In a long-anticipated election, Broward County teachers have decisively voted to keep their union, the Broward Teachers Union (BTU), officials announced Monday. The victory marks the latest win for Florida teachers’ unions facing new state laws designed to make it harder for public-employee unions to maintain certification.
Out of the ballots counted, 6,228 teachers voted in favor of retaining the union, while only 128 opposed, according to BTU President Anna Fusco.
“They want the Broward Teachers Union to be there, because we do a lot more than fight,” Fusco said. “We look after our students and look after working conditions in our buildings. We love our students. That’s the big message that people keep missing.”
The election was required under a 2023 state law that changed how unions operate, including removing the ability for government agencies to automatically deduct union dues from employees’ paychecks. Instead, unions must now win recertification elections if fewer than 60% of members in the bargaining unit pay dues and submit membership forms.
The BTU petitioned for the election after falling short of this 60% threshold, with membership hovering around 54% last year and now increasing slightly to about 55%, Fusco said.
Andrew Spar, president of the Florida Education Association, noted that over 100 education unions across Florida have already held and won recertification elections, including those in Miami-Dade County last year and Palm Beach County two months ago.
The Broward election saw a turnout of 47.8% of eligible voters, which Spar called a solid showing compared to other similar elections in the state.
Governor Ron DeSantis, who signed the legislation into law in 2023, has argued the changes prevent dues from being deducted from teachers who don’t want to be involved in unions. “If you want to join, you can, but you write a check and you hand it over,” he said at the law’s signing. “That is gonna lead to more take-home pay for teachers.”
Spar criticized the governor’s stance, calling the law an attempt “to try and silence teachers and staff in the state of Florida” that has “failed miserably like it should.”
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