the Legislature's
resolution of issues not presented properly to the
impasse process. Wages, hours and terms of employment -
such as civil service rights - are mandatory subjects of
bargaining. This means that the Legislature cannot
resolve these issues unless they are properly subjected
to the impasse process. To do otherwise denies the right
of state employees to bargain on these mandatory
subjects. In this case, the state didn't present its
"last offer" until after the special master
process and on the day of the legislative hearing. These
were the first written proposals on Service First
submitted by the governor during the entire collective
bargaining process.
Count 3 addresses "logrolling," the Florida
Constitution's prohibition against making substantive
legal changes in budget bills. This is to ensure that
legal changes receive a full public hearing. Page 392 of
the 2001 General Appropriations Act imposes a forced
resolution of all of the disputed contract issues
between the governor and AFSCME Florida. Most of these
issues have nothing to do with appropriations.
Count 4 charges that Service First unconstitutionally
waives the right of state employees to bargain over
their employment. The law alters mandatory subjects of
bargaining, such as layoff procedures, discipline,
compensation and job classifications - all of which deny
state employees the right to bargain over these major
aspects of their employment. The imposed contract also
gives the state the power to unilaterally remove
employees from AFSCME Florida bargaining units.
Count 5 charges that Service First violates the equal
protection of the laws guaranteed by the Florida and
U.S. Constitutions. Service First excludes various
classes of state employees, but singles out AFSCME's
bargaining units for the most punitive changes. There is
no rational basis for this disparate treatment. AFSCME
believes this is because of our union's strident
opposition to the policies of the governor and his
brother.
Count 6 addresses the elimination of special masters and
mediation from the resolution of contract disputes
between the governor and his employees. This change was
made because the governor and legislators disliked the
fact that this year's special master ruled against them
on Service First.
"Without the right to strike, the availability of a
mediator and the ability to require the participation of
a special master are the only tools previously provided
to facilitate impasse resolution by the
Legislature," the lawsuit states. "Without the
persuasive power of a decision by a neutral expert in
the field of labor relations, neither the defendant
governor nor the Legislature will have any incentive to
bargain in good faith."
Count 7 charges that Service First will deny state
employees due process of law by prohibiting the Public
Employees Relations Commission from changing the
disciplinary action, by imposing unreasonable time
limits and by limiting any possibility of fairness -
virtually ensuring disparate and therefore illegal
treatment of state employees. The new law also fails to
require back pay for employees reinstated after wrongful
discipline.
...AFSCME press release 8/3/01
(Top)
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It hasn't even been announced to the rank and file peons yet
and isn't "officially" published but the peons are
already being told "there is no more available funding
for any vouchers. All funds have been exhausted."
Perhaps someone should do a public records request and see
where that $500,000.00 went so fast?
And perhaps OUR SUPREME GOVERNOR'S plan should be called
"serviced first" as in the Kentucky Derby retiree's
future.
CW, 8/1/01
(WF: We've also been told that the only people who can
apply for the tuition vouchers are folks about to be laid off.
I believe the term used was "transitioned" - used to
be "negatively effected" - why not "service
fisted" or "kicked to the curb" or
"collaterally damaged" or "acceptable
losses" or...)
(Top)
_
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I have been working for the state of Florida for the past 20
years. It is not fair what he is doing to us. I
feel this is unconstitutional. If he wanted to change
positions from Career Service to SES he should have changed
them all and made it fair. Why only certain positions?
Also, he promised to give lump sum bonuses to employees
who did great with their last evaluations but guess what
happened to me....my papers got lost somewhere. When
asked about it...I was told that it was too late, funds were
already distributed and none was left. I know exactly
where my papers went....file 13. So sorry if I sound bitter
cause I am. Rumors at work has it that come July 1,
2002, all of the SES (which is only 4 of us)will be out of a
job.
