Can local teachers unions survive in face of new state law, tough requirements?

Teachers unions across Florida are finding themselves stymied by a new law that prohibits automatic deduction of membership dues from teacher paychecks. Moreover, the same law requires local unions maintain at least 60% participation by teachers in a given district or face decertification.

On the Treasure Coast, none of the three teacher unions has met the required 60% threshold.

The new law will impact classroom instruction, as more teachers leave the field for better working conditions, union officials say.

Without a union to protect them, more teachers will leave, Indian River Education Association President Jennifer Freeland said.

"We protect the workplace, which is the students' learning environment," she said. "There are great teachers, and all they want to do is teach. They can barely do that."

Unions fight to ensure teachers have ample time to plan lessons, tutor and call parents, St. Lucie County Education Association President David Freeland said. Teachers also make sure there's a fair grading policy and student rights are protected.

"All these things impact the students directly," he said.

SB 256 was signed into law July 1 by Gov. Ron DeSantis. In addition to changing the way unions collect dues, the law requires audits of all local unions' budgets. Teachers aren't alone in feeling the impact, either. All public government employees, except law enforcement and firefighters, fall under the law.

But teachers unions have been its most vocal opponents.

'A challenging time'

"It's certainly been a challenging time for us," said Andrew Spar, president of the Florida Education Association, which represents the state's teachers.

If a local union fails to represent 60% of its potential bargaining unit, it must prove its membership still wants the union, essentially restarting the entire unionization process. That includes a new representation vote by teachers, Spar said.

Several local teachers unions across Florida recently failed to meet that 60% threshold and are waiting for the Public Employment Relations Commission to arrange up the required membership vote maintaining interest in the union, Spar said in a statement Tuesday. No union has been decertified this school year, he said.

Because the law bans payroll deductions for dues, local unions around the state are setting up new dues systems with automated billing, Spar said. Statewide, more than 83% of union members have changed over to the automated billing system or are paying by check, he said.

Still, not every member is aware his or her dues no longer are being taken automatically, so unions are having to inform their members about the change, Spar said.

"We literally are having to talk to every member," Spar said, to ensure they all understand how they're now required to pay their dues.

Treasure Coast teachers unions impacted

The new law presents challenges, Treasure Coast union officials say. The unions in all three districts are below the 60% threshold, officials said.

The lack of automatic dues coming into the union office created a cash-flow problem, resulting in a staff member layoff, David Freeland said.

"We've done well to keep services," he said. "We're concerned."

St. Lucie's teachers union is scheduled to be recertified in May, so there's time to increase recruitment and build up the membership, David Freeland said.

Indian River County Education Association has only until March to bring up its membership the numbers. One challenge is that the 60% is based on the number of teacher positions, not the number of teachers, said Jennifer Freeland.

Vacancies and positions filled by long-term substitutes, who cannot join the union, and vacancies work against the union's efforts, she said.

"(The bill) is geared to make us fail," Jennifer Freeland said. "But I refuse to go down."

In some cases, members are unwilling to switch from automatic payroll deductions to a system requiring automated billing. Not everyone has online banking, she said. Some members have delayed changing to a new system.

Martin County Education Association also is working to increase membership before it has to recertify in May, said President Matt Theobald.

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If there is a benefit to the law, it's that there's been an increased communication from union leadership to its members, Theobald said.

"It's forced us into a situation where we are having more conversations with members and nonmembers," Theobald said. As a result, more people are getting involved because they see the need for the union, he said.

"There's more of a focus on 'our' union as opposed to 'the' union," he said. "We're hearing from people that we've never heard from before."

Make no mistake, Theobald said, members believe the law is an attempt to silence the voice of teachers. But members and nonmembers are seeing the need to keep that voice to protect teachers, he said.

"If the union goes away, those rights that have been negotiated are gone away as well," Theobald said.

Why parents should care

A statewide teacher shortage already is concerning, as more laws regulating teacher pay are passed, Spar said. His own daughter spent the first nine weeks of school this year without an English teacher assigned to her class, he said.

"It means kids aren't getting the education they deserve," he said.

"This whole idea of why people are leaving is because of pay and working conditions," according to Spar.

Without a union to voice teacher concerns and negotiate pay and working conditions, even more teachers will leave, he predicted.

Colleen Wixon is the education reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers. Contact her at colleen.wixon@tcpalm.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: New law regulating collection of membership dues hurting teacher unions