| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard | Good morning and welcome to Tuesday. Florida’s teachers’ unions are scrambling under a new law that makes it harder for them to stay in existence. Ever since October, unions must show that 60 percent of eligible school employees are paying dues. If they can’t, they need to collect signed cards from roughly a third of members who attest they want to be represented by the union. Then, they hold an election. This'll happen every year. And if they don't meet the new requirements, they risk losing their labor contracts and can't bargain for better pay, benefits and working conditions and have to start all over on recertifying their union. Unions complain the whole ordeal is confusing, expensive and elaborate. Adding to the hurdles is that unions aren’t allowed to automatically deduct dues from pay checks anymore, and they’ve had a hard time getting some teachers to agree to pay their dues through a new payment site they created as a backup. Soon, they’ll have to pay for new, state-mandated audits. The Florida Education Association sees the effort as a broader move to undermine public schools, placing the state’s anti-union law in the same category as taxpayer-funded vouchers that students can use to attend private schools or making it easier for families to challenge books. “Gov. DeSantis decided that he needed an enemy to run for president and was going to make the teacher’s unions his enemies,” said the group’s president, Andrew Spar. Teachers aren’t the only unions affected, but they’re the largest. They’ve also been a DeSantis target ever since they opposed the governor’s plan to reopen schools during the pandemic, sooner than teachers thought it safe. The governor’s office has framed the new law as beneficial for teachers, saying they — and not unions — should be able to keep more of their paychecks after the state increased salaries. “Our state's teachers should not feel compelled or bullied into joining a group that does not represent them or their interests,” said DeSantis’ spokesperson Jeremy Redfern. Every school district has a different deadline to meet the 60 percent threshold, and many of them, with months to go, are already dreading it. One is the Madison County Education Association, a small local union that is about 20 percentage points behind where it needs to be. It'll be hosting a trivia night and meal next month to get more teachers interested in membership. “I’m really worried and it’s extremely time consuming,” said Caulette Hicks, the group’s president who also teaches high-school English full time. “The only way I know how to do it is to go before every person and do it.” She predicted she'd have to take time off work to meet the requirements, despite severe staff shortages. United Teachers of Dade, the largest teacher’s union in the state, is waiting to see whether it’s set for the year, the Miami Herald reported. Lee Bryant, president of the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association who also shared his experience with the Tampa Bay Times, told Playbook the whole process was a “big mess” and that he was working to collect far above the 2,000 cards required, though he's facing headwinds from the forthcoming holidays. “I don’t see [Gov. DeSantis] changing,” Bryant said. “I don’t see the state Legislature changing unless citizens elect more labor-loving individuals.” The Public Employees Relations Commission, which monitors labor and employment issues, has held numerous public hearings, meetings and workshops to help unions get ready for the new law, said the commission’s chair, Donald Rubottom, who noted that groups have been aware of the requirements since the law passed in May. He cast the challenges as growing pains, said the commission was there to help and predicted teachers' unions would be able to hit the new requirements. “We don't expect any of them to fail at it,” he said. — WHERE'S RON? Gov. DeSantis is doing events in New Hampshire with Never Back Down, the PAC supporting his presidency, and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu is joining him for a noon appearance. Florida first lady Casey DeSantis will be at Never Back Down events in Iowa. PROGRAMMING NOTE: We’ll be off for Thanksgiving this Thursday and Friday but back to our normal schedule on Monday, Nov. 27. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com | | | | GO INSIDE THE CAPITOL DOME: From the outset, POLITICO has been your eyes and ears on Capitol Hill, providing the most thorough Congress coverage — from political characters and emerging leaders to leadership squabbles and policy nuggets during committee markups and hearings. We're stepping up our game to ensure you’re fully informed on every key detail inside the Capitol Dome, all day, every day. Start your day with Playbook AM, refuel at midday with our Playbook PM halftime report and enrich your evening discussions with Huddle. Plus, stay updated with real-time buzz all day through our brand new Inside Congress Live feature. Learn more and subscribe here. | | | | | |  | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | |  An alligator moves through the water in the Florida Everglades, during a media tour organized by the Everglades Foundation, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, north of the Tamiami Trail in Miami-Dade County. | Rebecca Blackwell/AP |
GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY — “Florida echoes half century of wins and losses from Endangered Species Act,” reports Jim Waymer of Florida Today. “At 50, the Endangered Species Act is having a midlife crisis of sorts, especially in Florida. Green sea turtles grow like gangbusters. Alligators clawed their way back from oblivion. Meanwhile, scrub jays, gopher tortoises and barely known creatures such as the Titusville balm flower face seemingly insurmountable odds under the stress of more humans, pollution and global warming. Manatees — thriving just six years ago — now starve by the thousands.”
