Hundreds of union members and unemployed workers flooded the Capitol Thursday, protesting Gov. Rick Scott with chants of "Pink slip Rick!".
Protesters gathered outside the House and Senate chambers on the fourth floor of the Capitol before marching down to the first floor and crowding around the entrance to the Governor's Office. Most were clad in pink, waving anti-Scott placards and alternately chanting "Where are the jobs?"
Scott was not in Tallahassee most of Thursday.
The protesters were organized in part by Florida New Majority, a coalition of progressive groups from across the state. Natalia Jaramillo, a communication associate for Florida New Majority who helped organize the protest, said they were speaking out against proposed cuts to unemployment benefits.
"We know he (Scott) has been putting pressure on cutting unemployment benefits," Jaramillo said, explaining the outrage toward the governor.
House Bill 7005 would cut six weeks offthe maximum state unemployment benefits.A Senate plan does not cut weeks, but does include a skills test for unemployed workers seeking benefits and makes it easier for employers to challenge claims.
Legislators say the cuts to the unemployment compensation trust fund are needed to plug a $2 billion hole created by Florida's rapid spike in the unemployment rate. Small businesses, most of which are already paying nearly $75 per employee in unemployment compensation taxes -- triple last year's rate -- are also paying assessments to the federal government on the interest on the debt incurred.
Business groups lobbied the Legislature to put off the debt assessments last year in the hopes the economy would turn around and the unemployment rate would dip, alleviating the pressure on the fund. That didn't happen, with the unemployment rate hovering around 12 percent in the last few months of 2010.
Now, business leaders say the increase in taxes and fees is hampering their ability to hire new workers. President Barack Obama had offered to allow Florida to postpone the interest payment for another year, but Scott declined, saying the added cost in interest would not be worth the one-year holiday.
Despite the talk of "pink-slipping" the governor, Jaramillo said the protest was more about influencing the Legislature to take the Senate's approach to reducing unemployment benefits.
"Our expectation is that we really hope the Senate bill doesn't cut the weeks," she said.
Even though Scott shrugged off a recent poll that showed his unfavorable rating had sharply increased, Jaramillo thinks the protest and the polls will eventually start to affect him.
"I think he will start caring," Jaramillo said.
Scott inherited an 11.9 percent unemployment rate upon being sworn into office in January. The February rate showed a slight dip to 11.5 percent, with 22,700 new jobs added that month. He made a point of not taking credit for the dip two months into his term, repeating his focus on being the "jobs governor" and creating 700,000 jobs in seven years.