...... flower1, 7/22
(Top)
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How come the County Health Departments got the shaft on the
one-time bonuses for exceptional employees? In the
governor's speeches, we were assure the money was set aside
for it, but after selections were made, the message was
"oops, sorry." How cruel: taking people who
are already working to cover positions vacant for 4-5 months
in additions to their own jobs, dangle this little tidbit in
front of them (bonus), tease them a bit by going thru the
motions, then cut them off at the knees. ...paradise3
(Top)
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Saving money is absolutely NOT the issue!
if you look at the cost of "privatization" one can
see that more money is being spent for less services than what
the state employees were required to do with less budget. and
I don't mean salary- I mean all the budget- support and infrastructure,
supplies purchase of services, etc.
Service worst is the name of the game. A prime example is the
amount of money provided to Broward Sheriff's Office to do
child protective investigations.
They receive $10m, have 110 investigators and DCF has to
provide services to BSO. When DCF did the same job, we
did all our own services, had 58 investigators and $3m. The
taxpayers are not getting the bang for their buck as they
should.
... anonymous, 7/16
(Top)
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What could someone possibly be thinking to make this item
available for the public? Are we going to sell FHP
trooper uniforms next at the service plaza ---complete with
guns? What other business that you know of offer THEIR
uniforms for sale to the general public?
We can't even get shirts for employee's!!!!
They are not available! How can they be so easily
available for the public?
Signed, Concerned for safety and security
See -- Public
grabs up 'toll taker shirts' -
(Top)
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Many employees have received position upgrades. Other
employees in similar positions have not received upgrades.
This allows for favoritism, retaliation, and discrimination.
State employees deserve upgrades because the pay scale is very
low and some people have not been paid for supervising.
Position upgrades should be given to all employees.Sally Sad
(Top)
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You might want to start a score card of the casualties
of Service Worst. There WERE layoffs June 29th,
despite Jeb's assurances that no one would be adversely
affected. Rumors are that there will not be a
blood bath July 2nd; more like a slow bloodletting so
Jeb doesn't look bad. ... FL Cowgirl 7/2
 | WF: Send them in - we'll post them at Layoff's
from Service First- Include position titles so
we can avoid duplication, and whether the person was
offered/moved to another position. If so, was
the position a demotion? Did it require a move
or a long commute? Was it in the area of the
employee's field of expertise?
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(Top)
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It is terrible what is happening. Our office is
being inundated with calls from customers that don't
understand why they have to travel across the bay and
other long distances to obtain their licenses.
Neither do they understand why they have to wait so long
for an appointment. We try to explain that by
merging all the district offices that the governor says
this is for the benefit of the customer ..to centralize
licensing.
It appears no one cared enough about the people that
actually fund our business...our state...and pay our
salaries. Brother Jeb is only concerned with how he
can spend the 'saved' money so he can spend it elsewhere.
With job security out the window, I have elected to get
out of this rat race. I don't know what I am going
to do, but it won't be with the state government.
Does anybody remember the Federal Savings and Loans scam
Jeb was connected with some years back? Well, hold
onto your hats, it looks like it happening again.
Good luck to you all and say your prayers.
... Jebslave 6/28/01
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State Workers - please do not become the engine of your own
demise.
In the comming months you will be asked to supply
information to assist the contractors that will be taking
your job.
Do not help.
The complexity of your position is something that you
understand. Your job description does not encompass all that
you do. Nowhere in your job description does it say that you
are obligated to assist in this selling of state services to
the lowest bidder.
You should not train the people who are taking over, in fact
you should make the transition as difficult as possible.
In less than two years the evil Bush will be removed from
office.
..Poote Genous, 6/24/01
(Top)
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This effort to privatize public agencies and responsibilities is not just an attack on government workers rights. It is a way of relinquishing the responsibilities of government in the areas of civil rights protections and insuring for the public welfare.
Among the consequences of privatizing government functions and agencies is to make moot the great many civil rights statutes and regulations that apply to government. There are a great many such good laws that prohibit the denial of civil rights, such as: access to "public" places and records, discrimination laws (think Boy Scouts, Churches, etc), that are wiped out when turned over to "private" entities. (Perhaps some of the lawyers and other activists among us can list more such considerations along these lines.)
