Tell Legislators to Vote No on SB 256!

Talking Points 

• Gov. DeSantis time and again finds ways to silence people who disagree with him.  He supports SB 256 because he wants to silence and diminish the power of union members. SB 256 threatens Floridians’  constitutional right to join a union and collectively bargain their working conditions, salaries and benefits. 
• The purpose of SB 256  is to silence workers’ (educators’) voices. Gov. DeSantis continues to show that anyone who is not in lockstep with him will face his ire. Whether the target is Disney, an elected state attorney, school board members, school district superintendents or now our caring teachers and staff, his M.O. has been ‘do what I say, or else.’ While Gov. DeSantis seeks to punish and divide, we seek to unite. 
• No matter what school or grade level they work in, every educator in Florida deserves to have a voice in their workplace, be supported and have the resources they need to help students thrive and be paid a professional salary that allows them to live in the community where they work. More than 150,000 teachers, staff and professors in Florida have found their voice by joining their local, state and national unions. 
• FEA and the overwhelming majority of Florida’s parents remain focused on ensuring that all children — regardless of race, background, gender identity, sexual orientation, ZIP code or ability — get the education they deserve and need at fully resourced and staffed public schools. 
• Florida continues to face a critical shortage of teachers and support staff, with hundreds of thousands of students in classrooms without a professionally trained teacher. Instead of improving under Gov. DeSantis, the problem has accelerated. In January 2018, there were 1,492 teaching vacancies advertised on school district websites throughout Florida. As of January 2023, that number stands at 5,294.