By James Ingle, President IBEW local 1205.
Every year Gainesville’s electrician’s union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers local 1205, sends a delegation of members to Tallahassee to learn about how our state government functions and to fight on behalf of the working families of Florida, encouraging pro-worker legislation and, more often, trying to stop antiworker legislation.
We are part of a larger effort with the Florida AFL-CIO. This year was a mixed bag. With a legislature as reactionary as Florida’s, Labor is usually playing defense, and this year was no different. But, working in solidarity with our brothers and sisters throughout the state, we did have some successes.
One example of a win was defeating Senate Bill 1260, which would have made Florida’s already terrible unemployment insurance system even harder to use.
James Ingle (President of IBEW Local 1205) spoke in committee, telling legislators that even before SB 1260’s new requirements, he experienced a 45-day waiting period before he received benefits, and even then, it didn’t help pay for basic necessities or even put a dent in expenses to support his family.
Brett Ferrel (apprenticeship instructor for local 1205) spoke as an electrical contractor, describing the difficulties his employees would face if this Bill passes.
Finally, Brandon Perez (third-year apprentice) brought up how the Covid pandemic exposed the immense flaws this broken system has. The end result of the efforts from workers around the state was that this bill died in its last committee stop.
There was plenty of other terrible legislation that passed this year. Florida rolled back protections against child labor, continued to undercut public education, and moved towards banning cities and counties from enacting living wage, local hiring, and apprenticeship requirements for public works.
Some of these attacks we were able to stop. Some bad bills got passed, but we managed to get amendments to stop the worst of their effects. And some terrible legislation went through despite our best efforts. It is a tough time for workers in Tallahassee, but I have seen, even in this damaging session, the effects that the solidarity of workers can have.
By the time this gets printed, session will be over for this year in Florida. It is easy to get discouraged here. Walking the halls of our Capitol, you can plainly see that it isn’t the best interests of the people of Florida that motivates much of our legislature.
But, I have participated many many times in bringing union members to the state capitol to see this process. I know the difference it makes in the people that have seen their own government at work and how empowering it can be to make an impact on what legislation gets passed.
I have no doubt that next year there will be some more terrible laws proposed. And I have no doubt that union workers from across the state, including IBEW local 1205, will be there, doing everything we can to stop them.