Joe Henderson: Teachers are striking but it probably won’t happen in Florida

Teachers have been used as chew toys by state legislatures across the country for years, and Florida is no exception.

They have been shot at, threatened, and faced great increases in the job demands while the pay and resources haven’t kept up.

When students fail, no matter the reason, the blame often falls on teachers and can threaten job security. Here in Florida, they have seen the state divert millions of dollars from public schools into private charters.

They saw Tallahassee Republicans push through a law that could lead to teachers unions being decertified, a power play to further erode their leverage. Last year, the Legislature passed a law that allows any parent to protest the textbooks being used in classes – whether they have a student enrolled or not.

It’s just part of the sweeping disrespect some lawmakers have directed at the honorable profession of teaching here and in other places.

Well, teachers have finally had enough.

They’re hitting back in places like West Virginia, where teachers staged a nearly two-week strike demanding (and receiving) higher pay and other benefits. There is similar unrest in Oklahoma, Kentucky and Arizona.

Don’t look for something like that in Florida.

While the walk-outs are legal in Kentucky and carry only token penalties in the other states, that’s not the case in Florida. The state’s Constitution here expressly forbids teacher strikes and would carry some potentially severe penalties – including termination and loss of retirement benefits. Even suggesting it can lead to sanctions.

That’s why Florida Education Association has been focused on using the November statewide elections to bring about needed change.

Teachers have been riled enough to put their jobs in jeopardy before by walking out, though.

In 1968, about 25,000 Florida public school teachers resigned their jobs in protests (strikes were not allowed) in a massive protest that won concessions from the state, including the right to collective bargaining.

The pendulum has swung the other way in recent years as teachers faced tighter state rules about evaluations, job requirements, stagnant wages, and challenging working conditions.

In Hillsborough County, for instance, it’s a constant struggle to even keep the air conditioners working in many schools. As the county has grown into the eighth-largest district in the country, maintenance hasn’t kept up with the ever-increasing demands of a growing student population.

The budget was further strained when the state mandated new security measures after the Parkland slaughter but didn’t provide full funding.

Hillsborough teachers have staged large protests at local school board meetings after being told there wasn’t enough money to pay salary increases they say they were promised.

Meanwhile, Florida just keeps growing, bringing more students into an overstuffed school system.

The teacher strikes in other states drew national focus on problems that go beyond school security. In Oklahoma, for instance, long-term budget cuts forced students in many cases to use textbooks that are falling apart and out of date.

So yeah, teachers are fighting back and maybe people are finally saying “Hey, wait a minute….”

It’s a shame it took this long.