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93-697: It was founded in 1921, as a committee within the Hillsborough County Education Foundation. In 1965, it broke away to become a separate entity. In 1968, the union took part in the Florida Education Association 's statewide strike of teachers for more education funding and collective bargaining rights. This article related to one or more trade or labor unions is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Florida Education Association The Florida Education Association ( FEA )

186-523: A carbonate plateau created millions of years ago. Eastern Dade is composed of Oolite limestone while western Dade is composed mostly of Bryozoa . Miami-Dade is among the last areas of Florida to be created and populated with fauna and flora, mostly in the Pleistocene . The bay is divided from the Atlantic Ocean by many barrier islands along the coast. The city of Miami Beach , home to

279-628: A "Sheriff's Office". Instead, the county's law enforcement agency is known as the Miami-Dade Police Department, and its leader is known as the Metropolitan Sheriff and Director of the Miami-Dade Police Department; Nonetheless, Miami-Dade Police badges bear the inscription, "Deputy Sheriff, Sheriff's Office, Dade County, Fla." Miami-Dade County has voted for the Democratic Party candidate in most of

372-564: A contract, but FEA's reluctance to support the local association led Tornillo and other leaders to lobby the state association to become more militant. The DCCTA's actions set in motion a series of events which led to a statewide Florida teachers' strike in 1968. Prodded by the DCCTA, the NEA undertook a study of the condition of Florida's public schools. The study, released in 1966, concluded that school funding had actually fallen while enrollment—and

465-474: A female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 23.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.4% (2.5% male and 5.9% female) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.33. The age distribution is 21.9% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age

558-695: A great deal of weight because DCCTA was the largest teachers' union in the state, and he was the leader of the militant faction within FEA. But Tornillo's views only worsened the friction between the NEA and AFT in the state. By the end of the year, DCCTA had merged with the AFT affiliate in Dade County and was calling itself the "United Teachers of Dade" (UTD), and Tornillo had convinced education associations representing other large urban school districts in Florida to join

651-571: A mere $ 28,000 in 1961. In 1962, pro-unionization forces in the NEA pushed to remove the organization's prohibition against strikes. They were unsuccessful, but did win approval of a "sanctions" policy. "Sanctions" included waging a public relations campaign against the school district, encouraging teachers to not accept teaching positions with the school system, refusing to provide unpaid services (such as tutoring or supervision of clubs), and political action to defeat anti-union politicians. "Sanctions" could be employed against any school district which, in

744-612: A number of new educational policies. FEA, traditionally much more prone to lean Democratic, has engaged in draining and lengthy battles over school vouchers, teacher tenure, merit pay, bonus pay, bans and limitations on the collection of teacher union dues, the teaching of creationism, student testing, classroom overcrowding and salaries. However, some observers claim the merger has not had positive results. Critics argue that local FEA unions are less effective in collective bargaining, local and state annual dues are too high, young teachers are reluctant to join their local affiliates, and neither

837-486: A number of scandals since the merger as well. In March 2001, a secretary in the Port Charlotte, Florida , local embezzled $ 66,000. In July of the same year, long-time Broward Teachers Union president Tony Gentile was arrested during an Internet sting operation. In a settlement package, the local union paid him for unused sick and vacation time and a retirement contribution valued at $ 120,000. In February 2003, $ 40,000

930-528: A number of successes. The union successfully challenged the state's school voucher law, and beat back a 2002 state attempt to give local school districts the right to privatize public school workers such as bus drivers, cafeteria workers, aides and others. In 2002, the union also successfully organized the full-time professors, counselors and librarians at Florida Community College at Jacksonville after two previous unsuccessful organizing elections. Dinnen retired as FEA president in 2003. She then ran for and won

1023-653: A seat on the Broward County school board. During her tenure as President of the Association she presided over the selection in 2000 of former FTP-NEA President Aaron Wallace as the FEA Chief of Staff. Andy Ford was elected her successor. Ford was previously the president of Duval Teachers United and part of the team which negotiated the FTP-NEA/FEA-United merger in 2000. He had also been elected

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1116-625: A statesman and diplomat from South Carolina who drafted the Treaty of San Lorenzo . The county's credited father, Richard Fitzpatrick, preferred this name as he was from South Carolina himself; however, when news reached Tallahassee of the Dade Massacre , the Territorial Legislative Council inserted Dade's name instead into a pending bill to create the new county. At the time of its creation, Dade County included

