Florida nixes automatic deduction of teachers union dues

Amber Jo Cooper contributed to this report.

MIAMI (FLV) – Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill to prohibit some unions from directly withdrawing funds from public employee paychecks Tuesday.

Instead, a public employee, such as a teacher, would need to opt into a union and send payments.

“That is going to lead to more take-home pay for teachers, because they’re not going to have as many deductions in their paycheck,” DeSantis said.

The legislation does not apply to law enforcement officers, correctional officers and firefighters.

“We’re making harder today for unions to take those out of those paychecks, and for at least for teachers to understand what’s being taken,” Florida Department of Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. said.

Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, and Rep. Dean Black, R-Jacksonville, sponsored the legislation.

The House gave final approval to the bill 72-44 after the Senate approved it 23-17 March 29. Some Republicans from both chambers voted against the DeSantis-backed proposal.

Under this bill, beginning July 1, a public employee who desires to join a union must sign a membership authorization form that contains an acknowledgement that Florida is a “right to work” state.

The form would outline that union membership and payment of union dues is not required as a condition of employment.

One of the more controversial parts of the bill deals with the recertification of the employee organization. It requires school unions to represent at least 60% of employees eligible for representation. This is an increase over the current 50% threshold.

“It’s also something that’s going to allow the state to look at how many people are joining and if you don’t have a sufficient number of joining, then that should not be the bargaining unit, if you don’t even represent the majority of people,” DeSantis explained.

Members of the Senate Democratic Caucus shared several statements following the bill’s signing.

“Republicans in the so-called free state of Florida have proven time and time again that they don’t trust our teachers. This time, they’re trying to get rid of teachers’ advocates – their local unions,” Democratic Leader Lauren Book, D-Davie, said.

Book said the Legislature put “hurdles in the way of many public unions, taking away voluntary automatic deductions and making it harder for them to exist by adding more red tape.”

“We can trust teachers to make their own personal choices in how they spend their hard-earned money, and attempting to silence the groups that advocate for better pay and better working conditions is unconstitutional and undemocratic,” Book said.

“Unions raise wages for our workers. They help secure employee-sponsored healthcare and retirement benefits enjoyed by so many in the middle class. By nearly every measure, unions spur economic growth. But this law seeks to put a stop to those gains and will lead to mass decertification of Florida’s unions,” Sen. Lori Berman, D-Boynton Beach said.