Florida Staff Organization

18/06/2026

Management is quick to blame staff for standing up for ourselves like somehow that hurts the union movement. It isn't our role to protect management from their own bad decisions. However, the best way to change the system is from within. Stay !

We understand why some members are angry. We are too. We have heard that members are considering dropping KNEA, and others are investigating disaffiliation. While we appreciate your support and we love your desire to help, we urge you to remember that it's easier to enact systemic change from inside of the system than it is from the outside.

Dropping your union membership because of governance and management's actions is like being frustrated with a superintendent and pulling your child out of school — it doesn't hurt the superintendent. It hurts the educators and students. In the same way, dissafiliation and reduced membership will harm the staff you are trying to help and harm your members in your locals.

The answer isn't walking away. The answer is organizing. The answer is taking back your power.

The same way we help members stand up to management overreach in our schools, we can stand together and demand accountability within our own union. If you're angry, channel it into action. Talk to your coworkers. Organize. Build power. Fight back.

That's how real change happens.

17/06/2026

📘✊ They Wasted Members' Dues to Remove FSO, But You Can’t Erase Union Solidarity ✊📘

When unions are under attack, unity matters more than ever, and at this year’s Summer Academy, staff voices are being pushed aside instead of lifted up.

In addition to shutting down our hydration station, FEA leaders removed FSO from the Summer Academy booklet. The booklets had already been printed, but once management noticed, they directed staff to throw them all out and reprint them.

That means member dues were wasted not to improve the event, not to support members, but to remove the acknowledgment that a staff union exists.

At a time when educators and their unions are facing serious threats, this is when we should be standing together. Teachers, education staff, and union staff all share a common goal: protecting workers’ voices and strengthening the labor movement.

We should be building solidarity, not creating divisions.

17/06/2026

Good morning, FEA Leadership!

FSO elves brought you extra water to keep you hydrated for today's training. Drink up lots of knowledge and stay cool this summer to get ready for a great school year of successful organizing! CHEERS!

16/06/2026

Today proud members of our union were spreading hydration and solidarity by handing out water at Summer Academy to educators across Florida in Orlando and were told by FEA management to stop immediately because it was inappropriate to show our support.

10/04/2026

FSO stands in Solidarity with IPSO!

On behalf of the Florida Staff Organization, we write to express our full support and solidarity with PSO, its leadership, and its members in response to the deeply concerning actions by the Indiana State Teachers Association’s management.

We are troubled by the reported intent to terminate President Rick Scalf and Vice President Anita Vernon for engaging in what appears to be protected union activity—specifically, responding to inquiries from a local president regarding submissions for the upcoming Representative Assembly. Such actions, if carried out, represent not only a direct attack on union leadership, but also a broader threat to the principles of open communication, transparency, and member representation that are foundational to our work.

Retaliation against staff for fulfilling their responsibilities to members undermines the integrity of our organizations and erodes trust at every level. Perhaps even more concerning is the chilling effect these actions may have on staff across the organization—discouraging them from providing the candid guidance and advocacy that members depend on to navigate complex issues and participate meaningfully in union governance.

At a time when public education and the rights of education workers face increasing challenges, it is imperative that we remain united in purpose. Internal actions that sow division or silence voices only weaken our collective ability to advocate effectively for the members we serve.

We stand with PSO in calling on ISTA leadership to reconsider this course of action and to recommit to the shared values of fairness, accountability, and respect for the rights of union staff. We urge a resolution that honors due process and reinforces, rather than diminishes, the role of staff as essential partners in advancing the mission of our unions.

Please know that the Florida Staff Organization stands in solidarity with you during this time.

In unity,

Executive Board
Florida Staff Organization
National Staff Organization

19/03/2026

Stand in Solidarity with our colleagues in IPSO by signing the petition today!

Go to nationalstaff.org/ISTA to take action.