Working for the Florida Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, can pay a pretty penny -- to the tune of up to a six figure salary, according to numbers from the U.S. Department of Labor.
A recent Florida Watchdog story highlighted some of the top salaries for the FEA, which is composed of nearly 130,000 members statewide. On top of being the state’s largest teachers union, it’s also Florida’s largest labor union.
FEA members include public school employees like teachers and support professionals, higher education faculty, retirees and students seeking degrees in education.
The FEA promises members will be connected to nearly 5 million public school teachers and support professionals across the nation with membership in the union.
According to the FEA, membership includes “national representation” through the two largest education unions in the country, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA).
Each year, those 130,000 members must pay their annual dues to remain a part of the union. Membership fees vary around the state, with costs from around $50-$70 each month per teacher.
Those membership fees added up to big money for the FEA -- the group collected over $24 million from 2014-2015 dues and mandatory fees. The union then uses part of that money to pay over 110 staff members, nearly half of whom collect a handsome six-figure salary for their work with the union.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported over 40 of FEA’s top staffers made an average of $131,000 a year. Top staffer salaries amounted to nearly $5.6 million.
The average teacher salary in Florida is a little over $48,000, but that number can be larger or smaller depending on the district. Some teachers make as little as $33,000 per year.
Top salaries at the FEA dwarf those numbers, some almost eight times the salary of teachers in certain Florida counties.
Former FEA president Andy Ford made the most money of all staffers, raking in a $235,000 annual salary. Ford retired in 2015 after leading the organization for 12 years.
Vice President Joanne McCall (who was elected president shortly after Ford’s retirement) earned the second-highest salary at $217,000. McCall formerly worked as a speech pathologist before joining the FEA.
The union routinely dumps money into the Florida Democratic Party. The FEA has also delved into a statewide lawsuit over Florida’s tax credit scholarship program, an ongoing legal battle which has made headlines over the years.
An endorsement from the union can make a big difference for some candidates running for office, but FEA spokesperson Mark Pudlow says endorsements are scarce partially because the union doesn’t have a ton of money to go around.
“It is not just positions but electability that matters because dollars are scarce and we are not the big spenders,” Pudlow said. “Our strength is in our members.”
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
