Across the state of Florida, labor unions are in a panic.
The problem, as they see it, is SB 256, a bill signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis in early May.
The law has two major components, and the clock is ticking on both.
On July 1, the law officially goes into effect. On that date, employees of local governments will no longer have their union dues deducted from their paychecks, a set-it-and-forget-it reality that has been in place for decades. Union members will need to take extra steps to set up payment plans to keep their dues up to date.
Then, by October, public employee unions will need to share data with the state about how many union members have paid dues in the most recent membership renewal cycle.
If the public union does not cross the threshold of at least 60 percent of members paying dues, the union will be decertified, calling its very future into question.
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In the face of the double-whammy law — creating a new process for paying dues while simultaneously requiring more people to pay dues — public labor unions are launching all-out campaigns to get their numbers up.
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