MIAMI SPRINGS, Fla. – Miami-Dade teachers overwhelmingly voted to retain their current union following an unprecedented challenge to its existence.
Officials with the United Teachers of Dade announced Wednesday that it won recertification with 83% of the vote.
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A group called the Miami-Dade Education Coalition had challenged UTD as the bargaining agent for the county’s public school teachers. It was bankrolled by the national conservative union-busting Freedom Foundation.
A new Florida law required unions representing teachers and a number of other public employees with “less than 60 percent of the employees eligible for representation in the bargaining unit pay dues during its last registration period must petition the commission.”
“We always knew UTD would win!” UTD President Karla Hernandez-Mats said in a news release Wednesday. “We proudly celebrate our victory against these deceptive anti-worker tactics. This win reflects the power of unity and commitment to workers’ rights. Unions matter and our strength is evident.”
UTD represents about 30,000 teachers and employees in the Miami-Dade school systems.