Florida's largest teachers union faces decertification under state law

The United Teachers of Dade faces decertification after failing to clear a state-imposed threshold requiring that at least 60% of union members pay dues, CBS News reported.

The group is the state's largest teachers union and represents 27,000 employees in Miami-Dade public schools. UTD on Tuesday sought to renew its certification with the state, but did not succeed due to its failure to meet the threshold, despite its own rapid growth in recent months.

"While we have enrolled more than 800 new members, an unprecedented growth in the past five months, we have not achieved the new 60% membership density of members mandated by the onerous anti-worker law, Senate Bill 256," the union stated, before insisting it was working to secure certification with the Florida Public Employee Relations Commission (PERC).

The fourth-largest public school district in the country, Miami-Dade accommodates more than 330,000 students in grades K-12, whom the UTD members work to educate.

Florida teachers unions have struggled in recent years amid the COVID-19 pandemic and rows with state government over education policy. The Florida Education Association, a statewide umbrella organization of local unions, reported the loss of more than 4,500 members over the 2020-2021 school year last November.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.