NEA Grant Secures Florida Win for Collective Bargaining
An NEA Year-Round Organizing grant helped the Florida Education Association (FEA) protect educators’ rights and preserve collective bargaining.
In 2023, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law that banned payroll deductions for union dues and placed an onerous new requirement on most public employees, including educators-, to maintain a 60 percent membership rate within their bargaining unit to avoid mandatory annual recertification elections.
Today, FEA is celebrating its 117th straight recertification win—clear proof that Florida educators stand with their union! To date, FEA has had no recertification losses. Learn about NEA organizing grants at nea.org/YROGrant.
NEA Challenges Wyoming Voucher Scheme
NEA and the Wyoming Education Association filed a lawsuit, in June, challenging the state’s $50 million universal voucher program, which allows any student to use public funds to attend private—often religious schools or homeschools—regardless of family income.
The lawsuit argued that the “Steamboat Legacy Scholarship Act,” a voucher scheme by another name, siphons money from public education and violates constitutional protections for a uniform, publicly funded education system. In July, the court indefinitely halted the voucher program.
NEA Position Echoed in Supreme Court Decision
NEA protected public education by filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, in April, urging the justices to reject efforts to force states to fund religious charter schools.
In a major win, in May, the Court upheld the principle that public dollars must support public—not religious—schools.
Learn more at nea.org/Vouchers.
NEA Urges Colleges to Adopt Safe Zone Policy
College campuses should be safe places for immigrant students and staff, but today, these communities are at risk. NEA’s Office of General Counsel recommends colleges and universities adopt Safe Zone resolutions that outline what educators and staff should do if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement attempts to carry out raids on their campuses.
Find sample language at nea.org/ProtectHE.
