Hoffa (Tampa Tribune): Scott, state lawmakers (& ALEC) make Labor Day a dark day

[highplainsdem]

http://www2.tbo.com/news/opinion/2011/sep/05/meopino2-scott-state-lawmakers-make-today-a-dark-d-ar-255161/

Scott, state lawmakers make today a dark day
By JAMES P. HOFFA | Special to The Tampa Tribune
Published: September 05, 2011


-snipping first paragraph-

Recently, Gov. Rick Scott went to work at a Tampa doughnut shop, all part of his new public relations initiative called "Let's Get to Work." This stems from his 35 percent job-approval rating, which makes him one of the country's least-popular governors. While Scott, who has earned the moniker "Pink Slip Rick," served up the doughnuts, protestors were busy handing him pink slips.

Those pink slips are all too familiar to Floridians. Cuts to the state budget have resulted in layoffs everywhere from school districts to prisons. At 10.7 percent, Florida's unemployment rate is the seventh-highest in the nation. Nearly 1 million jobless Floridians are actively seeking work.

-snip-

There's no doubt that Scott and some of the state's lawmakers have been influenced by corporate front groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council, ALEC. ALEC is a conduit between lawmakers and corporations to craft model legislation. It aggressively promotes policies that give prison companies more business, like locking up more prisoners. This may be good for corporate interests, but it's bad for Florida.

I applaud Floridians for taking a stand and letting anti-worker politicians know their state is not for sale. Teamsters are fighting side by side with Florida Department of Corrections officers against Scott and the Legislature's decision to privatize prisons in 18 southern counties. Privatization could result in the loss of up to 4,000 correctional officer jobs within the DOC, the third-largest prison system in the nation.

-snip-

Emphasis added.

More on that corporate front group's harmful influence in Florida and other states can be found in the OP and replies in the long compilation topic about the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

[tblue]

1. K&R

That ALEC is for the birds.

[highplainsdem]

2. kick