TALLAHASSEE —
– A leading Senate Republican has filed a bill that could strip unions of some of their political strength, barring payroll deduction for union dues and prohibiting dues from being used for political activity without written consent.

“I think it’s a freedom issue for people who now are conscripted to having their money taken out of their paychecks,” said Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine. “I think it’s more of a thing where they can volunteer to decide what they want to do.”

But at least one union – the teachers’ union – sees it as political payback for its opposition to one of Thrasher’s top legislative priorities last year, a bill that would have drastically reformed teacher pay, partially basing salary bumps on student test data. The bill, also a pet project of former Gov. Jeb Bush’s education foundation, received major pushback from teachers who showed up in large numbers to the Capitol to protest the proposal.

Gov. Charlie Crist ultimately vetoed the bill, citing concerns about fairness to educators, particularly special education teachers whose students might have trouble with a standardized exam. The veto gave Crist a huge amount of support from teachers in his unsuccessful bid for U.S. Senate, but it enraged GOP lawmakers, including Thrasher, and marked Crist’s departure from the Republican Party.

“These actions are nothing more than retribution directed at FEA and other labor organizations for using our democratic right to support or oppose legislation in Florida, particularly last year’s SB 6,” said FEA President Andy Ford in a statement. “Of course, we will oppose this measure, which is aimed at silencing our members and punishing them for opposing proposals supported by legislative leaders.”

Payroll deduction for dues membership is negotiated through a local school board’s collective bargaining process and many school districts have been doing so since the 1970s. Despite the collective bargaining process, Thrasher said he still doesn’t believe that there is enough choice for employees.

“I think this would give them a choice,” he said. “I don’t think it is now.”

The unions remain one of the last bastions of Democratic power in the state of Florida, pouring money into Democratic candidates’ campaign coffers. They strongly supported Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink, who lost to Gov. Rick Scott in a razor-thin