We provide educators with better representation for less

Welcome to our site! The Miami-Dade Education Coalition offers a deep commitment to the future of education and the well-being of educators and support staff. We passionately believe in the power of unity, and the importance of fostering a supportive, forward thinking educational community. One that takes the livelihoods and working conditions of teachers and support staff seriously and seeks to safeguard their rights. One that stays out of divisive partisan political activities to maintain support from all its members. It is with this vision in mind that we invite you to join us.

 

Educators and support staff; MDEC is counting on your vote in the upcoming union election against United Teachers of Dade! The Florida Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC) will be running the election this fall. Vote-by-mail ballots will be mailed on August 13th to the address that M-DCPS has on record for you. All you must do is select Miami-Dade Education Coalition on your ballot and mail it back (prepaid) to PERC. The ballots must be received at PERC’s office in Tallahassee by September 24th to be counted. Pledge your support by clicking the “Join Us” button below!

Teachers having a meeting in a library - MDEC

About MDEC

The Miami-Dade Education Coalition is a registered employee organization, founded by educators, dedicated to serving the teachers and other education professionals of Miami-Dade County Public Schools for the purposes of collective bargaining regarding wages, hours, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment for M-DCPS educators.

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Better Wages

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Better Benefits

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Better Terms & Conditions

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Better Wages

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Better Hours

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Better Benefits

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Better Terms & Conditions

You need better representation.

What will MDEC do for you?

Created by and for M-DCPS educators, we are an employee organization alternative to United Teachers of Dade. Our mission is to provide a superior, lower cost, and transparent alternative to UTD by listening to the M-DCPS educators and their needs, advocating for better employee pay and benefits, and lower union dues.

UTD has now controlled our contract negotiations for decades, and during that time it has acted without transparency, and given away our step increases. UTD labor leaders used our union dues to pay high salaries for themselves and lined the pockets of politicians instead of supporting the educators they are supposed to represent. It is time for a change! MDEC is here to restore transparency to the contract negotiation process, provide better representation for educators, and do it at a lower cost to dues-paying members by removing bloated union salaries and state and national overhead.

MDEC was founded by educators for educators.

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Negotiation Transparency

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No Bloated Union Salaries

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Better Representation

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Lower Union Dues

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What Happens to the Current Contract if MDEC Replaces UTD?

UTD has spread misinformation that if MDEC replaces UTD, the current contract would disappear and M-DCPS educators will be left without the protections of a contract. This is not an accurate statement.

MDEC has consulted with lawyers and regulators at the Public Employee Relations Commission on this matter. When MDEC is successful at replacing UTD, the status quo contract terms will remain in place until MDEC ratifies a new contract with M-DCPS. This means that both MDEC and M-DCPS must operate according to the terms of the existing UTD contract until the new contract is ratified.

Here are somethings to consider:

  1. If UTD wins the decertification election, we are stuck with the current contract, and can't get any improvements until the contract expires.
  2. But if MDEC wins the election, we get to renegotiate as soon as MDEC is certified as the new bargaining unit. 
  3. Changes that we would like to see can be negotiated for as soon as MDEC is certified as the new bargaining agent. 
  4. In the meantime, we will keep the terms we currently have until a new contract is ratified. 
  5. We've got nothing to lose and everything to gain by voting for MDEC.
Compare and Contrast

Which Do You Choose?

Miami-Dade Education Coalition (MDEC)
United Teachers of Dade (UTD)
Election procedures
Third Party election providers will be hired to ensure transparency and validity
The Internal Functions Committee is responsible for conducting elections
Leadership Term Limits
2–year terms, not to exceed 6 years total
No term limits on leadership
Officer Salaries
Never paid more than median teacher salary
Massive 6-figure officer salaries
Member Dues
Dues cut in half, if not more
$1,000 annually
Funds to National Organizations
None
50% of members’ dues to national and state political organizations(FEA, NEA and AFT)
Participation in Partisan Political Activity
None
Involved in political activity that does not involve teacher pay and contract enforcement
Relationship with M-DCPS
Prioritize educators at the bargaining table
Prioritizes UTD’s bottom line at the bargaining table, not the educators they represent
Step Increases
Seeking to bring back step increases with retro pay and adjusted for inflation
Gave false information to members in 2015 in voting to give away step increases
UTD's model has cost you money while making UTD officers rich.
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MDEC is built by educators who will fight for educators.
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Do want to learn more?

Are you a member of UTD?

If you’re interested in being represented by MDEC, we are happy to help you resign your membership from UTD. Just click the link and fill out the form. https://www.optouttoday.com/fea

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Frequently Asked Questions

How will MDEC represent all types of education personnel in Miami-Dade County?

Part of what makes MDEC so unique is our commitment to all types of educators included in our bargaining unit, not just classroom teachers! Educating our children requires a coalition of our entire district, from counselors to office staff to classroom teachers to security guards. MDEC, as the new local union, is dedicated to making sure that all voices are heard and represented.

I have heard that MDEC is being backed by the Freedom Foundation. What’s in it for the Freedom Foundation? Will Freedom Foundation be “running” the MDEC if it wins the election against UTD?

Unlike UTD, MDEC’s founding principles protect our independence from outside affiliations. This principle of independence is enshrined in our bylaws. MDEC has accepted outside resources solely for the duration of the campaign. MDEC is its own legal entity, and no outside organization has control over our local union. To that end, any outside organization contracted by MDEC operates at the direction of our members. Join us and see for yourself!

