DeSantis goes after teachers unions’ automatic pay deduction and salaries

Published Jan. 23, 2023, 11:13 a.m. ET | Updated Feb. 23, 2023

Governor-elect Ron DeSantis speaking with attendees at the 2018 Student Action Summit hosted by Turning Point USA at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida (Gage Skidmore).
Governor-elect Ron DeSantis speaking with attendees at the 2018 Student Action Summit hosted by Turning Point USA at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida (Gage Skidmore).

JACKSONVILLE (FLV) – Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a ‘teacher empowerment’ legislative proposal at a press conference Monday.

DeSantis said it will include billions of dollars for teacher pay raises and to prevent automatic deductions from teacher paychecks to teachers’ unions.

He said they will work to increase funding for teacher salaries by a billion dollars this year, bringing the total up to $3 billion since 2020.

The governor said the legislation will act like a “teachers’ bill of rights,” which will allow teachers to “do their job well” and ensure they “are protected without fear of any reprisals.”

“We will be establishing a new process for individuals to notify the state if a teacher’s rights have been violated, and we will ensure that our Florida Department of Education can investigate those complaints very quickly,” he explained.

DeSantis says they don’t want disruptions to ruin the learning experience and want to empower teachers to maintain safe classroom learning environments.

Teachers should not be at fault if you have kids fighting or being disruptive, you know, a teacher has every right to ensure discipline. And to ensure a safe learning environment. I think sometimes teachers feel they will end up being the bad guy, just by making sure that the kids are behaving, we want to make sure that teachers are protected. I mean, honestly, it shouldn’t even be up, you know, their role to have to do this. But that’s we see that that’s something that happens, because we have discipline that that probably isn’t where it needs to be.

Gov. Ron DeSantis

He said the proposal will also ensure teachers’ union workers will not make any more than the highest paid teacher.

“You should not make any more than what the highest paid teacher is making […] The teachers are making half that amount of money. How is that fair?” he said.

DeSantis said he believes school boards should have eight-year term limits, which are currently set at 12 years. 

“Eight years is enough to get your ideas in and see some of the success or things you need to change,” he said.

“When you are at a school you’re in the business of teaching and learning and not in the business of politics […] All of that stuff should be kept out of the school building,” said Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr.

“Despite some of these myths and narratives, you’re definitely the “Education Governor” and you continue to lead, thank you, Governor DeSantis,” he said. 

DeSantis’ Press Secretary Bryan Griffin said the administration is taking a “huge swing at wayward school unions.”

DeSantis previously announced he wants lawmakers to pass “paycheck protection” legislation during a speech at a school board retreat.

He wants legislation to prevent the government from deducting union dues from teacher paychecks. Instead, the governor said teachers would need to write checks to the unions.

“First of all, you totally, you do not have to join teachers union. But if you do, the government, we don’t want to play a role in deducting anybody’s money so you write every month for the dues and you do it that way,” DeSantis explained.

Republicans previously proposed legislation that would allow Florida public employees to decide for whether they want to become a union member. Specifically, it mandated that dues be reauthorized annually to prevent unions from automatically charging people who may not want to stay in the union.

It also would require workers to confirm they want to participate in a union before money is taken out of their paycheck.

During the speech, DeSantis said teachers unions get behind liberal candidates in conservative counties. School board races in Florida are nonpartisan.

“But they’ll dress them up as if they’re reflecting the community’s values and it’s hard to know as a voter because you get this information, this literature, being sent to you that’s union funded,” he explained. “And it seems like the candidates are good and saying the right things and then obviously once they get on the school board, they basically vote left, which is not consistent with the values of those communities.”

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