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Florida's DOE v Unions · Conversations: Special Guests with Preston Scott

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  Speaker 1: He's ose. I'm Preston and this is Florida's Commissioner of Education,
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  Speaker 1: Anastasio Komutzis STOSSI, how you doing, sir.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning, my friend, how are you well?
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  Speaker 1: You know, I was just talking about a story that
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  Speaker 1: Congress decided to ask some guy to visit with them
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  Speaker 1: on lowering the cost of higher education. And he just
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  Speaker 1: shared about some cost saving platforms that colleges are using
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  Speaker 1: and starting to bring down the cost of things. But
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  Speaker 1: of course the interference comes from unions because finding efficiencies
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  Speaker 1: maybe means that we don't need a professor of German
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  Speaker 1: in five colleges within fifteen miles of each other, that
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  Speaker 1: maybe we can do it with one. Unions are a
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  Speaker 1: giant challenge. What are you proposing here in Florida that's
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  Speaker 1: getting unions so upset?
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  Speaker 2: Well, it seems to be a repeated pattern every time
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  Speaker 2: I come on this show. The latest issue that we're
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  Speaker 2: dealing with when it comes to unions. I want to
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  Speaker 2: talk about out two lawsuits that are going on right now,
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  Speaker 2: one that we are dealing with at the state level
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  Speaker 2: and one at the local level. We passed the rule
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  Speaker 2: at our recent state Board of Education meeting that strengthens
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  Speaker 2: transparency and higher education by imagine this novel concept. It
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  Speaker 2: requires Florida State colleges to publish syllabi for all courses,
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  Speaker 2: not just general education classes, prior to students registering for
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  Speaker 2: that course. And this is simply common sense. Students deserve
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  Speaker 2: the opportunity to review a full syllabus before enrolling in
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  Speaker 2: a course. We're talking access to assignments, required readings, and
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  Speaker 2: grading criteria. That kind of information is important to a
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  Speaker 2: student to allow them to make an informed decision about
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  Speaker 2: whether a course aligns with their academic needs and supports
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  Speaker 2: their long term term goals. But the union's opposition to
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  Speaker 2: this rule that we pass underscores their unwillingness to prioritize students,
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  Speaker 2: and it's the latest effort to limit transparency that I
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  Speaker 2: believe students parents deserve. What boggles my mind and frustrates
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  Speaker 2: me most about this frivolous lawsuit is that it represents
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  Speaker 2: a waste of the dues of these hardworking teachers. But
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  Speaker 2: this is the kind of stuff that they're using their
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  Speaker 2: capital on.
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  Speaker 1: They are arguing that this somehow is infringing on their
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  Speaker 1: academic freedom.
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  Speaker 2: How Yeah, No, we honestly here scratching our heads ourselves.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, everybody knows that a syllabus is required by
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  Speaker 2: a professor to provide to the student. Oftentimes, what happens
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  Speaker 2: is the student registers for the class, shows up to
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  Speaker 2: the class, and that's when they're provided with the orientation
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  Speaker 2: and the syllabus in that first week. What we're just
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  Speaker 2: trying to do is be more efficient when it comes
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  Speaker 2: to the student registering for the courses and knowing all
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  Speaker 2: the information prior to registering, so that you don't have
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  Speaker 2: that ad drop period where students are often jumping around
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  Speaker 2: and changing courses and trying to figure out where to
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  Speaker 2: go next. We want them to have the best information
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  Speaker 2: possible to make the best decision possible for their education.
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  Speaker 1: So the argument cannot be that they don't have one
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  Speaker 1: to present at that point, because they're going to present
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  Speaker 1: one when the course begins. So the issue here is
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  Speaker 1: just simply allowing students to know what to expect in
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  Speaker 1: a course and decide if it measures up to what
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  Speaker 1: they want to offer themselves in terms of I don't
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  Speaker 1: want to do that. That course doesn't interest me the
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  Speaker 1: way it's laid out, and they're they're fighting.