Also, government agencies are charged with serving the public need. Private corporations are charged with serving the stockholders interests, which are often in conflict with the general welfare of the public. (Think Firestone, Corvair, Anderson-Columbia, Monsanto, etc.)
This privatization effort that is taking place all over the country is especially hard hitting in Florida, where the Service First plan is the most aggressive such effort taking place, is an attack on civil rights, environmental responsibility, and democratic process.
This issue is a prisoner's rights issue (Dept. of Corrections), a children's rights issue (Dept. of Children and Family Services), a consumer rights issue (Dept. of Consumer Affairs), an environmental issue (Dept. of Environmental Protection), a right to know issue, (public agency records are a matter of public record; private corps. records are closely guarded corp. secrets.), a health issue (Dept. of Health), a public access issue (public spaces and buildings are open to the public, private spaces and buildings are subject to permission being granted by the owners.), etc.!
None of the above mentioned agencies existed at the founding of the country. They all came into being as the result of there being a public need that the market place had no interest in serving, mainly because most of the need was by folks who could not afford to pay enough to allow a profit for the needed services. That's the role of government! It still should be! Now that such agencies exist and have large budgets the capitalists want to fleece the taxpayers by taking that money and finding a profit in it by providing inferior services and inflating the costs (to include as large a profit for themselves and outrageous compensation for CEOs as possible. The track record of privatization and deregulation, it's cousin, proves that).
This is no less than an attempt to turn back the clock to the days of the Lazie-fare government policies that allowed the old "Robber Barons" to create havoc on the general public! That's the truth of it. This is the biggest socio-economic-political restructuring of society attempted since the "New Deal". It is in fact the reinstatement of the Old Deal that kept public interest subjegated to corporate interest.
We cannot sit on our hands on this one! IT IS A BIG DEAL! A GIGANTIC DEAL! A BAD, BAD, BAD DEAL! FOR ALL OF US! Let's get on the ball, off our hands, and get those websites, petition submissions, newsletters, PSAs, etc. reflecting this! Speak about it everywhere you go: at the supermarket lines, the laundromat, other e-lists, radio talk shows, letters to the editor, letters to your legislators and the Governor, etc.
Your Parents, yourselves, your children will all be detrimental affected by this if it is allowed to stand!
John Howes (registered Green)
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| Some Repub research
group recently put out a report saying that cutting
government to cut "waste" actually is harmful, and
necessary work just doesn't get done, or gets done badly.
Duh. Of course, they did NOT recommend that jobs be
reinstated. When Brogan was campaigning for Commissioner
of Education, he got in by telling voters that DOE was burning
their hard-earned tax money and he'd take care of it.
So, without a study, without spending a day trying to figure
out who was doing what, he demanded that all the dept.
managers let go of ¾ of their staff. That was 1995. I
was Communications Specialist for Safe & Drug-free
Schools. We were the only central clearing house for
what was working for prevention of violence and drug abuse.
And people who'd been around doing good jobs a long time were
let go for no reason except to make him look good. The
result was chaos and confusion. So stupid. And
here you go again...
...Rita W (Seattle, WA) 6/15/01
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It is astounding how absolutely without conscience the Bush
boys are. Now Jeb Bush and two of his henchmen in the FLA
state government have unanimously approved a move to turn a
big chunk of the state's $99-billion pension fund into tobacco
stocks. That's right, folks: tobacco stocks - right at a time
when the industry is facing some 200 multi-billion-dollar law
suits and the inevitable phase out of its product over time.
Geez - what does he have against state employees? The state
unloaded nearly one billion dollars in tobacco stocks from the
fund four years ago in anticipation of a big FLA lawsuit. Now
Jeb has set up a sweet deal for his family's tobacco industry
pals by creating a new policy that exempts pension money from
being tapped by the FLA settlement with cigarette makers. That
way he can pump citizens' money into an industry that the same
citizens have made plain they revile. Let's see...what's that
Bush family salespitch: "It's your money!" Yeah,
right!