HUNTING — “‘Greater flexibility’ considered for Florida alligator hunts,” reports News Service of Florida’s Jim Turner. “The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at a Dec. 5 meeting in Orlando will take up a proposal that would lead to a random draw for five special-use permits that would give alligator hunters 'greater flexibility' next season ... The proposed change would let five people hunt throughout the season in any management unit, on public wetlands where access is allowed or on private land.” $582M TAB— “Prison officials and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle acknowledge there’s a problem with extreme heat conditions inside Florida prisons, but the clearest path to providing Florida’s correctional institutions with air conditioning will likely take decades to complete and come at a staggering cost,” reports Amanda Rabines of the Orlando Sentinel. “And that’s if the state is willing to make the investment, which is far from certain.” EYES EMOJI — GOP Rep. Joel Rudman, a DeSantis ally and family doctor, said he supports Medicaid expansion, per an interview he did with Axios. He won’t be introducing a bill in the next session but would consider being a co-sponsor on a Democratic bill. STAFF DATA — “State proposes new health care workforce reporting data,” reports Florida Politics’ Christine Jordan Sexton. “The Agency for Health Care Administration on Monday published a proposed amendment to its licensure rule that would require licensure application forms for nursing homes, assisted living facilities, home health agencies, and homemaker/companion service providers to include data on pay, benefit, vacancy and turnover rates for registered nurses and direct care workers." CRT — “New appeals hearing sought in fight to subpoena lawmakers in challenge to Florida’s so-called ‘Stop WOKE Act,’” reports News Service of Florida’s Jim Saunders. “Plaintiffs’ attorneys Monday asked a full federal appeals court to take up a dispute about whether 14 current and former Florida lawmakers should have to turn over documents in a challenge to a state law that DeSantis dubbed the ‘Stop WOKE Act.’” GOING ELSEWHERE — “The Florida retirement dream is dying as seniors get priced out of the Sunshine State,” reports The Messenger’s Sasha Jones. “Areas of the state once considered havens for retirees are seeing increased development and a wave of younger residents replacing the older crowd, not to mention a surge in ultra-luxury real estate catering to a new billionaire class moving to the state.” — “A migrant killed a deputy. A DeSantis agency’s probe was 2 pages,” reports the Tampa Bay Times’ Emily L. Mahoney and Justin Garcia | | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | | | 
University of Florida President Ben Sasse. | Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images | DISPUTE — Sasse dismisses Florida Republican’s claim that UF professor compared Israel to Nazi Germany, reports POLITICO’s Andrew Atterbury. State Rep. Randy Fine, Florida’s only Republican Jewish lawmaker, publicly called on the University of Florida to terminate a professor for sharing a social media post comparing Israel to Nazi Germany — but UF President Ben Sasse, in a sharp rebuke, asserted that the instructor hasn’t worked at the school for years. STRONG START — “Florida's new high-speed rail linking Miami and Orlando could be blueprint for future travel in U.S.,” reports CBS News’ Kris Van Cleave and Analisa Novak. “Brightline ... first launched in 2018 with service between Miami and West Palm Beach. Its trains, which can reach speeds of 125 miles per hour, have seen a 116 percent increase in ridership this year. The company anticipates accommodating approximately 4.3 million passengers annually between South Florida and Orlando by 2025.” BUMPER TO BUMPER — The Palm Beach Council is considering limiting events at Mar-a-Lago because it’s sick of all the traffic, reports the Palm Beach Post’s Diego Diaz Lasa. | | CAMPAIGN MODE | | | | 
This combination of photos shows California Gov. Gavin Newsom (left) speaking in Sacramento, California, on June 24, 2022, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaking in Sioux Center, Iowa, May 13, 2023. | AP |
DETAILS SET — DeSantis and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California will debate each other Nov. 30 on Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity from Alpharetta, Ga. in what’s being called “The Great Red vs. Blue State Debate.” The debate starts at 9 p.m. EST and will go 90 minutes before an empty audience.
TODAY — Runoffs for Miami Beach mayor and two Miami commission races. ABOUT THAT — “Suspended Miami commissioner sues challenger on eve District 1 runoff election,” reports the Miami Herald’s Joey Flechas. “Díaz de la Portilla’s lawsuit, filed Monday in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court, accuses [his opponent, Miguel Angel Gabela] of living in a single-family home just outside the District 1 boundary.” NEW PLAYER — A new group linked to DeSantis allies has started reserving airtime in Iowa, reports The New York Times’ Shane Goldmacher. “The reservations — more than $700,000 as of early Monday afternoon — were being made by an entity called Fight Right, according to AdImpact, a media-tracking company. A nonprofit by that name, Fight Right Inc., was registered in Florida last week and a super PAC with the same name was also registered with the Federal Election Commission by a Tallahassee-based treasurer, state and federal records show. The ads, which will begin on Thanksgiving, are expected to oppose Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor, according to AdImpact.” MAJOR FUNDRAISER — “Who owns Ron DeSantis?” by Mother Jones’ Nina Wang, David Corn and Russ Choma. “The Florida governor is one of the most prodigious political cash-chasers in recent US history ... he collected huge bundles of campaign money from eccentric billionaires, magnates who had run afoul of the law, corporations that seek lucrative contracts from the government he runs, and even a prominent businessman once identified by law enforcement authorities as associated with a Mafia crime family.” | | TRANSITION TIME | |
— America First Policy Institute just launched a Florida chapter that’ll be chaired by former state Attorney General Pam Bondi and co-chaired by businessman Omeed Malik. Its state director will be Kevin Cabrera, Miami-Dade County Commissioner for District 6.
| | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | |
TURKEY DAY TRIVIA — The first Thanksgiving happened in St. Augustine, Fla., according to First Coast News.
CONSERVATION FTW — The most popular license plate in Florida is the “Endless Summer” theme that supports coastline preservation and second is a plate featuring a loggerhead hatchling that supports sea turtle research and conservation, per WFLA’s Katlyn Brieskorn. — Florida scrub jay: Threatened, politically controversial and possibly the first snowbird, by the Tallahassee Democrat’s James Call BIRTHDAYS: Political consultant, Lincoln Project co-founder and author Rick Wilson … state Rep. Rick Roth… former U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney | | | | GET A BACKSTAGE PASS TO COP28 WITH GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Get insider access to the conference that sets the tone of the global climate agenda with POLITICO's Global Playbook newsletter. Authored by Suzanne Lynch, Global Playbook delivers exclusive, daily insights and comprehensive coverage that will keep you informed about the most crucial climate summit of the year. Dive deep into the critical discussions and developments at COP28 from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12.. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
