Posted on 12/30/2023 8:17:53 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Once in place, it is nearly impossible to get rid of a public union. Florida governor Ron DeSantis found a clever way to make it possible...
In May, governor DeSantis signed a bill that requires at least 60% of workers in a bargaining unit to be dues-paying members. United Teachers of Dade (UTD) did not hit the threshold.
Also, unions also can no longer automatically deduct dues from paychecks, members have to opt in. Much of the dues are used for political purposes and resentment from many teachers has built up.
The Wall Street Journal explains how this unique setup has led to a Teachers Union Showdown in Florida
UTD reported 13,257 dues-paying members out of 23,558 eligible employees in a filing with the state Public Employees Relations Commission this month. That’s about 56%, some 877 members short of the threshold. This is despite heavy union campaigning to sign teachers up.
Now the issue could head to the ballot. For a recertification election, UTD needs a show of interest from 30% of relevant employees in the district. The good news is employees may not be left with a choice between the status quo and no representation.
Another union, led by Miami teachers who are dissatisfied with UTD, is trying to get on the ballot too. The Miami-Dade Education Coalition (MDEC) needs a 10% showing of interest by mid-January to qualify. The new union’s pitch is that it will fight for teachers’ and students’ interests without the politicking and divided alliances of the UTD.
“We are going to be totally and completely nonpartisan,” says MDEC Vice President Renee Zayas, a district high school teacher and former UTD member. “We will not be endorsing candidates.” In 2022 UTD endorsements included Democrat Charlie Crist against Mr. DeSantis, and union president Karla Hernandez-Mats ran for Lieutenant Governor.
Ms. Zayas says she left UTD this summer because she was tired of its partisanship and felt that it wasn’t doing enough for teachers’ wages and practical classroom needs. “More and more I saw the lack of representation of our educational staff,” she says. Meanwhile, Ms. Hernandez-Mats made a base salary of more than $200,000 in 2021.
The dues that union members pay go largely to union organizers, and politics. UTD president Mats is paid $200,000. She ran for Lieutenant Governor.
Events in Florida bring to mind Janus v. AFSCME decided by the US Supreme Court.
By a 5-to-4 vote, with the more conservative justices in the majority, the court ruled that government workers who choose not to join unions may not be required to help pay for collective bargaining.
Janus overturned Abood as the New York Times explains in Supreme Court Ruling Delivers a Sharp Blow to Labor Unions
The Supreme Court dealt a major blow on Wednesday to organized labor. By a 5-to-4 vote, with the more conservative justices in the majority, the court ruled that government workers who choose not to join unions may not be required to help pay for collective bargaining.
Forcing those workers to finance union activity violated the First Amendment, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote for the majority. “We conclude that this arrangement violates the free speech rights of nonmembers by compelling them to subsidize private speech on matters of substantial public concern,” he wrote.
The ruling means that public-sector unions across the nation, already under political pressure, could lose tens of millions of dollars and see their effectiveness diminished.
Justice Elena Kagan summarized her dissent from the bench, a sign of profound disagreement.
“There is no sugarcoating today’s opinion,” she wrote. “The majority overthrows a decision entrenched in this nation’s law — and in its economic life — for over 40 years.”
Wednesday’s ruling overruled the court’s 1977 decision in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education
I wrote about Janus on June 27, 2018 in Supreme Court Delivers Huge Blow to Unions
VOX says, “With its 5-4 decision in Janus v. AFSCME, the Supreme Court has just imposed a right-to-work regime on public workers everywhere in the country — a profound blow to the union movement.”
The state of Illinois and other non-right-to-work states effectively force people into unions via prevailing wage laws and other means.
Unfortunately, Janus did not overturn that. Rather the State of Illinois collected dues from Janus even though he had a private business and was not in any union.
It was a big victory, but not as big as Vox made out.
I have nothing but praise for DeSantis for continuing the fight against public unions to a new level.
The quicker we can get rid of public unions, and teachers’ unions are the worst of the lot, the better off this nation will be.
Chicago leads the nation in union graft. The newly elected mayor will ruin magnet schools by getting rid of performance standards on grounds of fairness.
Ahead of the Chicago mayoral election, I warned Brandon Johnson was 100% beholden to the teacher’s union. Unfortunately, I was correct.
On December 23, I wrote Citing “Equity”, Chicago Will Close Some of the Top Schools in the Country
My original title said “close” schools. I used that word based on City Journal wording that stipulated “eliminate.”
Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson’s December 14 decision to eliminate the city’s 11 selective public high schools, which use standardized tests to determine student admissions, is the latest example of this new notion of equity at play.
I changed my title from “close” to “ruin” because the schools are not being closed. Rather the admissions process will change in the name of equity, effectively ruining the schools.
On November 13, I noted School Choice Dies in Illinois, Congratulations Teachers as 35% Read at Grade Level
Scores for public schools were just released and showed only 35% of students in grades 3 through 8 could read at grade level in 2023, according to the Illinois Report Card. Only 27% met proficiency in math.
High school juniors taking the SAT posted similar proficiency: 32% could read and 27% do math at grade level.
Also in the name of “equity”, the teacher’s union and Gov. J.B. Pritzker killed scholarships for 9,600 poor children.
That’s how deep rot is in Illinois. Offering a chance for even 9,600 kids to get ahead is too much for the unions to handle.
The teachers’ unions do not want anyone to get ahead because it will show just how bad they are. But they cannot admit that. So they seek to eliminate any evidence of how bad they are by eliminating magnet schools and scholarships.
