- It became more and more difficult to belong to the teachers’ union in Florida.
- Teachers are required to mail membership dues monthly, not payroll deductions.
- This measure comes coupled with higher teacher salaries.
Republican Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida on Tuesday signed a bill requiring teachers who want to join a union to mail a monthly written check.
This system replaces the current arrangement, widely used by unions across the country, where teachers’ union dues are automatically deducted from their salaries. It was widely denounced as a “union buster” by Democrats in Florida.
Florida Senate Democratic leader Lauren Book said in a statement that the change would make it harder for unions to survive and impose bureaucracy on teachers.
“We can trust teachers to make personal choices about how to spend their hard-earned money. It is unconstitutional and undemocratic,” she said.
The law imposes additional responsibilities on unions, such as requiring new reporting to the state on the number of employees eligible and ultimately joining the union. If your membership is less than 60% of hers, you will need to reapply for certification.
On average, about 60 percent of Florida teachers pay union dues, the Florida Senate says. analysis.
The signing marks a victory for DeSantis, who has fought teachers’ unions since the COVID pandemic and was the first to propose changes to union dues in December 2022.
The teachers’ union has been one of the governor’s biggest enemies, especially since the fall of 2020, after resisting his push to reopen schools during the pandemic, citing safety concerns, and after DeSantis has been in the classroom. after banning mask mandates for
Even former Congressman and DeSantis’ failed 2022 Democratic challenger, Charlie Christo, chose Miami-Dade teachers’ union boss Carla Hernandez Matz as his running mate. School unions tend to donate more to Democrats than Republicans in election campaigns.
DeSantis accused the union of being a “political organization” that “has no regard for the interests” of parents and students.
“School unions have become very partisan,” DeSantis said on Tuesday. “That’s not what schools are for.”
DeSantis’ campaign to rebuild public education in Florida has led to praise from conservatives and backlash from liberals, with polls for the 2024 Republican presidential primary placing the governor second only to former President Donald Trump. Consistently ranked second.
The governor has not said whether he will run for office, but plans to announce his candidacy for president this month or next, once he has approved the state’s budget and signed more bills.
In the November election, DeSantis made restructuring the school board one of his top priorities. Among DeSantis’ other most famous educational policies is the bill he signed into law limiting the way race, gender and sexuality were taught in public schools. He defends the change because parents should have a say in what their children learn.
The governor also expanded family-friendly vouchers that use state money to pay for private and charter schools, but Florida public school educators are lamenting underfunding and staffing.
Florida’s new anti-union laws create another hurdle for organized workers in Florida, whose “right to work” status is enshrined in the state constitution. Under current law, Florida workers can opt out of union membership. This limits unions from collecting dues, receiving pay increases and medical benefits from employees who benefit from bargained worker protections.
At a press conference on Tuesday, DeSantis stressed that he plans to approve more than $1 billion in teacher pay increases as he tackles the state budget. This amount is $252 million higher than the state’s current level.
The average teacher salary in Florida ranks 48th in the nation. according to National Education Association, the largest teacher union in the state. “It’s not going to go quietly,” said Andrew Spart, the group’s president.
“Governor DeSantis talks about empowering teachers, but what we’re seeing is the opposite,” Spare said. We fully expect that trend to continue.”
DeSantis viewed the anti-union movement as “payroll protection” for teachers, which he said “leads to more take-home wages.”
On Tuesday, he signed another bill into law. These include giving teachers the right to ban phone calls from the classroom, and setting term limits on school board members.