Florida statewide teachers' strike of 1968 facts for kids

The Florida teachers' strike of 1968 was a big event in Florida where teachers and other school staff stopped working. This happened in February and March of 1968. The main reasons for the strike were that schools didn't have enough money, even though more and more students were joining. Teachers also felt they weren't paid enough and didn't have good benefits.

The strike lasted for different amounts of time. Some schools were affected for just a few days, while others saw teachers on strike for up to three months. The state government did approve some money for schools. However, teachers felt it wasn't enough and voted to keep striking. In the end, no more money came, and most teachers went back to work by the end of March.

Many people consider the 1968 Florida strike the first statewide teachers' strike in the United States. However, some also say a strike in Utah in 1963 was the first.

Why Teachers Went on Strike

Teachers in Florida became more active and wanted better conditions. This led to the Florida Education Association (FEA), which was a group for teachers, starting to act more like a labor union. Also, the state government wasn't giving enough money to schools.

At the time, Florida's governor, Kirk, had promised to improve education without raising taxes. But he later stopped $130 million that was meant for schools. Teachers felt this was a bad time for budget cuts. The average teacher salary in Florida was lower than the national average. Even though Florida was growing, it was spending less of its money on education.

How Teachers Became More Active

The Florida Education Association (FEA) started in 1886. It was more of a professional group than a union. It didn't support teachers working together to negotiate pay or going on strike.

But things started to change. In 1963, a teacher named Pat Tornillo became president of a teachers' group in Dade County. He wanted the group to be more active and even supported ending segregation among teaching staff.

Across the country, teachers' groups like the National Education Association (NEA) were also starting to act more like unions. They began to push for "professional negotiations," which was like collective bargaining. This meant teachers could work together to discuss their pay and working conditions.

By 1965, the NEA was spending a lot of money to help local teacher groups with these negotiations. They also created a "sanctions" policy. This meant they could protest against school districts that treated teachers unfairly. They could encourage teachers not to work there or refuse to do unpaid tasks like tutoring. The first time the NEA used sanctions against an entire state was in Utah in 1963.

Pat Tornillo used these new methods in Dade County. Even though the FEA was slow to support him, his group won a contract. This made Tornillo and other leaders want the state FEA to be more active.

Schools Needed More Money

In Florida, local schools get money from property taxes. The state government also gives money for different school programs. This state money often comes from sales taxes and special taxes on things like tobacco or alcohol, sometimes called "sin taxes."

In 1967, Florida schools were struggling because so many new students were enrolling. After World War II, many babies were born (the "baby boom"), and many people moved to Florida. This caused school enrollment to go up by more than 50 percent. But not enough new schools were built, and not enough new teachers were hired. Most leaders knew schools needed more money, but the public didn't seem to demand it.

The Strike Begins

Government Inaction

In 1966, Claude R. Kirk, Jr. became Florida's first Republican governor since 1877. He promised to improve education funding but also said he wouldn't raise taxes.

In 1967, the FEA asked the state government for more money for public schools. They wanted teachers to earn at least $5,000 a year. The state legislature, which was controlled by Democrats, approved a higher sales tax to get more money for schools. But Governor Kirk stopped this budget plan, and Republican lawmakers supported his decision.

Local Strikes in 1967

Many teachers were angry about Governor Kirk's decision. In August 1967, 30,000 teachers gathered at a rally in Orlando. They demanded action from the state. FEA leaders started talking about a statewide strike.

After the rally, some local strikes happened around the state. Even though it was illegal for public workers to strike in Florida, teachers in Pinellas and Broward counties went on strike in September. Some schools closed, but no entire school districts shut down. Courts told teachers to go back to work, but hundreds stayed out for weeks.

The Statewide Strike of 1968

The local strikes in September helped get public attention. Governor Kirk called a special meeting of the legislature in January 1968. Lawmakers from both parties worked together. They raised taxes to give more state money for building schools and paying teachers higher salaries. Governor Kirk quickly signed this new plan.

But most teachers felt the increases were not enough. The FEA held a special meeting and voted that the new funding was still too low. In February 1968, FEA president Jane Arnold said the group would support teachers if they stopped working. Thousands of teachers did. Since strikes were illegal, teachers technically resigned in large groups.

Schools closed in about two-thirds of Florida's counties. In other districts, many individual schools closed. At the peak of the strike, about 25,712 teachers, which was about 40 percent of all teachers in the state, walked off the job.

The strike's impact was different in various places. In some areas, strikes lasted only a few days. In others, teachers protested for weeks. In Pinellas County, teachers were out for six weeks, and some small groups even struck for three months.

However, Governor Kirk and the legislature did not change their minds. They refused to give more money or raise taxes further.

Local school districts started taking action to end the strike. FEA leaders like Jane Arnold faced threats of arrest. Pat Tornillo faced legal trouble but didn't go to jail. School districts hired new teachers to replace those on strike. Some local businesses even paid their employees to teach classes.

Most teachers went back to work after a few weeks. It became clear that public support for the teachers, which was weak at the start, had dropped a lot. Jane Arnold said, "We thought they (the public) would be with us... It did a little bit of the opposite." Many teachers felt disappointed. Local teacher groups started making their own agreements, often agreeing not to challenge schools for firing the most active teachers. By the end of March, almost all teachers were back at work, and the strike was over.

What Happened After the Strike

The 1968 strike was the first time teachers across an entire state stopped working in the U.S. It kept over 40 percent of Florida teachers at home. Education funding did go up, but the teachers' group felt it wasn't enough. From this point of view, the strike wasn't a complete success. However, the FEA did get more money for education and convinced Governor Kirk to break his promise of no new taxes.

The strike also had a big effect on the national NEA. After the Florida strike, the NEA's main governing body approved a new rule. For the first time, they supported teacher strikes, calling them "withdrawal of services." They also spoke out against states trying to ban strikes. This rule change happened directly because of the Florida strike.

In the long run, the strike greatly improved the future for teachers' unions in Florida. Many FEA members became more determined. Later, the statewide group won important court and legislative victories. These made it legal and easier for teacher unions to form in Florida. Even though the 1968 strike caused the FEA to split up in 1974, education unions came back together in 2000. By 2006, unions were recognized in school districts covering 90 percent of Florida's school workers. Today, the FEA is one of Florida's largest unions.