Florida bill to diminish power of teachers’ unions over employees

The Florida Legislature is sending a bill to Gov. Ron DeSantis to close a legal loophole that unions use to retain power over employees.

SB 1296 passed the Florida House on March 11 and will almost undoubtedly be approved by DeSantis, who said on social media the bill is a “huge win to hold partisan school unions accountable!”

The state passed a law in 2023 requiring public-sector unions to have 60% membership to maintain certification. Certification forces employers to bargain with the union instead of with individual employees.

After that law passed, dozens of Florida unions lost their certification.

But there was a catch.

If a union’s certification was called into question, the union only needed to win a majority of the ballots cast – not a majority of its actual members.

According to workers’ rights advocacy group the Freedom Foundation, SB 1296 will require at least half of a union’s total members to vote before an election result is considered valid – ensuring a small minority of workers doesn’t determine the fate of the majority.

“Florida already proved that when you hold unions accountable to the workers they claim to speak for, many can’t clear even a basic threshold of support,” said Freedom Foundation CEO Aaron Withe.

“SB 1296 closes the remaining loophole. If a union is going to hold exclusive legal authority over every employee in a bargaining unit, it should at least be able to say that a majority of those employees actually chose them. That’s not a high bar.”

Unsurprisingly, the Florida Education Association (FEA) and other local teachers’ unions protested the bill. The FEA even claimed SB 1296 would “make it harder for workers in Florida to support their families, pay their bills and access their healthcare benefits.”

However, Florida’s education leadership has supported the measure.

“Florida’s teachers’ unions are in urgent need of reform,” said State Board of Education Chair Ryan Petty. “These measures are designed to hold unions accountable and ensure that representation in our schools actually reflects the educators it serves.”

Vice Chair MaryLynn Magar added SB 1296 would “give teachers a genuine choice in whether unions represent them or not” and “allow our school leaders and teachers to stay focused on what matters most: serving our students.”