Florida law causes all eight adjunct unions to become decertified

As college and university faculty unions remain a contentious issue on the national stage, legislators in one southern state have taken action to minimize their influence over higher education.

S.B. 256, which was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis last May, has officially caused all eight adjunct unions to be decertified in compliance with provisions of the law. This will reportedly affect over 8,000 adjunct faculty at schools like the University of South Florida, Seminole State College, and Lake-Sumter State College.

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S.B. 256 mandates that in order to be guaranteed certification, at least 60 percent of the faculty in the bargaining unit of a union must pay dues, a criterion that none of the eight unions reportedly met.

DeSantis said in an official statement after signing the bill that the state’s unions had “pushed around our teachers, [and] misused government funds for political purposes.”

“Today, I want to thank our legislative leaders and the many bill sponsors for working with us to empower our teachers and ushering in a new era of accountability to the people,” the governor said last May. “No longer will politically motivated school boards and special interests wield their power over Florida’s teachers.”

Teresa Greene, a pro-union adjunct at Valencia College, told the Orlando Weekly that she had expected S.B. 256 to lead to this.

“We knew the decertification was coming,” Greene said. “What can we say?”

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Florida Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, Jr. previously voiced support for S.B. 256 in an official statement last year, claiming that the law, along with several other passed bills, “represent[s] the most comprehensive package of pro-educator bills in Florida’s history, and probably the nation’s.”

“I want to thank the personal stories of courageous educators who came forward over the last couple years to both elevate our understanding of how truly divisive unions and school boards can so often be in hiding their true purposes,” Diaz said. “And moreover I want to thank those same educators and school leaders for continuing to show our state leaders the best ways forward to support and elevate the teaching profession so that our teachers can do what they do best – uplift the lives of our children and families.”

Campus Reform has reached out to Gov. DeSantis and the eight Florida schools previously connected to the now-decertified adjunct unions. This story will be updated accordingly.