Teachers unions have been facing serious blowback since the pandemic.
A life-or-death struggle for them is underway in the Sunshine State.
And teachers unions are facing catastrophe in Florida after losing this fight with Ron DeSantis.
Teachers unions could fold after losing government-granted special privileges
The pandemic helped expose the rotten nature of teachers unions.
Union bosses fought to keep schools closed even when there was no scientific evidence for doing so.
Students bringing their work home exposed the Marxist indoctrination that had seeped into the classroom with the encouragement of teachers unions like critical race theory and radical gender ideologies.
Teachers unions are left-wing political organizations that pay lip service to education or the best interests of students.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis set out to break the chokehold that teachers unions have over the classroom.
The best option for any state is to make it illegal for public employee unions to collectively bargain.
Eliminating collective bargaining turns them into voluntary associations that have no involvement with state and local government.
Florida has a right to collective bargaining in the state Constitution so that option was not on the table.
DeSantis came up with the next best solution.
He signed SB 256 into law last year which made key changes to how most public employee unions operate in Florida.
The bill stops the state from acting as a free collection agency for unions by automatically deducting union dues from employees’ paychecks.
If supporters want to pay the union dues, they have to cut the check themselves.
The bill also requires that public employee unions have at least 60% of their members paying dues or they face decertification and are dissolved.
This keeps zombie unions that no one voted into the workplace and have no support from being able to represent workers who do not want it.
DeSantis slammed teacher unions last year for being “ultra partisan” and pushing woke ideology.
“Are you representing teachers to get better pay and benefits or are you trying to push a political agenda? Unfortunately, so much of it has been pushing a political agenda,” DeSantis said.
Major teachers unions in Florida face decertification
Two of the biggest teachers unions in Florida are facing the possibility of being decertified because of DeSantis’ law.
Broward Teachers Union and United Teachers of Dade failed to reach the 60% threshold of dues-paying members.
They can petition the Public Employees Relations Commission to hold an election where they need to get 30% of their members to sign an interest card to move forward.
A new election is then held where a majority of employees have to vote in favor of the union.
Broward School Board Member Torey Alston told Florida’s Voice, which covers state and local news, that the union was not delivering for teachers.
“I think they want sound representation, and I think it’s questionable if that has been the case for the last several years – at the head of the Broward Teachers Union,” Alston said.
Alston said the union has been pushing a political agenda that is out of alignment with its membership.
“The union leadership has been clearly pushing a very clear political agenda that I don’t believe reflects members and teachers across the district,” Alston added.
Teachers unions are going to have the face the music without the government to protect their racket.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