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  Speaker 2: This, Yeah, it boggles my mind. That is what the
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  Speaker 2: lawsuit is over. And you know, we have a similar
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  Speaker 2: situation down in Lee County, another frivolous lawsuit pivoting here
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  Speaker 2: a little bit, going to the k tool sector. But
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  Speaker 2: you know, the teachers union sued and fought against pay
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  Speaker 2: incentives for teachers for choosing to teach in low performing schools. Again,
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  Speaker 2: how is it that the teachers' union, who represents teachers
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  Speaker 2: as it relates to their pay increases, would be an
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  Speaker 2: obstacle here. But Superintendent Carlin down in Lee County stood
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  Speaker 2: up to the unions and used the provision in bid
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  Speaker 2: a law that allows districts to incentivize teacher pay to
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  Speaker 2: improve outcomes for our lowest performing students. And the superintendent
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  Speaker 2: she acted within the law to improve those outcomes for
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  Speaker 2: the low performing students, and they won in court. A
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  Speaker 2: judge just decided that districts can move forward with solutions
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  Speaker 2: that puts students first. So I want to commend the
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  Speaker 2: superintendent and all the school board members on that board
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  Speaker 2: who stood firm in defending student centered policies against the
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  Speaker 2: teachers union.
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  Speaker 1: All right, we got more, just one more segment to
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  Speaker 1: talk with Anastasioskmutzis, Commissioner of Education. Friends, this is why
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  Speaker 1: I hate the teachers Union. I love teachers, I'm married
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  Speaker 1: to one. I hate the union. My wife is never
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  Speaker 1: part of the union. If you want representation legal, there's
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  Speaker 1: an organization out there that doesn't get involved in the politics, that,
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  Speaker 1: by the way, will provide the legal protection if you
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  Speaker 1: feel like you need it for less money. This is nonsense.
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  Speaker 1: This is rubbish. Why in the world would they not
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  Speaker 1: want to disclose the syllabus ahead of time and then
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  Speaker 1: turn around and call that intimidation academic is infringing on
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  Speaker 1: our academic freedom. Why to release what you've already written
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  Speaker 1: a few days earlier? Lost their mind? I hate unions.
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  Speaker 1: In case you didn't know that, I hate them. Let's
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  Speaker 1: dig a little deeper into this ruling in favor of
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  Speaker 1: Lee County. Why in the world is there an opposition?
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  Speaker 1: I mean, what was the stated opposition to trying to
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  Speaker 1: bring better educators to underperforming schools and helping those students
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  Speaker 1: get a better education by incentivizing pay. What was the argument?
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  Speaker 2: The argument is that the teachers anion wanted to negotiate
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  Speaker 2: their salaries, They wanted to assert their relevance because they
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  Speaker 2: understand that with these policies that actually prioritize our lowest
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  Speaker 2: performing students by getting the highest quality teachers in there
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  Speaker 2: sooner rather than later, it cuts them out of the process.
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  Speaker 2: And they want to assert their relevance because they see
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  Speaker 2: that here in the state of Florida, their dying breed
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  Speaker 2: parents and teachers are waking up to their shenanigans and
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  Speaker 2: they want no part of it. And so again I
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  Speaker 2: appreciate the superintendent for taking that strong stance. As you see,
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  Speaker 2: we still are dealing with here in Leon County. Our
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  Speaker 2: teachers have not received their pay increases. We talked about
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  Speaker 2: this before. It's because the teachers union negotiation process takes forever,
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  Speaker 2: and so that was the basis of the lawsuits. They
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  Speaker 2: wanted to hold up the money and prevent those teachers
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  Speaker 2: from immediately going over there and getting those pay increases
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  Speaker 2: in the low performing schools by making it a requirement
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  Speaker 2: that is subject to bargaining.
