Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed Senate Bill 256 on May 9. In part, the bill says that except for unions representing law enforcement officers, correctional officers, correctional probation officers, and firefighters — which are exempted from the bill’s provisions — “[A]n employee organization that has been certified as a bargaining agent may not have its dues and uniform assessments deducted and collected by the employer from the salaries of those employees in the unit. A public employee may pay dues and uniform assessments directly to the employee organization that has been certified as the bargaining agent.”
The bill also requires public-sector employees wanting to belong to a union to sign a membership authorization form, requires unions to allow members to revoke membership at any time, requires unions to provide members with an annual audited financial statement, and amends registration and renewal requirements for certified bargaining agents, including requiring recertification if the number of dues-paying union members is less than 60% of eligible employees in the unit.
DeSantis said on Twitter, “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.”
