TEACHERS, CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS, OTHER PUBLIC EMPLOYEES HIT BY UNFAIR SHOT UNDER SB 13

  SB 13, given tentative approval today in the Texas Senate, is another overreach into the private lives of working Texans, Texas AFL-CIO President John Patrick said.  

   "It's their money," Patrick said of state and local employees. "They earned it. They should be able to spend it how they see fit."

  "We were especially surprised to hear from the author of SB 13 that teachers, correctional officers, child abuse investigators, probation officers, nurses, park rangers and many other state and local employees do not rise to the level of deserving to keep their voluntary dues deduction."

   "For example, it must be news to correctional officers who have attended their colleagues' funerals that the risks they take every day they go to work are not good enough to retain payroll dues deduction."

  "Administering dues deductions that go to labor organizations is no different than deductions that go to insurance companies, advocacy organizations or charity," Patrick said. "SB 13 picks one thing - the choices of state and local employees to support labor organizations through payroll dues deduction - and says that is not okay."

   "Texas working families want their state leaders in Austin to solve real problems that affect their everyday lives. This bill does nothing to raise wages for Texas workers. It does nothing to improve our public schools. It does nothing to make college more affordable. It's time politicians in Austin listened up."

  "We thank senators who opposed SB 13 and call on the Texas House to reject yet another example of the Senate's contriving and manufacturing a problem where there is none."

For more information on SB 13, CLICK HERE. 

 The Texas AFL-CIO is a state labor federation that includes 237,000 affiliated union members who advocate for working families in Texas.