More than 63,000 Florida workers have lost union representation due to new law
WLRN Public Media | By Daniel Rivero
Published August 30, 2024 at 11:41 AM EDT
More than 63,000 public employees across Florida 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.
The staggering blow to labor in Florida has quietly impacted workers’ ability to collectively bargain in every corner of the state. Everyone from municipal employees of the small city of Defuniak Springs in the Florida Panhandle to custodial staff and adjunct professors at large state universities and Orlando airport workers have lost their union representation.
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.
This Monday, union leaders in South Florida plan to mark the Labor Day holiday with a press conference in Miami Springs to call attention to the ongoing battles of unions, and urge voters In November to support candidates who back the rights of workers. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava is scheduled to join them.
“This Labor Day, we must stand united and elect pro-labor leaders who will fight for fair wages, affordable housing, and the rights of all workers to organize without fear of retaliation,” South Florida AFL-CIO President Jeffery Mitchell said in a statement announcing the plans.
“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. You can access that database here.
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 amount 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