DeSantis Signs Union-Restricting Bill on May Day at Fort Myers High School
Gov. DeSantis signed a bill requiring higher thresholds for public union certification, affecting thousands of workers from teachers to nurses across Florida.
FORT MYERS, FLORIDA — Governor Ron DeSantis signed a controversial union-restricting bill into law Friday at Fort Myers High School, choosing May Day, a worldwide holiday celebrating the labor movement, to finalize one of his key 2026 legislative priorities.
DeSantis signed SB 1296, which imposes new certification requirements on public-sector labor unions that critics say will significantly weaken organized labor’s influence across Florida. The new law takes effect July 1.
New Union Certification Requirements
Under the legislation, public-sector labor unions must now secure at least 50% of all employees in a bargaining unit to vote for certification, and the vote itself must win 50%-plus-one support. Currently, unions only need a majority of those who actually vote in certification elections.
The change represents a significant shift that union leaders say will make it much harder to organize workers in the public sector.
Wide-Ranging Impact Across Sectors
Florida Education Association President Andrew Spar criticized DeSantis and what he called “anti-union, anti-worker legislators” for “chipping away at the constitutionally enshrined rights of thousands of workers in the state.”
Spar outlined the extensive reach of the new law, saying it will affect “nurses, sanitation workers, utility workers, line technicians, certified nursing assistants, doctors and medical residents, city bus drivers, teachers, education staff professionals, higher education faculty and graduate assistants, city and municipal workers, communications workers, and countless other public sector workers who help make Florida safe and prosperous.”
Governor Defends Education Union Targeting
During the signing ceremony, DeSantis defended the legislation by criticizing education unions specifically, saying he believes they get involved in “a whole host of things” in advocating for causes. The governor drew a distinction between education unions and police unions, which have been spared from recent union-restricting legislation in Florida.
“Education unions take the money out of everybody’s check for dues and it’s supposed to be, ‘Oh we’re going to improve your working conditions or benefits.’ But what they use it for is basically partisan political activism. Massive amounts of money going in,” DeSantis said during the event.
Police, firefighter, and correction officer unions, which tend to support Republican political causes, have not been targeted by similar restrictions under recent Florida legislation.
The bill had been the subject of intense debate in the Florida Capitol, with both the Florida Education Association and AFL-CIO opposing the measure. The timing of the signing on May Day was seen by union supporters as particularly symbolic, given the holiday’s historic significance to the labor movement worldwide.
