Central Florida labor leaders said a plan to punish banks that support "union-busting" legislation will cost financial institutions millions and likely spread to other unions around the state.
At a news conference Thursday, unions representing police, firefighters, teachers and white- and blue-collar workers announced they will pull their money from five banks whose executives are affiliated with the Florida Chamber of Commerce.The unions said they're closing their business accounts with the banks and moving their money to credit unions or community banks. They're advising their members to do the same.
The banks — Bank of America, PNC, Regions Bank, SunTrust and Wachovia — are each represented on the Florida Chamber's board of directors. The chamber has pushed legislation now moving through the Florida Legislature that would prohibit state and local governments from collecting union dues through payroll deduction.
By the way, we'd like to know why military helicopters dropped U.S. Department of Homeland Security SWAT teams onto the roof of Bank of America in Miami on Monday night. They said it was a training exercise. We certainly hope they weren't training to defend the banks against unions withdrawing their money.
