DOWNTOWN TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Florida lawmakers are considering legislation that would impose stricter requirements on public employee unions, drawing opposition from union members across the state, including teachers in Leon County.
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Senate Bill 1296 tightens rules for public employee unions by clarifying their obligations and making it harder for them to operate and stay certified. Among its provisions, the bill would increase the voter approval threshold for a union to recertify and continue bargaining its contract.
Union members from across Florida gathered Monday to advocate against the bill. Among them were representatives from the Leon Classroom Teachers Association, including Carol Hurst, a third-grade teacher at DeSoto Trail Elementary.
"It can help keep us safe in the workplace and provide good working conditions," Hurst said. "And I need somebody to advocate for the salaries. That's not something that I've been trained to do."
Hurst said her current salary makes it difficult to make ends meet, making union representation critical.
"I have looked at picking up second jobs," Hurst said. "But I need to be available for my parents, and I have other obligations. And everybody needs downtime. So a salary is important."
Scott Mazur, President of the Leon Classroom Teachers Association, said the bill distracts from the goal of affordability.
"This is not helping to raise salaries for people to stay in Florida, make Florida more affordable," Mazur said. "It's not helping with, you know, the resources that we need within our public schools. It's not rebuilding the colleges of education to make sure we have highly qualified people to go into the classrooms."
Mazur said the bill also invalidates the association's previous successes, including salary gains, benefits, and support for ESE students.
Supporters of the bill, including State Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka, the sponsor of the House companion bill, say the legislation is about holding unions accountable and ensuring greater state oversight.
"I don't know if it's good public policy to tell hundreds of employees they are being represented by one union if only a handful of them want the union," Persons-Mulicka said.
Opponents have argued the bill is unconstitutional, but State Sen. John Martin pushed back on that claim.
"Bargaining groups were not part of the 14th Amendment, so it's not unconstitutional because the 14th Amendment didn't say that bargaining groups are not a protected class under the 14th Amendment," Martin said.
The bill still has a few more stops. Its House companion bill needs to go to the House Floor for a vote, and both bill versions must be the same in the House and the Senate in order to be sent to the Governor.
Session right now is set to wrap up on March 13th.
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