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  Speaker 1: You know, I remember years ago when Jeb Bush was
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  Speaker 1: in office, the governor put out a basically a chart
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  Speaker 1: that shows the steps that have to be followed to
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  Speaker 1: get rid of a bad teacher. Most teachers I think
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  Speaker 1: really are admirable in what they do and how they
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  Speaker 1: do it and want to do a great job for
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  Speaker 1: their kids. But when you have a bad one, it
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  Speaker 1: just it sort of poisons the whole water hole for
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  Speaker 1: everybody else. And it was ridiculous. Now we're seeing almost
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  Speaker 1: an inversion of that, where you've got paid that's available
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  Speaker 1: for teachers and it's being held up by unions. Is
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  Speaker 1: it strictly a negotiating ploy by the unions? What is
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  Speaker 1: a union going to gain out of this?
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  Speaker 2: Well, their idea is trying to get greater support. They
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  Speaker 2: continue to spout this narrative that Florida, according to the
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  Speaker 2: Teachers Union, is fiftieth ranked and teacher paid. But I
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  Speaker 2: want to talk facts here. Since twenty nineteen, Governor DeSantis
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  Speaker 2: has dedicated more than five point nine billion dollars specifically
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  Speaker 2: to increase teacher salaries. I hope folks understand that investment
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  Speaker 2: did not exist before Governor DeSantis took over. So that's
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  Speaker 2: in addition to the per student paying payments that the
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  Speaker 2: districts are receiving that they're also supposed to budget appropriately.
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  Speaker 2: This teacher salary increase is solely dedicated to teacher pay
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  Speaker 2: and the governor has committed that he will continue to
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  Speaker 2: ask for more money for these teachers because he fundamentally
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  Speaker 2: believes in the profession. He fundamentally believes in the work
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  Speaker 2: that public educators are doing. So this narrative that the
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  Speaker 2: teacher union continues to spout and spend that we are
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  Speaker 2: not supporting the public school system, it's just totally inappropriate.
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  Speaker 2: This governor has put his money where his mouth is,
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  Speaker 2: and the reality is his actions speak for themselves.
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  Speaker 1: Well, it was a great change because while I love
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  Speaker 1: a lot of things that the previous Governor Rick Scott did,
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  Speaker 1: bonuses in education is not the same as salary increases,
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  Speaker 1: as you well know, and so what Governor DeSantis has
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  Speaker 1: done is life changing for a lot of teachers. Let
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  Speaker 1: me just tag on another question that goes with this, though,
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  Speaker 1: Why do we still have circumstances where a teacher that
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  Speaker 1: is not a part of the union is bound by
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  Speaker 1: the collective bargaining agreement of the union.
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  Speaker 2: Well, look, it's funny you mentioned that because I know
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  Speaker 2: there are quite a few legislators who have the same question,
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  Speaker 2: and I think, you know, I'm hopeful there'll be an
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  Speaker 2: appetite to address that this time around. But you're right.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, why is it that we have a very
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  Speaker 2: good bill that was passed and sent a bill two
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  Speaker 2: fifty six that says you have to have sixty percent
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  Speaker 2: of union membership to exist as a union, and then
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  Speaker 2: you have to go through the recertification process if you
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  Speaker 2: don't meet that threshold. But then you go to an
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  Speaker 2: actual election. You have four thousand members that are part
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  Speaker 2: of the bargaining union, but only one hundred and ninety
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  Speaker 2: nine out of two hundred vote to keep the union.
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  Speaker 2: Therefore they have a majority. And now this union stays
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  Speaker 2: in existence because you have one hundred nine ninety nine
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  Speaker 2: people speaking for the vast majority of the four thousand.
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  Speaker 2: I think there are some things that need to be
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  Speaker 2: readdressed in the law to address this loophole.
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  Speaker 1: Good stuff, as always, I appreciate your time. If we
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  Speaker 1: don't talk before Christmas, have a great Christmas.
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  Speaker 2: Commissioner, thank you, Preston having blest one all.
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  Speaker 1: Right, he's the commissioner of Education for Florida. These are
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  Speaker 1: things that matter. I'm telling you, teachers, the union is
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  Speaker 1: hurting you. They're political and they don't need to be.
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  Speaker 1: They pick fights, they don't need to pick and they're
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  Speaker 1: never on the right side. When was the last time
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  Speaker 1: the Union backed an actual Republican Charlie Christ And maybe
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  Speaker 1: I don't even know if they backed him.