1209-669: A unit of about 450 blue-collar workers in the Hernando County school district. In 1998, full-time faculty at Miami-Dade Community College also voted to join FEA-United. In fact, during the 1980s both state unions put a high priority on organizing education support professionals across the state. It was during this period that the character of the two organizations changed from being unions that only represented teachers, to representing all categories of public school employees. But there were losses on both sides as well. In 1980,

1302-672: Is a statewide federation of teacher and education workers' labor unions in the US state of Florida . Its 145,000 members make it the largest union in the state. It is a merged affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA), and is a member of the AFL–CIO . The FEA was founded in 1886. After leading the nation's first statewide teachers' strike in 1968,

1395-612: Is an estimated 23,064 Muslims with 15 congregations, 3,069 Hindus with 7 congregations, and 1,342 Buddhist with 17 congregations. In 2005 the Jewish population of the county has decreased but stabilized at about 121,000 with a high percentage of retired and elderly persons (but less than in Broward and Palm Beach counties). There are more than 60 congregations, 34 Jewish educational institutions, and three Jewish community centers. The highest percentage and increase in Jewish population

1488-605: Is elected countywide to serve a four-year term and is considered a "strong mayor". The mayor is not a member of the County Commission, appoints all 25 directors who oversee the operations of the County Departments and has veto power over the Commission. A mayoral appointment and veto can only be overridden by a two-thirds majority of the County Commission. The post is occupied by Daniella Levine Cava ,

1581-473: Is heavily Hispanic and was the most populous majority-Hispanic county in the nation as of 2020. It is home to 34 incorporated cities and many unincorporated areas . The northern, central and eastern portions of the county are heavily urbanized with many high-rise buildings along the coastline, including Miami's Central Business District in Downtown Miami . Southern Miami-Dade County includes

1674-520: Is home to several universities and colleges, including Florida International University , one of the largest public universities in the country, and the University of Miami in Coral Gables , a private research university that is routinely ranked as one of the nation's top universities and is the county's second-largest employer with nearly 17,000 employees as of 2021. Miami-Dade County

1767-522: Is in North Dade, especially in Aventura. Miami-Dade County hosts Florida's third largest Jewish population and the nation's tenth largest. Altogether, 39.8% of the population was claimed as members by religious congregations, although members of historically African-American denominations were underrepresented due to incomplete information. In 2014, Miami-Dade County had 731 religious organizations,

1860-547: Is land and 533 square miles (1,380 km ) (21.9%) is water. It is the third-largest county in Florida by land area and second-largest by total area. Most of the water is in the Biscayne Bay , with another significant portion in the adjacent Atlantic Ocean . Miami-Dade County is only about 6 feet (1.8 m) above sea level . It is rather new geologically and is at the eastern edge of the Florida Platform ,

1953-615: Is populated only by a Miccosukee tribal village. Biscayne National Park and the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserves are located east of the mainland in Biscayne Bay . The earliest evidence of Native American settlement in the Miami region is from approximately 12,000 years ago. The first inhabitants settled on the banks of the Miami River , with the main villages on the northern banks. The inhabitants at

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2046-447: Is the "upper tier", and it provides services of a metropolitan nature, such as emergency management, airport and seaport operations, public housing and health care services, transportation, environmental services, solid waste disposal etc. These are funded by county taxes, which are assessed on all incorporated and unincorporated areas. Of the county's 2.6 million total residents (as of 2013), approximately 52% live in unincorporated areas,

2139-558: The Redland and Homestead areas, which make up the agricultural economy of the county. Agricultural Redland makes up roughly one third of Miami-Dade County's inhabited land area, and is sparsely populated, a stark contrast to the densely populated, urban portions of the county's northern sections. The county includes portions of two national parks. To the west, the county extends into the Everglades National Park and

2232-526: The Sarasota County Classified/Teachers Association—FEA-United's fourth-largest affiliate—voted to become independent as well, arguing that FEA-United had not done enough to service the local's contract. But despite the conflict, the two unions remained remarkably evenly matched. By 1987, FTP-NEA's membership had risen to about 37,000 members, while FEA-United's membership stood at about 30,000 members. By 2000, when

2325-724: The South Beach neighborhood and its Art Deco district, is built on these barrier islands. The archipelago of the Florida Keys , which extends in an arc to the south-southwest, is only accessible through Miami-Dade County, although most of the Keys are part of neighboring Monroe County . Miami is 68 miles from West Palm Beach , and 30 miles from Fort Lauderdale . Miami-Dade County includes 34 incorporated areas, 38 census-designated places , and 16 unincorporated regions. U.S. Census Bureau 2010 ethnic/race demographics: In 2010,

