Miami’s United Teachers of Dade narrowly evades decertification

Florida’s largest teachers union has announced that they have surpassed the required number of members to ensure certification. United Teachers of Dade (UTD) avoided decertification last year following Gov. Ron DeSantis’ union-busting law, which required a larger percentage of union dues-paying membership. 

Senate Bill 256, which was signed into law in May of last year, imposes restrictions on public-sector unions and requires 60% of registered teachers to be dues-paying members of their workplace’s union for the union to remain certified. UTD did not meet the 60% threshold requirement in December but has been able to avoid decertification by obtaining showing-of-interest cards from at least 30% of their bargaining unit. UTD President Karla Hernández-Mats held a press conference with other leaders on Jan. 16 to announce they had enough membership for certification. The county must now hold an election to ensure their continued certification. 

“The results continue to show that M-DCPS employees stand in solidarity with UTD,” a UTD spokesperson said in a press release. “This legislative shift, viewed by many as a draconian union-busting bill, continues to ignite a powerful wave of commitment and solidarity among Miami-Dade County educators and support staff—representing the third-largest school district nationwide.”

More than 11,000 signatures were submitted to the Florida Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC) in Tallahassee last week, surpassing the required threshold imposed by the state for UTD and other public-sector unions. 

“M-DCPS school employees stand resilient and in support of UTD amidst continuous assaults on workers’ rights, wages, and the union,” Hernández-Mats said in a press release. “Today was an undeniable win for working people in Miami-Dade and for UTD.”

UTD officials announced they had only 58.4% membership as of Nov. 10, just shy of the new 60% requirement. A UTD spokesperson said officials were required to send final membership counts to PERC, a state agency that regulates public-employee unions, by Nov. 20. The union had until mid-December to prove to the state that it had reached the new threshold. 

Decertification would drastically weaken protections for teachers in Florida’s largest school district, leaving them vulnerable while bargaining for raises and protections in the classroom amid a continuously antagonistic political climate. In 2023, the union successfully bargained for its members to receive 7-10% pay raises. 

SB 256 does not apply to police or fire departments.

“If unions are good for police and fire, then unions should be good for everybody,” Hernández-Mats said. “I know we all deserve to be treated with dignity and respect in our workforce.”

The Freedom Foundation, which supported SB 256, is now sponsoring an alternative to UTD in a further attempt to disband the union. The Miami-Dade Education Coalition (MDEC) is only required by federal law to collect 10% of show-of-interest cards to intervene in the election. A video released by the Freedom Foundation shows Miami-Dade County Public Schools teachers and employees criticizing UTD and supporting MDEC.

“Millions of dollars are being poured into this right-wing out-of-state group, and we know that our community does have outside shady groups coming in doing policy and politics in their community,” Hernández-Mats said. “People are leaving the profession … We have over 9,000 vacancies because of the disruptive policies that they are passing. They censor teachers, they tell us that we cannot teach certain districts, that we cannot be authentic and true to others by teaching accurate African-American history … and all these shifts in policy are creating a dynamic where Miami-Dade County Public Schools cannot close this door that’s continuously revolving.”

A UTD spokesperson says the date of the union election is still unknown.

“We’re going to win. We’re going to be victorious,” Hernández-Mats said.

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