Labor unions lose 63,000 members under new state law

Jax Today | By Daniel Rivero | September 3, 2024

More than 63,000 public employees across Florida — including more than 2,300 in the Jacksonville area — have had their labor unions fully decertified and shuttered by the state since a sweeping anti-union law went into effect last year, WLRN has found.

A total of 54 public sector unions have been legally terminated explicitly because they do not meet requirements of the new law, according to state filings.

Senate Bill 256, passed in 2023, required public labor unions in Florida to have at least 60% of members paying dues in order for a union to be recognized by state law. The new threshold — there previously was no threshold for the vast majority of public sector unions — was coupled with a ban on government employers being able to deduct union dues from workers’ paychecks.

It meant that it became harder to pay dues, while simultaneously requiring more workers to pay dues to keep their labor unions alive.

As labor leaders and activists warned, that double-whammy law has immediately led to a sharp decrease in union membership in Florida.

Notably, the right to join a union is enshrined in the Florida Constitution. It is one of the very few states to do so. That’s part of why several labor groups are currently fighting the law in court.

In 2023, an estimated 6.1% of the Florida workforce was represented by unions, about 578,000 workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The immediate dropoff due to the state law is poised to shrink that number by about half a percentage point in one fell swoop.

Dozens of unions are in the process of fighting to stay certified after failing to meet the 60% threshold, and the percentage of workers represented by unions will likely further shrink in the coming months and years.

“All of these public sector servants — one of the draws to bring them into these jobs is because they have this security of a collective bargaining agreement,” Rich Templin, the director of politics and public policy for the AFL-CIO Florida, warned WLRN earlier this year. “When that’s gone, they’re gone. And when they’re gone, it’s not going to take long for average Floridians to feel it.”

Some groups — like municipal employees of Bay Harbor Islands and Avon Park, along with non-instructional public school staff in Polk County — have successfully held votes to recertify their labor unions and protect their contracts, despite being threatened with decertification under the new law.

Unions for police and firefighters were exempted from the new labor law, allowing police officers in places like the small town of Bellaire to remain certified, even though a mere 35% of officers pay union dues, according to state filings. Some unions that represent transit workers have found ways to be exempted by the state law, due to a separate federal law that protects transit workers’ right to collectively bargain.

In general terms, private sector unions are regulated by the federal government. Public sector unions at the state, county and municipal level are regulated by states.

State government, higher education staff most affected

The largest losses of union representation in Florida due to SB 256 come from those employed by the state government — more than 43,000 state employees have lost their unions.

The second largest loss of union representation comes from university and college professors, specifically unions that represent adjunct and part-time faculty. Municipal employees from cities large and small follow.

WLRN is using public records to maintain a database that shows the full extent of the fallout of the law.

Duplicate entries represent separate bargaining units from the same employer that have been decertified. Accompanying each is a link to the official state record showing the union has been fully decertified.

Below is a list of public employee bargaining units that have been decertified and disbanded by the state for not meeting the requirements of the law, along with the number of employees who have lost their labor unions.

STATE GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

State of Florida employees, 9,936 employees

State of Florida employees, 4,088 employees

State of Florida employees, 2,326 employees

State of Florida ‘state career service’ employees, 27,331 employees

State of Florida Department of Lottery employees, 184 employees

MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES

City of Ocala municipal workers, 465 employees

City of Clearwater municipal workers, 853 employees

City of Jacksonville municipal employees, 1,776 employees

City of Bradenton municipal employees, 160 employees

City of Daytona Beach municipal employees, 306 employees

City of Oakland Park municipal employees, 14 employees

City of Sanibel municipal employees, 71 employees

City of Pensacola municipal employees, 124 employees

City of Sebring employees, 57 employees

City of Defuniak Springs employees, 52 employees

City of Edgewater municipal employees, 114 employees

City of Jacksonville Beach employees, 138 employees

City of Melbourne employees, 201 employees

Village of Miami Shores employees, 38 employees

City of Winter Haven employees, 197 employees

COUNTY EMPLOYEES

Columbia County employees, 82 employees

Levy County employees, 125 employees

Nassau County employees, 106 employees

Hernando County employees, 450 employees

Hernando County employees, 6 employees

Polk County employees, 415 employees

Escambia County employees, 206 employees

UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGE NON-INSTRUCTIONAL EMPLOYEES

University of Florida non-instructional employees, 98 employees

Florida State University ‘professional’ employees, 221 employees

Florida State University ‘support’ employees, 341 employees

University of West Florida non-instructional employees, 75 employees

University of South Florida non-instructional employees, 1,444 employees

University of South Florida non-instructional employees, 92 employees

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University non-instructional employees, 316 employees

University of North Florida non-instructional employees, 285 employees

University of North Florida non-instructional employees, 8 employees

University of Central Florida non-instructional employees, 73 employees

University of Central Florida non-instructional employees, 284 employees

Florida International University non-instructional employees, 94 employees

UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGE INSTRUCTIONAL EMPLOYEES

Broward College non-tenured professors, 660 employees

Miami-Dade College adjunct and part-time professors, 3,172 employees

Seminole State College adjunct faculty, 259 employees

Lake-Sumter State College adjunct professors, 116 employees

St. Petersburg College adjunct professors, 823 employees

University of South Florida adjunct and non-tenure track professors, 448 employees

Hillsborough Community College adjunct professors, 1,508 employees

Valencia College part time instructors and faculty, 1,449 employees

Lake-Sumter State College professors, 1 employee

K-12 SCHOOL DISTRICT EMPLOYEES

Citrus County School Board non-instructional employees, 503 employees

Collier County School Board non-instructional employees, 799 employees

Glades County School Board non-instructional employees, 84 employees

OTHER EMPLOYEES

Greater Orlando Aviation Authority employees, 127 employees

Jacksonville Housing Authority employees, 103 employees

Hillsborough County Aviation Authority employees, 199 employees

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