Latest news with #SenateBill256
Miami Herald
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
May Day, May Day, May Day: A universal distress call for workers
This May Day we are sounding the alarm. May 1, International Labor Day, is more than a date; it's a movement for justice, equality and dignity for working people. We honor the enduring power of solidarity and the fight for justice in the farm fields, streets and our classrooms, all of which are currently under attack. The struggles of workers and civil rights have always been intertwined. From Cuban patriot José Martí, who fought for the dignity and freedom of workers across the Americas in the 19th century, to Mexican-Amercan Cesar Chavez, who led the United Farm Workers' movement in California in the 1960s to fight for better wages and conditions, history has shown that the fight for labor rights is inseparable from the fight for human rights. In Latin America, Martí championed the rights of the oppressed and believed that true liberty could only be achieved when workers were treated with dignity and respect. In the United States, from labor strikes of the late 1800s to the Memphis sanitation workers' strike of 1968, where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated, workers have always stood at the center of the fight for civil rights. Workers have endured many injustices while leading the charge for a better future for all. Today, that fight continues. The Trump administration has aggressively targeted union rights, especially for federal workers. In March, Trump issued an executive order nullifying contracts for thousands of federal employees. The administration also eliminated collective bargaining rights for all Transportation Security Administration workers, affecting over 40,000 employees. It has also gutted worker protection agencies by firing staff at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and cutting the Department of Education, making our workplaces less safe and our ability to provide resources for students with disabilities and vulnerable children in rural and urban communities less attainable. From Washington, D.C., to Tallahassee, extremist politicians are working overtime to silence our collective voice. Here in Florida, state leaders have pushed dangerous legislation like 2023's Senate Bill 256 to weaken worker rights, silence educators and block workers from organizing for better pay, safe workplaces and basic dignity. These attacks hurt our children, families, futures and communities. But we are not backing down. May Day is a celebration of the power of solidarity among all workers. It is a reminder that across race, background and job title, we are standing together for a Florida and a nation where workers are respected, voices are heard and no one is left behind. While immigrant workers are harvesting our produce under the hot sun, SEIU nurses are saving lives, AFSCME workers are cleaning up our streets, TWU drivers are taking people to and from work and UTD educators are giving students access to opportunities through education, we demand that Congress do their job. We need Congress to take back their power and enact the checks and balances that exist in the U.S. Constitution. All of us have a job and we expect Congress to protect our democracy from fascism. That is why, on this International Labor Day, I ask you to stand with workers everywhere by speaking out, organizing and resisting authoritarianism attempting to take away our rights. Join the thousands of people who are taking up public spaces and demanding justice for education, workers, healthcare and opportunities for all. The movements across our nation are growing and will be more impactful when we all stand in solidarity of our collective rights. As the chant goes, 'When workers' rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!' Because when we fight together, we win. And when we rise in solidarity, we rise for all. Karla Hernandez-Mats is the outgoing president of the United Teachers of Dade.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kansas ‘back to work act' would force state employees to return to offices
Adam Proffitt, Secretary of the Department of Administration and the state budget director, addressing Kansas legislators on Jan. 16, 2025. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — The lunch rush in downtown Topeka's restaurants and cafés hasn't been the same since the COVID-19 pandemic, said Seth Wagoner, an investment executive. Thousands of state employees who once worked in office buildings in Kansas' capital and frequented downtown businesses for lunch and happy hour now work from home all or part of the time. They could be called back to the office under proposed legislation. At a Thursday hearing in the Senate Committee on Government Efficiency, legislators considered Senate Bill 256, or the 'back to work act.' Wagoner, the CEO of private equity firm AIM Strategies, said in testimony that at some lunch hotspots in downtown Topeka, business is still down by 10% from pre-pandemic times, accounting for inflation. He was the one proponent to speak, and five state employees, testifying as private citizens, spoke against the bill. One employee, Frances Dewell, who works in the protection report center within Kansas Department for Children and Families, which fields calls related to suspected abuse and neglect, said mandating state workers back to the office full time risks losing at least a quarter of their staff. 'Yes, state workers could return to a pre-COVID office setting,' Dewell said. 