Florida bill threatens teacher unions, impacting Lee County schools

Reporter: Claire Galt
Published: Updated:

Teachers in Southwest Florida may face even tougher times ahead as a new bill threatens the existence of their unions.

The Teachers Association of Lee County warns that a bill introduced in the statehouse could make it harder for teacher unions to exist. Without a union, teachers would have very little bargaining power.

WINK News anchor Claire Galt spoke exclusively with Kevin Daly, the president of the Teachers Association of Lee County, who expressed concern over the potential impact of this bill.

“The school district of Lee County is still around 200 teachers short in the month of March for this school year,” said Daly.

Daly fears that the shortage could worsen if the bill affecting teachers’ unions becomes law.

“I’m not sure this is the work the people of Florida sent their representatives to Tallahassee to do. I think it makes me mad that they don’t understand, or they don’t seem to want to understand the work that gets done,” said Daly.

Currently, 60% of teachers in the union must pay dues annually to maintain the union’s state-required certification. If the new bill passes, a union would need support from the majority of all employees, not just those who vote, to stay certified. This change could make it much more difficult for unions to survive.

“The teachers here would have no collective bargaining agreement and no group to represent them and negotiate. We’re here working for the teachers to negotiate higher salaries, better benefits, better working conditions. Those are the things we work on,” said Daly.

Daly emphasized that students could suffer the most if the bill passes.

“In order for the kids to get a great education, we need to have great employees in front of the kids,” said Daly.

India Palencia, a concerned mother, attended a recent school board meeting to voice her concerns about her daughter’s education.

“Teachers here are among the worst paid in the nation. We fail to recruit and retain talent and our kids are falling behind,” said Palencia.

As the legislative session progresses, the fate of the teacher unions remains uncertain, but the potential impact on both teachers and students is clear.

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