The state's largest teachers union, the Florida Education Association (FEA), said they'll continue challenging the state's union law despite a legal setback.
Public sector unions across the state took a hit last year when a new law raised the threshold to remain certified. Tens of thousands of employees lost the representation of their union, which bargains for better salaries and other worker protections.
Andrew Spar, president of the FEA, called the court's ruling, which sided largely with the state, "disappointing."
"Obviously, we're disappointed with Judge Walker's ruling, we do not believe he got it right," said Spar.
The FEA, along with other public school and university employee unions, filed a lawsuit last year that charged the law, SB 256, with being a deliberate attack on educator unions that have traditionally spoken out against Gov. Ron DeSantis's administration.
Exempt from SB 256 are law enforcement, correctional officers and fire fighter employee unions that have sided with the governor. Republican lawmakers who had supported the law argued that public safety unions should be exempt because the nature of their work is to protect citizens.
Judge Mark Walker issued in his 80-page decision that the exemption is allowed for public safety unions.
Walker also sided with part of the law that requires employees to sign an additional authorization form as part of the membership process.
The suit claims that the provision violates the first amendment by "compelling [unions] to deliver a government drafted script on their union membership cards," that contain anti-union language, according to Spar.
The membership authorization form is drafted by the state's Public Employee Relations Commission, the entity that oversees union certification. The form includes a section informing employees that a "labor union is not a condition of employment" and that payment of union dues is voluntary.
Florida is a right-to-work state, meaning that employers cannot deny an employee's right to work based on their membership or non-membership in a labor union. It also means all employees, even non-dues-paying members benefit from the employee contract that is negotiated by the union.
But the suit argues that including such language on the form is unnecessary and intends to "burden disfavored unions."
"We believe that forced speech is a violation of the first amendment," said Spar. "At the end of the day, this is a state mandated form. No other entity has to fill out a state mandated form. In order to join an organization."
One part of the lawsuit still has room for debate, however. Walker said he intends to hold a trial to determine if changes to how employees paid their union dues violated the U.S. Constitution.
Employees traditionally have paid their union dues through automatic payroll deduction, in which the fees are taken out of employee paychecks automatically. SB 256 banned that payment method.
When the law went into effect last July, members were essentially disenrolled from their unions. Employees had to re-register and sign up for a new dues-paying system, throwing unions into administrative burden, said Spar.
"It is an intent to limit the voice of public employees, and specifically teachers and staff who work in our public schools, who are the most maligned profession right now in the state of Florida."
Barring members from using the traditional payment method violates the Constitution's Contracts Clause, said Spar. That's because employee contracts state how they can pay their dues, and some existing contracts did not expire until after the law went into effect last July.
"They impugned the contract in existence by saying that school districts and colleges and universities had to end payroll deduction, even though they had contracts in place that said otherwise," he said.
Another part of the union law raised the percentage of employees required to be dues-paying members from 50% to 60%. That provision is being challenged at the state level, said Spar.
Tens of thousands of public sector employees lost the representation of their union since SB256 went into effect last year. Decertification happens when a union does not reach the required 60% threshold of dues-paying members, and also fails to recertify through a subsequent election.
To hold an election, more than 30% of employees must sign interest cards and a majority (over 50%) of voters must vote to keep their union.
Spar pointed out that, so far, no unions under the Florida Education Association, which represents school and university employees, have decertified. About nine elections have been held thus far.
"We're averaging like 96% approval on 'yes, we want to keep a union,' in every one of these elections," said Spar.
Hillsborough, Pinellas and Polk county teachers unions are among those that have recertified through PERC. Sarasota and Manatee teachers unions did not have to recertify since they surpassed the 60% membership requirement.
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