Will new law ‘bust’ Florida’s largest teachers union? Miami-Dade teachers wait for news

Florida’s largest teachers union, United Teachers of Dade, will head down the path toward decertification if it cannot prove that hundreds more teachers began paying dues over the last week — an unprecedented situation that threatens to leave about 30,000 Miami-Dade public school teachers and personnel vulnerable to possible labor contract changes.

On Friday, to meet the requirements of a new state law that requires at least 60% of union members pay dues, Miami-Dade Public Schools was gauging how many eligible employees were union-paying members within UTD. The last tally — conducted on Nov. 10 — put that number at just 58.4%.

It was unclear Friday whether the 60% threshold would be met, and union leaders and district administrators were uncertain exactly what the future would hold if they fell short.

During a news conference Thursday night, Karla Herndandez-Mats was unable to detail what the potential ramifications could be as a result of submitting the audit. “We don’t know what it means, because we don’t know what the numbers will be tomorrow,” she said.

The potential collapse of the state’s largest teachers union could minimize the collective voice of educators in a state that has increasingly been hostile to teachers unions, and undercut them locally when they find themselves in need of collective representation.

Teachers unions have often been at the forefront of criticism toward the governor and Republicans over education policies. If the unions are decertified, it would mark the first wave of change from a law that went into effect July 1 and was criticized by union leaders and Democrats as a “union-busting” effort to silence critics.

Decertification would leave the union unable to bargain for things such as pay and protections in the classroom. Without that ability, Hernandez-Mats said, there would be “detrimental” effects and a “mass exodus of teachers” who are tired of political attacks. (The union successfully bargained for its members to receive pay raises ranging from 7% to 10% this school year.)

West Park state Sen. Shevrin Jones, a Democrat, said he is concerned any change to a bargaining agreement could be detrimental to working families.

“As a result, paid holidays, merit pay raises, longevity bonuses, and sick-leave benefits are all on the chopping block,” Jones, a former educator, said in a text message Friday. “This is yet another stark reminder that elections have consequences.”

Teachers unions are scrambling to meet the new threshold just four months after the new law championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican lawmakers went into effect. The law increased the threshold of union-paying members to 60% and blocked unions from pulling dues directly from teachers’ paychecks.

Unions in other parts of the state, such as the 7,000-member Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association, are also in a mad dash to maintain their certification as a result of the new law.

Supporters of the law say the new restrictions are meant to provide more transparency to workers about unions.

DeSantis’ office did not respond to requests seeking comment on the law’s impact on some teachers unions.

What this means for UTD

Following Friday’s audit, Miami-Dade schools will submit the information to the state’s Public Employees Relations Committee (PERC), which will determine if the union has met the state’s new requirements.

If they are unable to prove the 60% threshold, UTD won’t immediately be decertified. Rather, the union will have to show at least 30% of the union’s bargaining unit “wants a union to represent them” and then begin a “certification campaign,” which, according to Hernandez-Mats, has never occurred in the union’s history.

“The road ahead may be challenging, but it is one we must navigate together,” she said.

If PERC determines the union is eligible to qualify for a certification election, the union will then hold a vote seeking recertification. The union must top 50% support to earn recertification, but will have to again prove it has met the 60% threshold the following year to remain certified — or begin the cycle all over again.

While it remains unclear if the union will face that process — or how long it would take — school district officials said they will maintain the status quo when dealing with the union until a decision is made regarding its certification, and would honor the contract that was ratified earlier this year.

Officials tasked with overseeing negotiations with the union acknowledged that there could be legal ramifications and challenges to upholding a bargaining agreement if the union is decertified, but were unable to specify what those changes could be. Officials argued they were “committed to maintaining a stabilized workforce.”

About 70% of the union’s current contract is rooted in Florida law, officials said, and would, by law, need to be upheld. For all other provisions, they said the district would work to maintain a work environment that supports employees.

‘Relentless attacks on education’

If the union is decertified, the move could fuel criticism from Democrats and union leaders who have repeatedly called the new state law a Republican-led “union-busting” effort to silence critics.

Police, firefighters and correction-officers unions are exempt from the law, prompting teachers unions earlier this year to argue the law was political retaliation by DeSantis and a violation of their First Amendment, equal-protection and contract rights.

During a news conference Thursday night to address the deadline, Hernandez-Mats, the UTD president, said it was crucial that educators “stand united in the face of this assault” against the state’s education system.

“Together we are a formidable force, a united front against political attacks against our education system,” Hernandez-Mats said. “The road ahead may be challenging, but it is one we must navigate together. Our collective strength will be the defense against these attacks.”

Hernandez-Mats, who also serves as the vice president of the American Federation of Teachers, ran against DeSantis in 2022 as the running mate of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist. DeSantis won reelection by nearly 20 points.

Ahead of the law going into effect, Hernandez-Mats called it the “most egregious, most anti-union bill ever proffered.”

During the news conference Thursday, Hernandez-Mats pointed to what she called the “relentless attacks on education” by the Freedom Foundation, a conservative think tank with the financial backing of wealthy conservative donors that has had a heavy hand in campaigns against organized labor.

Hernandez-Mats highlighted the group’s effort to destabilize workers in the state, beginning in January when a Freedom Foundation employee wrote legislation that was later introduced as SB 256, the law that changed the union rules. A recent CBS News investigation included the employee’s admission to writing the bill and the Freedom Foundation’s tactics targeting the union, which included mail pieces attacking UTD and urging members to stop paying their dues.

Still, despite the attacks, Hernandez-Mats said the union has been “growing membership in the most exponential way than we’ve ever done in the last five months.”

Last year, she said, due-paying membership was at 51%.