Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, ALEC and Florida Republicans. Talk about a noxious mix.
Florida Republicans are looking to follow Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's lead on paid sick leave. So you're asking yourself, what can state politicians do beyond
not passing paid sick leave? Easy: They can block local governments from passing it. That's what Walker did in his first months in office,
overturning a sick leave law voted in by the people of Milwaukee. Now the ALEC-backed legislation has
made its way to Florida.
In Florida, the imminent threat from which the state House is defending lousy employers is an Orange County paid sick leave initiative. The initiative didn't get a vote after opponents managed to tie it up in court, but a judge ordered it on the 2014 ballot. The effort to get a vote to begin with had collected the signatures of 50,000 voters. And that's not the only local law the state House bill, introduced by House Majority Leader Steve Precourt, would prevent or overturn; according to the Center for Media and Democracy, "Precourt's proposal actually goes further than Wisconsin's bill by incorporating ALEC model legislation that would preempt local living wage requirements as well."
ALEC is, of course, the hand behind this, the carrier that transmits an awful law from Wisconsin and Louisiana and Mississippi (all of which have passed sick leave preemption) to Florida and a host of other states considering such laws. Basically, this is why American workers can't have nice things—or decent labor standards.