That’s what’s really going on. And they hide behind “equity” punishing innocent kids seeking to get ahead to hide their own incompetence and greed.
On December 21, I offered Congratulations to Everyone from Illinois Who Left
For the 10th consecutive year, Illinois lost population. Only West Virginia was worse.
Expecting Change is Madness
Anyone who thinks Illinois will change is delusional.
The only escape from Illinois madness is by leaving Illinois. Just don’t go to states equally bad if not worse, especially California, but also New York and New Jersey.
Get the hell out of Illinois, especially Chicago, as soon as you can.
As the teachers say, do it for the kids. Except this time, it really will be for the kids (and yourself too). Illinois is madness from both a tax and education standpoint.
Totally corrupt unions run Chicago and the whole damn state. No change is in sight. Leave now. If for no other reason, do it for the kids.
DeSantis seems to think outside of the box and goes after the root of a problem from what I’ve read about his approach to fixing Florida’s education system, from removing/banning inappropriate books in the K-12 libraries to limiting/reviewing tenure and now in making unions less of a leftist agenda/bad teacher protection racket.
Nice rant. You are right.
Oh man, that ain’t even close to a rant but I hear ya.
BOOM!
Dude, you said it well!
With the lack of bashing I was wondering if Comet Hale-Bopp made a return and took the tribe.
Oh man, a Hale-Bopp reference is old school. I wish for you a very happy New Year. Lord, save us from our betters....
A salute to Florida I support your comment, too.
I like how he gets to the root of the ptoblem in his many decisions. DeSantis fails to see the good he is doing as gov
and imho has no biz running for prez.
He should cultivate his governorship as a role model for other states in the sucesses he has gained .
What this article fails to mention is the large influence in education of the NEA.
These days the NEA has a lot of influence on school systems down to the union member (locals)and
teachers who are also NEA members.
The NEA is a racket
He’s only able to affect state unions as a governor. It would be great if these reforms could be directed at the NEA. I suspect he would like to apply what he has achieved to the entire nation’s education system, unions, etc., as well as nixing Chinese land purchases and any number of other policies he and the legislature have instituted.
I wish people didn’t fall for the “it’s not his turn” drumbeat. When you’re a politician, your turn is now, especially after a historic reelection. It’s unlikely that Trump ever thought he should step aside for a rival who might’ve been done him a big favor. Striking while the iron is hot is how successful people push to their goals. Waiting around politely sounds nice but also sounds a bit wimpish.
Time and politics are juggernauts; they both steams ahead, plowing through politicians without a thought about turns. Even Hillary didn’t rate the turn a whole lot of people thought was hers. The chances that 2028 will be like 2024 is next to nil. Time will mash together everything we know now and spit out a whole new ballgame.
Unions have way outlived their usefulness.
He is a great governor.
Exactly correct.
It’s OK that you back a loser. You are free to back a loser. I don’t like Ron because he’s a liar. One minute he says the January six people need to be in prison. Because he’s running for president, He decided it is better to change his mind.
Ack, forgot to thank you for what you agree with in the first comment.
I totally agree with you about the NEA
It’s not hard to understand.
Trump has been the presumptive nominee for 3yrs.
The $2,000,000,000 sabotage Trump primary provided a national stage to address GOP voting concerns.
Yet J6, election security, govt censorship, weaponizing of govt came up abt zero times. Southern invasion came up twice.
DeSantis could careless that Floridian J6ers are rotting in jail.
Law and order is a conservative pillar. Trump is treated more disorderly and unlawfully than any American ever.
Trump is the 6/5 betting fav to win, MAGA is the reason the GOP controls the House, SCOTUS etc.....Trump is the unquestionable leader of the GOP.
Instead of rallying around him maybe inhibiting or mitigating some of the nonsense-we’re going to light $2billion on fire in a sham primary hardly if at all addressing constituents concerns on a national stage.
It is very confusing, this mostly excludes DeSantis ran the worst campaign in GOP history.
He can no longer fill a ballroom in Florida. This whole thing of ignoring how he went fr 7/2 to 42/1 as if it is stupid tribal cultism thing is ignoring that elephant in the corner.
Employers should not be required to withhold union dues from employees. Employees should pay union dues with checks or debit cards, just like any other memberships. We will find out who really wants to be a union member.
““We are going to be totally and completely nonpartisan,” says MDEC Vice President Renee Zayas, a district high school teacher and former UTD member. “We will not be endorsing candidates.” In 2022 UTD endorsements included Democrat Charlie Crist against Mr. DeSantis, and union president Karla Hernandez-Mats ran for Lieutenant Governor.”
I was a lobbyist for the flight attendant’s union back in the 90’s - I lobbied the Rs as I was one of TWO Conservatives there. We were encouraged to donate money which was going solely to dems.
Not saying she is a liar but I am certainly not saying she isn’t. Union bosses are mostly dems.
I never belonged to any union, so I guess I never knew that union dues could be automatically deducted from one’s salary. Assuming this is done without their permission? That sure sounds like Communism IF that’s how it is done. As I’ve said, I never knew the standard procedure.
“Also, unions also can no longer automatically deduct dues from paychecks, members have to opt in”
What law gave the unions the right to demand nonunion supporters pay dues to them? I’ll bet Weingarten had a hissy fit over this.
Thank you Governor Ron DeSantis. Illinois, if you move to Florida and you are a liberal, stay there...
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