Failure to meet membership requirements leaves large Miami teachers union in limbo

MIAMI – As much as 60% of Miami-Dade public school educators could be withheld from representation after the state’s largest teachers union failed to meet membership requirements under state law.

United Teachers of Dade, the largest union in the country, reportedly did not meet the required threshold after some teachers opted out of paying membership dues.

“If United Teachers of Dade spent half as much time paying attention to their members’ interests as they have been pushing a political agenda with Randi Weingarten and running for office with Charlie Crist, they probably wouldn’t even be in this position,” Freedom Foundation Director or Labor Relations Allison Beattie said.

Signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, SB 256 mandates a union must apply for recertification if its membership dues fail to reach 60%. According to a report, UTD’s membership dues reached 58.4%.

Under the law, unions are barred from directly withdrawing funds from public employee paychecks. An employee, such as a teacher, also must opt into a union to send payments.

Furthermore, as mandated, a public employee intending to join a union must sign a membership authorization form that entails Florida as a “right to work” state.

“We were approached this summer by a number of teachers in Miami-Dade County who were unhappy seeing their hard-earned paychecks going into the pockets of union officers while those same officers have consistently negotiated away pay and benefits,” Beattie said.

According to the Freedom Foundation, United Teachers of Dade’s fracture is the largest decertified vote in American history.

“The unions fought SB 256 specifically because they knew if public employees were given the opportunity to think about where they’d rather spend their money, it would probably go toward groceries and gas, rather than lining the union pockets,” Beattie said.

“We have not achieved the new 60% membership density mandated by the onerous anti-worker law,” the union told the Miami Herald.

To be re-certified, United Teachers of Dade first must petition the Public Employees Relation Commission. Among its steps, the union must prove the number of employees eligible for representation, including those who submitted an authorization form.

“We’re not surprised UTD couldn’t make the 60 percent threshold, because they’ve lost focus of their mission – representing rank and file teachers,” Beattie continued. “The union sends 46 percent of its budget to unions like the AFL-CIO, National Education Association, and Randi Weingarten.”