Staff Reports
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed a bill into law that puts a stop to the teachers unions from automatically collecting fees for their union dues. The bill is said to be a “paycheck protection” that requires teachers to manually submit their union fees via checks, rather than these fees automatically deducted from their paychecks. The new law also mandates unions to notify their members of their union costs every year. DeSantis stated that teachers are free to join the union if they want but will need to write a check to pay their union dues. The law is expected to enable teachers to retain more of their paychecks as there will be fewer deductions made from them.
DeSantis Signs Law Nixing Automatic Deduction of Teachers Union Dues https://t.co/vSSUlQVT8X
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 9, 2023
According to FloridaPolitics, unions with less than 60 percent membership will be required to re-apply if they wish to recertify. Some have claimed that the law is gaining in popularity since public-sector unions have been using taxpayers’ money to pursue political goals and activities, which has left people feeling disillusioned and tired of the abuse of power associated with unions. Rusty Brown, a representative for the Freedom Foundation, believes that teachers’ unions have become political platforms but flew under the radar, and it wasn’t until the pandemic hit that they were exposed for their corrupt practices. The law, he says, should give teachers the independence to choose whether they want to belong to a union or not, and if they choose to be part of it, they won’t have to worry about being subjected to malfeasance.
By signing the Paycheck Protection Act, Florida teachers will be able to choose how their hard-earned money is spent.
School unions will no longer be able to hold teachers’ paychecks hostage with veiled threats while hiding where the money goes.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) May 9, 2023
In addition to approving a record $1 billion for teacher salaries, the legislation I signed:
– Protects teacher paychecks from automatic union deductions
– Creates a Teachers’ Bill of Rights
– Reforms school board elections
– Removes social media from classrooms pic.twitter.com/tswnsNI1Ei— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) May 9, 2023
Florida is establishing September 11th as “9/11 Heroes’ Day” to honor those who gave their lives for our freedom.
Our middle and high school students, who were not alive during this time, will be required to have 45 minutes of instruction to learn about the attack on our country… pic.twitter.com/TaMcg44SCT
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) May 9, 2023
In response to the law, the Florida Education Association announced it would be holding a press conference to provide further details on its next move. The FEA strongly opposes the legislation, explaining that it aims to silence the voices of the teachers, staff, professors, and public employees. The FEA added that the law is an overstep that undermines the employees’ right to free speech.
In addition to this new law, Florida has reportedly rejected numerous social studies textbooks and forced significant changes in others. According to a New York Times report, the state raised objections to various content, including the Black Lives Matter movement, socialism, and why some citizens kneel during the national anthem. The state of Florida believes that such content is ambiguous and could spread negative and misleading information.
Gov. DeSantis also recently announced that he plans to introduce ‘9/11 Heroes Day’ in Florida schools to commemorate those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks. He believes it’s crucial that the younger generation is made aware of the sacrifices that these heroes made since most classes in high school today comprise students who were not born before the 9/11 attacks.
