Florida Teacher Union Officials Lose Suit Against Merit Pay

Teacher union officials have lost one battle in Florida, when the lawsuit regarding merit pay for teachers was dismissed.  Merit pay provides a huge disincentive for teachers to join unions, which work for equal pay for all teachers regardless of their talent, expertise and effectiveness.

Leslie Postal has the story in the Orlando Sentinel.

A lawsuit by Florida’s teachers union over the merit-pay law was dismissed today, with a circuit judge ruling the sweeping 2011 law did not violate teachers constitutional rights.

Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper sided with state officials and shut down the lawsuit filed by the Florida Education Association in his ruling issued today.

Cooper wrote that the merit-pay law does not prohibit collective bargaining and, therefore, does not infringe on teachers’ collective bargaining rights, as spelled out in the Florida Constitution.