FORT MYERS, FL — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill that will make it harder for government unions to stay certified.
SB 1296 changes the rules for non-public-safety unions, including teachers unions.
It requires at least 50% of employees in a bargaining unit to participate in certification or re-certification elections. A majority of those voting must back the union.
Police, firefighters, correctional officers, EMTs and other public-safety units are treated differently under the bill.
The changes will take effect on July 1.
DeSantis signed the bill in Fort Myers on Friday. He said it would decertify what he called “partisan teacher unions” and tighten registration and financial reporting requirements.
Supporters say the change is a worker-accountability measure. They argue unions should not represent an entire workforce unless enough employees actually vote to support them.
The DeSantis administration has also heavily criticized teachers unions over the past several months, blaming them for delaying the rollout of teacher salary increase funds allocated by the state last year.
"What some of these school unions were doing, even though the money is available July 1st — when the fiscal year starts — they were withholding that in negotiations," DeSantis said Friday.
"Senate Bill 1296, puts the focus on teachers themselves and ensures that their voices are genuinely reflected and the pay that they deserve is delivered," Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas said.
Kamoutsas has criticized recent budget and teacher salary talks in Leon County, accusing the district and the union of dragging their feet.
During today's bill signing, Kamoutsas thanked Leon County School Board member Laurie Cox, Gadsden County superintendent Elijah Key, Wakulla County superintendent Rick Myhre, and Suwannee County superintendent Ronnie Gray for speaking in committee against unions.
Unions blasted the signing as an anti-worker move on May Day.
The Florida AFL-CIO said the legislation's impacts go beyond teachers and include sanitation workers, transit workers, healthcare workers and other public employees.
The Florida Education Association accused the governor of attacking workers’ collective bargaining rights instead of addressing affordability, teacher pay, and school funding.
"Today, the Governor’s signing of SB 1296 is yet another entry in a long line of betrayals of working Floridians by Gov. DeSantis in favor of out-of-state, billionaire-backed, special interest groups," the FEA said.
In Leon County, Scott Mazur, the president of the Leon Classroom Teachers Association, argued the bill had an ulterior motive during an interview with ABC 27 last month.
"It's not about helping people. It's not about transparency. It's about control. It's about leverage, and eventually, elimination of the working people," Mazur said.
Mazur said the union's focus is having conversations to increase membership.
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