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State employees have voted overwhelmingly to reject Gov. Bush's
so-called "Service First" agenda.
In referendum balloting conducted May 14-24, we voted 12,327-133
to reject "Service First" and ask our union to return to
the bargaining table. The state wanted us to accept a bad plan. We
told them "No."
.....AFSCME updates, 6/10/01
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I just wanted to let everybody know State Workers really didn't have
any input into how "Service First" was set up. We already
had the bill in our office (Human Resource Management) analyzing it
when Jeb asked for input from State Workers. The emails are after
the fact. Secretary Henderson chose not to use our bill analysis.
We had the bill in our office at least a month before he asked for input
on the bill. So tell me how could state workers have formed
what was already there????
.... Just another State Employee, 6/8/01
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| Bush's
rush to privatize 6/3 Editorial - St Pete Times
In his eagerness to turn more government services over to private
companies, Gov. Jeb Bush seems willing to overlook questions about
actually saving money.
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PERK, The independent organization that is supposed to be
looking out for the career service employees rights, is now
going to be part of DMS. How's that for independence and
fair play! I imagine they will really be objective
working for that Master manager Cynthia
...Dusty,6/6/01
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| AFSCME reports that representatives were prevented from
holding meetings at two state government agencies today:
Department of Corrections, and Department of Highway and Motor
Safety. Apparently there was a brief scuffle between a
union representative and a corrections employee prior to the
scheduled meeting. (other reports say there was no
"scuffle" at DOC -- WF 5/25/01)
...Jacob Lerner, 5/21/01
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The Sierra Club Florida
Chapter, Florida League of
Conservation voters and Florida Consumer Action Network
strongly oppose Governor Bush's plan to gut state government
and to reduce the independence of state workers.
His plans will have terrible repercussions for the
environment for several reasons. First, the state's efforts to
investigate and enforce its environmental laws will suffer by
the sheer size of cuts to state government. The DEP is already
overburdened, and cuts in the size of staff mean that Florida
will not be able to meet one of the primary goals of good
government: to protect the land, water and air that we and
future generations must have not only for recreation and
enjoyment, but for our health and survival. Second, converting
16,000 career service people to at-will status (and rendering
the rest virtually at-will by abolishing the just cause
standard) undermines the independence and integrity of civil
servants which is central to any decent government's ability
to fairly and fully enforce its laws. For example, were an
investigator to find environmental infractions committed by a
powerful political or personal friend of the Governor's (or
anyone high enough in state government), that investigator
would have great incentive to drop the investigation or pursue
it less vigorously than he or she would with just cause
protections.
Government enforces the laws and usually those who break
the laws are the ones who pollute our air, water, and land.
And these polluters are the ones who can buy elections with
their huge campaign contributions. Although the Governor's
proposals put many state functions in jeopardy, we believe
that the state's mission to protect the health and safety of
our citizens and the environment in which they live will
suffer as much as any. We strongly use Floridians and their
representatives to oppose these shortsighted and dangerous
changes to our government. ....Susie Caplowe
The PEER
statement is too long to include here. : Then go to the state by state links page and click on the
Florida link. )
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I have the ear of a Republican Representative who would like
information on
requested blanket resignations of the Bush Administration. If
you work in
State Government and because of a change in Secretary of
Department, Agency Head, Director, etc. and there has been a
request for a blanket resignation of all 'At Will' employees
PLEASE forward as much information as you dare to me at,
weaseltracker@excite.com, Thank You for your help. Soon to be
SUN PAC.
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One 6th Generation Florida natives views on 'service worst'
No brainer, of course worker protections will be gone, the question
is how fast will it happen. My theory is that if Jeb thought of it,
except in rare cases, it must not be a very good idea. he is indeed
a man for the corporate powers and not a man of the people. Our new
Governor will be better/ CANT BE WORSE!
...Buckfush, 5/30/01
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Can you tell me whats up with the tuition wavers?
