No matter what your job title is as an educator, all of us deserve to be paid a living wage. The American Dream of home ownership, providing for your family and getting to take a vacation every now and then should not be too much to ask. As a union, advocating for pay and benefits is one of the most important things we do.

Lawmakers continue to talk about how they want to fix salaries and funding- but the truth is, they have yet to act. The laws that have kept our salaries down are still on the books. Time is running out and it’s not enough to talk about supporting educators and public education- we need lawmakers to act TODAY.

We need real solutions that move Florida out of the bottom-ten in the nation in per-student funding and moves our teachers up from #50 in the nation in average teacher pay and provides meaningful support to our education staff professionals who deserve better pay and respect.

More money alone, though, is not enough. We also need legislators to pass bills like SB 136 and HB 439 that address salary compression and allow all educators—those new to the profession and those with many years of experience—to be paid fairly.

At this point, the budget proposals are still just that: proposals. We have a limited amount of time where we can act and demand better of our legislators.

Already this session, FEA members have had tens of thousands of conversations with legislators in the form of emails, phone calls and in-person visits in Tallahassee. We have seen results from those conversations in multiple ways.

Just last week, SB 166, a bill that will restore multiyear contracts to instructional personnel passed its final committee in the senate. This bill also contains provisions that reduce the reliance on high-stakes testing for students and allows teachers to earn 10-year professional certificates. Good policy like this doesn’t just happen; it’s the result of relentless advocacy.

Now, we must take that same energy and apply it to getting a budget that honors the work you do each and every day by emailing your legislators today. It’s time to remind lawmakers that actions speak louder than words.

In solidarity,

Janet Moody