'However, the changes that have developed over the last five years have compelled us to evolve.' A virtual work culture has developed in her workplace and allowed prioritization of employee growth and well-being, she said. Roughly , according to A 2023 report from the Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit examining 81 state executive branch agencies found that 30% of state workers work from home all or part of the time. Of the state's roughly 18,000 employees, the estimated 5,500 who work remotely under a telework agreement, the state's official term for working from home full-time or on a hybrid schedule involving remote and in-office work, would be required to return to office buildings full-time with some exceptions. Agency heads would be allowed to offer exemptions to employees with atypical work hours, positions that don't reasonably require in-office work and if office space constraints would mean added costs to accommodate a return to work mandate. In smaller agencies that have around 100 employees or fewer, most or all of them telework, according to the data from spring 2023. That includes the Kansas Water Office, the Kansas Sentencing Commission, the state board of optometry examiners and the board of mortuary arts. It also includes the Kansas Board of Regents, the Office of the State Fire Marshal and the Office of the State Bank Commissioner. In the largest agencies, the popularity of remote work varies. In the Kansas Department for Children and Families, 85% of employees engaged in some form of remote work as of April 2023. At the Kansas Department of Transportation, which employed more than 2,100 people at the same time, around 14% had telework agreements. More than half of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment's roughly 1,500 employees worked remotely. 'Telework is viewed as a benefit by many state employees,' said Adam Proffitt, speaking on behalf of the Department of Administration, which includes Gov. Laura Kelly's office. Proffitt, who shared that he often works from home one day a week usually when the Legislature is not in session, told legislators that the state offers a template for agencies that dictates the roles eligible for telework and the number of days employees can work remotely. He said telework can be a tool to attract and retain employees, and 'can actually expand our radius of talent,' by hiring employees who don't live in Topeka or cannot commute. The department of administration will be required under the bill to create a report for the government efficiency committee listing state agencies granting exceptions to the mandate, the number of exceptions granted, the job descriptions or titles associated with each exception, the number and costs of buildings leased by each agency and the number of state employees assigned to a physical office space but working remotely. However, concerns for state employees with disabilities arose in the Thursday hearing because of the job description or title reporting requirement. Employees with disabilities could be identifiable in smaller agencies, a violation of legal protections including the Americans with Disabilities Act. Martha Gabehart, the executive director of the Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns, said in written testimony that the mandate would be out of sync with Kansas' reputation as a model employer for people with disabilities. 'By creating a policy that would, if not implemented correctly, violate the rights of employees with disabilities, we would no longer be considered a model employer,' she said. A back to work mandate would be costly to the state, according to a fiscal note attached to the bill. The health department estimates the change would cost the state a combined $1.3 million over the next two fiscal years. More than 160 of the department's employees are fully remote, and office space for them does not currently exist. Several other agencies noted increased costs associated with finding new office space for returning employees and the possibility of employees resigning if the back to work act is implemented. Agencies including the Department of Corrections noted no or minimal cost increases because the majority of their employees have returned to in-person work. The bill is awaiting final approval in the Senate committee and has yet to be introduced in the House.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
DOGE in Kentucky? Lawmakers introduce bills to create new state efficiency task force
A bill that would establish Kentucky's equivalent to the federal Department of Government Efficiency recently formed by President Donald Trump has been introduced in the Kentucky Senate. Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield introduced Senate Bill 256, which would create a government office called the "Kentucky Office of Government Efficiency," Tuesday, according to a news release from the Senate Majority Caucus. The new department would focus on eliminating waste and enhancing cost efficiency in state government. "Kentuckians expect their government to operate efficiently and responsibly," Tichenor said in a statement. "This legislation will create a department focused on holding state agencies accountable, cutting waste and delivering real results for taxpayers." The proposal calls for a system similar to DOGE, the new federal initiative led by tech-billionaire Elon Musk and greenlit by Trump. In the weeks since Trump took office, Musk and his team have scoured several federal agencies searching for ways to save money, eliminating hundreds of positions across the government and reviewing established contracts for "wasteful" spending. The proposal suggests forming the "Kentucky Office of Government Efficiency" within the Office of the Auditor of Public Accounts. Under the framework, the Auditor of Public Accounts would carry out performance audits and operational reviews of state agencies to look for inefficiencies, wasteful spending and opportunities to save, the news release said. The office would develop best practices and recommendations based on findings and oversee the implementation of recommendations. Meanwhile in the Kentucky House of Representatives, a separate proposal also aims to snuff out government inefficiencies. Reps. TJ Roberts, R-Burlington, and John F. Hodgson, R-Fisherville, introduced House Concurrent Resolution 50 Tuesday, which would create a Task Force called the "Kentucky Discipline of Government Efficiency." The task force, which is described as a "companion measure" to the Senate bill, would include 10 members, Roberts said in a statement on social media. The House Speaker would appoint four members, the Senate President would nominate four members and the minority leaders from each chamber would each appoint one member. "This initiative will review executive branch spending to enhance efficiency, cut waste and prioritize essential services, ensuring Kentuckians' tax dollars are used wisely in our 2026 budget. Building on our recent tax relief success, the Task Force will unite citizens, stakeholders, and lawmakers to create a more accountable government," Roberts said. Contact reporter Killian Baarlaer at kbaarlaer@ or @bkillian72 on X. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky DOGE? Lawmakers file bills to create state equivalent
