Gov.
A lawsuit filed by Teamsters Local 79 contends the 3 percent contribution requirement is unconstitutional and impairs the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the Citrus County School Board and Tampa-based Teamsters Local 79.
Teamsters Local 79 and Adolph Baumann, a Local 79 member, are plaintiffs in the case.
Ken Wood, International Vice President and President of Local 79, put it succinctly:
Our collective bargaining agreement does not allow the state to impose this hardship on our members. This is wrong, it’s immoral and Teamsters are going to stand up and fight for our members.Baumann has worked at CCSB as a custodian for 21 years. He said:
I feel like we were betrayed. People who work in the school system don’t make much money to begin with, but we should get the benefits we were promised. The new governor and legislature are breaking our contract by taking this money out of our salaries.The legal action requests that the court permanently stop CCSB from taking 3 percent from the Teamster members’ paychecks because their CBA specifically says that they are not to contribute to the retirement system. The new pension law goes against the contract, requiring the contribution. And according to the Florida Constitution, laws cannot be passed that impair contracts, like the one between CCSB and Teamsters Local 79.
This is the second lawsuit Teamsters have filed over the pension law. Teamsters Local 385 members in Orlando recently joined a lawsuit filed by a coalition of public sector unions against the State over the 3 percent contribution. Like the Teamsters Local 79 lawsuit, this lawsuit also states that the 3 percent contribution is unconstitutional. However, this lawsuit instead deals with employees’ basic rights when they participate in FRS, as opposed to how the new pension laws affect a particular CBA.
No matter how you look at it legally, Florida workers are getting screwed.
