United Teachers of Dade at risk of losing certification as it fails to meet new law requirements
MIAMI — The state's largest teachers union — United Teachers of Dade — is at risk of losing its certification since it failed to get 60% of its members to pay dues, a requirement under a new state law.
Panitra Jackson is an Autism Spectrum Disorders teacher at Lake Stevens Middle School.
"It's the best job I've ever had," Jackson said. "This is the only job that I have worked this long, this is my 21st year."
It's a career she loves, but there are ups and downs.
"There have been times where I felt like I wasn't treated fairly," she said, "and I was able to reach out to my union for union representation, and it was a positive experience."
So positive, she's now an alternate steward for United Teachers of Dade: the third largest teachers union in the country, representing 30,000 employees.
Then there's Brent Urbanik, who has a completely different experience.
"I'm not making much more than a brand new teacher, and I'm 22 years in," Urbanik said, "and I'm gonna go down to 60% of that, in a time when inflation has gotten as bad as it has been? This is almost out of survival that we have to try and do this."
He's referring to creating his own teachers union — the Miami Dade Education Coalition — something he said is only now possible because of Senate Bill 256, which passed the Florida legislature earlier this year.
Among other things, it requires unions representing public employees to show proof that 60% of its members are paying dues to be recertified every year.
This week, UTD announced they did not reach that number.
"In one way, it's unfortunate that it's gotten to this point," Urbanik said, "but in another way, it's given us an opportunity to actually compete."
Because UTD did not meet the certification, they now have to collect 30% of their members' signatures to go to an election where teachers will decide to keep UTD, have no representation at all, or potentially choose the new coalition. The new coalition only need 10% of signatures to get on the ballot.
"We're expecting that will eventually meet the threshold that we need to be on the ballot," Urbanik said.
As CBS News Miami's Jim Defede first exposed the Freedom Foundation — a conservative think tank — helped pass the law and kickstart the new coalition.
"The alternative to that is, it's a never-ending process of this is who represents you whether you like it or not," Freedom Foundation Southern Director Rusty Brown said.
Both Jackson and Urbankek do not want to find out what it's like if no representation is chosen, and teachers lose a seat at the table, but Jackson doesn't believe the new coalition is the answer.
"I don't think the Freedom Foundation represents my interest," Jackson said. "I don't think Miami Dade Education Coalition has enough experience to represent this bargaining unit, this group of people, because we are the third largest in the country, and so I don't think that they're qualified enough to represent us."
To that, Brent said experience is not a sign of achievement.
"If UTD's performance has been a mark of their experience, then I'm not too worried about our lack of experience," he said.
The United Teachers of Dade sent a statement saying they've already submitted an application to begin the renewal process, and that the current contract UTD has with the state- which includes salary and benefits- will stay in place while they undergo the election.
