Florida gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist says Right to Work is wrong

Statement from Crist piques interest from Right to Work battle ground states, including Ohio
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(PR NewsChannel) / August 25, 2014 / TALLAHASSEE, Fla. 

Charlie Crist, candidate for Florida Governor. (Photo courtesy charliecrist.com)

Charlie Crist, candidate for Florida Governor. (Photo courtesy charliecrist.com)

Charlie Crist, a former Florida governor and current candidate for the state’s top job, said he’s willing to examine Right to Work in Florida and whether the state has benefitted from doing away with collective bargaining and has helped provide workers their freedom or led to lower wages and less than ideal working conditions.

“Unions have been very good for our country and very good for working people and the notion that we wouldn’t support what unions have tried to do to help unify people simply defies logic to me,” said Crist while on his “Restore the Cuts” campaign event.

There are 24 states that are Right to Work states, including Florida. The Right to Work battle is raging on in several states across the country, including Ohio, where backers want to do away with unions. Crist says he’s not so sure that Right to Work has been good for workers in Florida.

“I think it is something we need to look into. Why we aren’t doing more to help working people in Florida defies logic,” said Crist.

Crist, who held the governorship in Florida from 2007 to 2011, left the Republican Party in 2010 and joined the Democratic Party in 2012 after a brief stint as an Independent. He’s currently battling Republican incumbent Rick Scott in November’s gubernatorial election.

“It’s refreshing to see it said in such a blatant manner,” said Pat Sink, Ohio’s International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 18 business manager. “Unions have been an important part of this country’s history and he’s right in saying that disparaging union contributions is just illogical.”

Sink, a veteran of Ohio’s Right to Work fight, has long maintained that the dangers of Right to Work are far too big to ignore.

“By defeating unions and enacting Right to Work, the GOP would effectively destroy worker rights and severely damage the middle class,” says Sink. “That’s why it’s so important that we continue to fight and stay ahead of this controversial agenda.”

Opponents of the recent Ohio “Workplace Freedom” bills contend that the initiative’s true purpose is to kill unions and worker protections, ultimately leading to a weaker middle class.

By stripping workers of their rights and freedoms, business owners would be free to lower worker pay, reduce worker benefits and ignore worker rights.

Whether Republicans utilize “Paycheck Protection,” “Workplace Freedom,” or other Right to Work tactics, opponents have remained dedicated to ensuring the voting public knows the underlying nature behind the GOP’s divisive agenda.

For more information about Right to Work in Ohio, please visit www.protectohiosmiddleclass.org

Direct link:  https://prnewschannel.com/2014/08/25/florida-gubernatorial-candidate-charlie-crist-says-right-to-work-is-wrong/

SOURCE:  Keep Ohio's Heritage


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