All of Florida's adjunct unions have now been dissolved by the state
The culprit? Florida's 2023 anti-union law, which created an easier way for the state to get rid of public sector unions.
Read the full story reported for Orlando Weekly
The first story I ever wrote for Orlando Weekly as a lowly freelancer in 2021, earning very little and juggling multiple gigs to get by, was about a gutsy union drive at Valencia College in Orlando, where adjunct faculty faced an aggressive counter-campaign from the college administration in response to their efforts to organize a union.
After a years-long push, adjunct faculty there voted to unionize in what was admittedly a close election, joining adjunct faculty at seven other state colleges and universities in Florida who had similarly unionized in recent years — gaining national media attention.
Last month, however, three years after that hard-fought victory, state records show the adjunct faculty union at Valencia College was officially dissolved by the state, along with all other seven adjunct faculty unions represented by the faculty arm of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU-Florida Public Services Union). The move affects roughly 8,400 adjunct faculty in Florida who often make scraps for wages, generally have poor job security, and are treated as “part-time” faculty by their public employers.
According to state records, all of the adjunct unions were decertified because fewer than 60% of the adjunct faculty they represented were dues-paying members, and union staff didn’t file petitions with the state for new union elections to be held — which would have at least allowed adjuncts to have their own say in whether to keep their unions alive.
Under a 2023 anti-union law approved by Florida’s Republican-controlled legislature and Gov. DeSantis, public sector unions in Florida (with exceptions for police, firefighter, and correctional officer unions) must meet a minimum 60% membership threshold to remain valid in the state’s eyes, or else petition for what’s known as a “recertification” election. SEIU-FPSU decided not to do the latter, even though they have done so for two dozen other bargaining units they represent. I contacted multiple SEIU-FPSU staff for comment on this — none responded.
However, I did manage to catch up with a couple of adjunct professors at Valencia College whom I first spoke to years ago about their organizing efforts, as well as a former union organizer who helped assist adjuncts in their initial organizing efforts.
They have their own takes on what happened, and how the union election was just their first, and not their last battle with the college administration.