I am currently a student at the Florida State University, and
I will be graduating with my bachelors in August. My
question is... Whats up with the tuition waver system?
My origional intent was to enter the state system with my
bachelors degree and proceed on to a masters program to
further my progress and education as a state employee.
What I don't understand is that Service First apparently will
expand my education opportunities to community colleges (which
is great), but that I have also heard that the funding for
these wavers will be cut under the plan. I can't even
FIND the plan online in order to research this rumor! I
have seen a "proposal" at MyFlorida.com, but c'mon,
that site is a virtual Governor cronie.
I would like to gain a further understanding as to why it
costs Florida's taxpayers millions of dollars a year to
EDUCATE and DEVELOP state employees in THE STATE'S OWN
STINKING EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM! Why does it cost money at
all? I mean, the class is going to happen if I am in it
or not. Since I would apply on a space-available basis,
why is there a cost at all, either for me, or the state?
Are the teachers paid, or the universities funded, on a
"per-head" basis? If so, there lies the REAL
need in the overhaul.
...Florida State University student 5/13/01
(NOTE: here is the writeup from the Service
First Summary - but you have to read between the lines to
see how it will effect you. Seems like more money but it
is really less availability - more Florida GOP Nu-Speak like
"reform", "budget excercise",
"Service First", "One Florida"):
| "Expands the state employee education and training
program to include community colleges and public technical
centers, and replaces tuition waivers with vouchers.
Budget bill has provided $500,000 for the provision of
work-related vouchers. Agencies may still use expense
dollars to fund vouchers."
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Dear Mr. Garcia,
I was very happy to have had the brief opportunity to speak
with you today (Sunday brunch at Cabo's). I was
having breakfast with some friends couldn't help but notice
your table because of all the boisterous cheering and clapping
that would accompany the arrival of each new member of your
party. I recognized you from the Service First committee
hearings.
I appreciate your taking the time to address a few of my
concerns about the service first initiative that just passed
out of your committee. However, I must admit that
I am somewhat puzzled by your replies.
You said there was no list of jobs slated to be moved from
Career Service to Select Exempt Service - that it had not been
decided yet.
If that's true someone might want to put a notice to that
effect on the "state work force" portion of the
State of Florida website which was the source for my
reference. You can find the list at:
You also said that only supervisory positions are scheduled to
change but that is not correct. Of the 16,122 positions
listed, over half are non-supervisory positions - 4,320
"confidential" class, and 4,915 managerial /
administrative positions. The classes listed as
"confidential" are no more confidential in nature
than any of the positions in the state government.
You said that AFSCME is presenting misleading information to
the public about this issue. Perhaps they are, I don't know.
But I do know that it's difficult to believe you have not
known of this list - it has been featured on the State of
Florida website for several months.
I for one would feel much more comfortable with these plans if
I believed you had the interests of the state workers (and the
people who rely on the services we provide) at heart even just
a little bit. You seem so focused on getting this bill
passed that it doesn't appear that you have even stopped long
enough to consider that you might be wrong.
If I may say so, perhaps you as an individual need to step
back from "battle mode" and think for a moment or
two about what will happen if you are wrong.
Will you be able to take personal responsibility for the
fallout from this legislation on so many people's lives?
Are we simply the "acceptable casualties" in your
battle to assert your political agenda on our state?
A staffer for one of your colleagues told me recently that
"it may be difficult (for folks like me) for awhile but 5
years or so down the road I will thank you for it."
You can imagine that perhaps we may like to have a say in
this.
You can imagine that we might like to think you hear us when
we try and tell you that this legislation will have effects
you may not have considered and that may not be good for the
people of Florida. You can understand that since we
provide the services, we might have reason to believe that we
have a better view of what's happening on the
"ground" (as you all like to call it) than you do.
Perhaps when someone like me approaches you and tries to tell
you that he's concerned that the legislation you're pushing
will hurt many of his family and his friends, you might stoop
down a bit and listen.
Sir, that would really help a lot.
Most sincerely, BH Tallahassee 4/29/01
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