What will happen to our current contract if MDEC wins the election against UTD? What about the RRAS? Working conditions?

When MDEC wins the election against UTD and becomes the certified bargaining agent for M-DCPS educators, the status quo contract terms in place under the current contract will remain in place until MDEC negotiates a new contract with M-DCPS and the new contract is ratified. The status quo doctrine is well established in Florida law. See, e.g., City of Ocala v. Marion Cnty. Police Benevolent Ass'n, 392 So. 2d 26 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980); Florida Police Benevolent Ass'n, Inc. v. Sheriff of Orange Cnty., 67 So.3d 400 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011); Duval Tchrs. United v. The Duval Cnty. Sch. Bd., 6 FPER ¶ 11, 150 (1980).

Why will MDEC’s dues be lower than UTD’s dues?

MDEC’s dues will be at least 50% lower than what educators are currently paying to UTD. UTD sends almost 50% of the dues it receives to the FEA, NEA, AFT, and other outside organizations. UTD also has an extensive bureaucracy of employees on its payroll and pays six-figure salaries to its leadership out of our dues money. As our new local union, MDEC will provide its members with a great product at less than half the cost of UTD dues by keeping our dues at the local level instead of handing them to state and federal organizations, and by curtailing internal bureaucracy and bloated union salaries.

How will MDEC enforce the current contract?

After MDEC becomes the certified bargaining agent, MDEC will enforce the terms of the current contract until the new contract between MDEC and M-DCPS is ratified. MDEC commits to employing outside, independent legal counsel to enforce the contract and ensure our individual members are served.

What is MDEC asking for if they begin negotiations?

For a thorough list of our negotiation positions, please check out our platform. MDEC negotiations will focus on substantially improving salaries, health benefits, and working conditions.

How will all members of the bargaining unit be included in negotiations?

MDEC is dedicated to ensuring that all members of the bargaining unit are fairly represented in union negotiations, regardless of their job title.

The Executive Board of MDEC and its designated representatives will conduct negotiations on behalf of the bargaining unit, in coordination with the Collective Bargaining Committee. The Executive Board will consist of the Executive Officers, one Senior Site Representative, the Immediate Past President of MDEC (once applicable), and, beginning two years after the establishment of the MDEC, five additional non-elected Board members.

  • Executive Officers are elected by the members of MDEC.  
  • MDEC members at each worksite will elect one Senior Site Representative and one alternate. One Senior Site Representative will be randomly selected from a pool of nominations to serve as a member of the Executive Board.
  • The five non-elected Board members will include three Educational Level Representatives (consisting of one high school teacher, one middle school teacher, and one elementary school teacher), one Degreed Student Service Employee Representative, such as a counselor or a similar role, and one Support Staff Representative from the non-degreed support staff.  

MDEC members will be included in negotiations by participating in the election of Officers and Site Representatives, and through the non-elected Board members who will represent different groups of MDEC members. Members may provide their ideas and feedback to the Collective Bargaining Committee, which will advise the Executive Board on matters related to negotiations. 

How will elections and voting take place?

MDEC is dedicated to providing a fair and transparent voting process for its members to ensure the integrity of our elections. Elections will take place at each worksite on the dates recommended by the Committee on Elections and approved by the Executive Board. Elections will take place in a manner consistent with the procedures developed by the Committee on Elections and consistent with the guidelines in the Landrum Griffith Act.

The Senior Site Representative and a designee at each worksite will maintain a membership roster to be used as a sign-in sheet to obtain a ballot. All ballots will be tallied for each worksite, and the results will be conveyed to the Committee on Elections. The Committee will tally the ballots from all worksites and report results to the President, who will immediately notify candidates of the election results, and report to the general membership within thirty (30) days of the election. In the event a simple majority vote is not received for an office, a run-off election will beheld.

Once sufficient funds are acquired within the MDEC budget, voting for officer elections or any other large-scale organizational decisions such as referendum votes and contract ratification will be conducted by third-party election providers, which will be evaluated and selected by a committee appointed by the Executive Board.

Executive board elections will be staggered to ensure continuity and effective leadership change, with the President and Vice President serving for 2-year terms ceasing in even-numbered years, and the Secretary and Treasurer serving for two-year terms ceasing in odd-numbered years. The founding President and Vice President will serve initial 3-year terms.  


What will be the pay structure of the MDEC leadership?

MDEC is committed to ensuring that our leadership never has bloated union salaries. Union leadership should be in their positions to advocate for educators, not to collect huge paychecks! To that end, officers will never be paid more than an annual classroom teacher salary in the school district during any given year.

How will MDEC be any different than United Teachers of Dade?

Check out the “Compare and Contrast” chart to see how MDEC compares with UTD as a quick reference guide, but the word that captures the essence of the difference is transparency. It’s a prerequisite for building a constructive, trusting organizational culture. It fosters open communication and accountable behavior in the leadership and its members.

When it comes to an organization's values and behaviors, the best disinfectant is sunlight.

Still have questions?

Press Release

Financial Discrepancies Suggest United Teachers of Dade Corruption

United Teachers of Dade may face decertification under new Florida union transparency laws due to financial discrepancies and alleged fraudulent disclosures.

Finance investigation - MDEC

Miami-Dade Education Coalition Support Pledge

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