TALLAHASSEE — Dealing a blow to teachers unions, a federal judge has refused to block part of a new Florida law that prevents union dues from being deducted from workers’ paychecks.
Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker on Friday issued a 40-page ruling denying a preliminary injunction sought by the Florida Education Association, the United Faculty of Florida and unions representing employees of the Alachua County, Hernando County and Pinellas County school districts and the University of Florida.
The issue centers on perhaps the highest-profile part of a law that Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican-controlled Legislature approved this spring to place additional restrictions on public employee unions. The law prevents government agencies from continuing a decades-old practice of deducting union dues from workers’ paychecks — forcing unions to use other methods to collect money from members.
In seeking the injunction, the education unions argued that the change unconstitutionally violated contracts that require payroll dues deductions. Those contracts were reached before the new law took effect July 1.
