Leon Teachers union faces critical test under new Florida labor law. Here’s what we know
Tallahassee Democrat | By Alaijah Brown | November 21, 2024
The Leon Classroom Teachers Association is facing disbandment, and the only thing that stands between its existence and its erasure is a high-stakes election ordered by the state’s Public Employees Relation Commission (PERC) two weeks ago.
The threat comes as a result of recent state legislation, dubbed the “anti-union law” by critics, who predicted widespread shutdowns of public employee unions with schoolteachers as the main target.
The law requires unions meet a threshold of 60% of its membership paying dues, which can no longer be withdrawn automatically from their paychecks. Before the legislation was passed by the Florida Legislature in 2023, unions only had to meet a 50% mark.
Scott Mazur is the president of the Leon County Teachers Association
According to PERC data, the Leon Classroom Teachers Association, or LCTA, had 40% of its total membership paying dues, falling short of the new mandate.
“The 60 percent was chosen to put the unions in jeopardy,” LCTA President Scott Mazur told the Tallahassee Democrat. “It was strategic and always has been.”
According to PERC, falling short of the 60% benchmark doesn’t automatically mean decertification.
The union has a two-step path to redemption. First, it must collect signed “showing of interest” cards from at least 30% of its members, which the LCTA accomplished overwhelmingly with 55% petitioning to keep their union.
Soon, a secret mail ballot will be distributed where members must choose to continue to be represented by the union or disband. The majority of the votes tallied will win.
“This is an opportunity for everyone to show that they care about their contract and that they expect more to be done in terms of providing for the instructional bargaining unit,” said Mazur, a former teacher from Killearn Lakes Elementary School.
With teachers advocating for a “livable wage” in collective bargaining units, many say a trickling effect of low wages has left a difficult toss-up in which educators choose between their union dues and their bills.
Union members across the state are honoring and supporting those who make our neighborhood public schools the heart of our communities during this American Education Week
In April, the National Education Association released a report that ranked Florida in last place for the nation’s average teacher pay at $53,098. The minimum livable wage is $58,970 according to the report.
The Leon County School District and the union are currently negotiating a salary package. The teachers asked for increases totaling $6 million, compared to the district offering a $4 million pot of money for raises.
“I’m not concerned about it,” Mazur said of the upcoming election. “I know the value that we have, and I know that there’s a number of people that find the dues to be something that they struggle with, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t believe in the value of the contract and the work that we do.”
The LCTA membership dues are $778.85, which is collected annually from the teachers.
LCS Human Resource Director Brett Shively said missing the target of 50% was never a problem for the union, but now it is an issue the district will have to manage as well. As the listed employer for the union, LCS is required by PERC to facilitate the election for the union’s recertification.
Shively said the district will spend thousands of dollars by the time the election ends on attorney and mailing fees. “This is a statewide issue. Literally every single district is going through this and it’s taking a lot of time,” Shively told the Tallahassee Democrat.
The election has yet to be scheduled but a representative of PERC estimated it will take place in January.
CORRECTION: Scott Mazur no longer is a classroom teacher in Leon County public schools. An earlier version of this story that was published earlier said otherwise.