2418-594: The United Faculty of Florida , representing university faculty on all campuses of Florida's State University System, as well as a number of community college faculties, switched affiliation from FEA/United to FTP-NEA. In addition, in 1985 the FEA/United affiliate in Charlotte County was defeated by the two new FTP-NEA affiliates and lost the right to represent teachers and support personnel. In 1998,

2511-756: The poverty line , including 22.0% of those under age 18 and 22.1% of those aged 65 or over. In 2010, 51.1% of the county's population was foreign born , with 48.7% being naturalized American citizens . Of foreign-born residents, 93.0% were born in Latin America, 3.2% were born in Europe, 2.7% born in Asia, 0.5% born in Africa, 0.5% in North America, and 0.1% were born in Oceania. As of 2010, 28.1% of

2604-420: The 14th most out of all US counties. Miami-Dade County has operated under a metropolitan system of government, a "two-tier federation ", since 1957. This was made possible when Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment in 1956 that allowed the people of Dade County (as it was known) to enact a home rule charter . Prior to this year, home rule did not exist in Florida, and all counties were limited to

2697-487: The 24th and 25th districts. Brightstar Corporation , Burger King , Intradeco Holdings, Latin Flavors , Norwegian Cruise Line , Lennar and Ryder have their headquarters in unincorporated areas in the county. Centurion Air Cargo , Florida West International Airways , IBC Airways , and World Atlantic Airlines have their headquarters on the grounds of Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area in

2790-611: The AFT won collective bargaining rights for teachers in New York City and formed the United Federation of Teachers , many NEA members began to push for the association to act more like a union. In 1961, about 200 of the NEA's largest urban locals formed the National Council of Urban Education Associations to push the national organization toward collective bargaining. The caucus was successful: The same year,

2883-448: The AFT, and later persuaded Richard Batchelder (a former president of the NEA) to do the same. Soon the AFT had a number of large, militant locals in the state. In 1974, the DCCTA disaffiliated from FEA and formed a new statewide teachers' federation, FEA-United. Tornillo began arguing that NEA and AFT should merge in the state of Florida to give educators more power. Tornillo's views carried

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2976-624: The AFT. With more than half of FEA's convention delegates now belonging to the AFT, a statewide merger was inevitable. FEA changed its name to FEA-United and affiliated with the Florida AFL–CIO . But half of the original FEA affiliates refused to merge. The NEA established a new state organization, the Florida Teaching Profession-National Education Association (FTP-NEA), and roughly half the FEA's original members joined it. Despite

3069-735: The Classroom Teachers Association (CTA). The AFT had forced an election for a new bargaining representative three times between 1975 and 1979 but had failed to win the elections. After the 1983 victory, Tony Gentile, a veteran AFT activist who had been president since 1979, became the new bargaining agent for Broward's teachers. In 1990, the AFT also successfully raided the Volusia Education Association, another large FTP-NEA local. In addition to raiding, both organizations also organized new members. For example, in 1990 FEA-United successfully organized

3162-642: The FEA can be traced to 1963. In that year, Pat Tornillo , a teacher in the Dade County school system, ran for the presidency of the Dade County Classroom Teachers Association (DCCTA). Tornillo won office by calling for greater organizational militancy and the desegregation of teaching staffs. Tornillo's election was indicative of a wave of militancy in the NEA. Since its inception, the NEA had rejected collective bargaining and strikes as unprofessional. But after

3255-401: The FEA formed in almost every school district . However, membership remained low and varied widely from district to district, even though dues were not high. FEA, like much of the NEA at the time, was dominated by administrators rather than rank-and-file teachers. The administrators' influence often kept FEA from being an effective advocate for classroom teachers. But in larger school districts,

3348-485: The FEA split into two separate federations in 1974. The two groups merged again in 2000. The Florida Education Association was established in 1886 as an affiliate of the NEA. It was an association rather than a labor union, and membership was initially limited to white teachers and administrators only. FEA worked to persuade school boards and the public to increase funding for schools, end discrimination against married female schoolteachers, and more. Local affiliates of

3441-547: The FEA was somewhat successful in obtaining occasional salary increases, improvements to facilities, and curriculum changes. However the FEA in its early years was seen more as a proponent of white teachers specifically. They opposed the efforts of African-American teachers to sue for salary equalization in the 1940s, with their frequent petitions of interventions designed to delay the outcomes of many cases that eventually prevented schools from maintaining separate unequal salary schedule for white and black teachers. The modern era of

3534-654: The Florida Education Association in the 1970s. The external pressure came from the American Federation of Teachers. FEA had spent nearly $ 1 million supporting local associations in the 1968 strike, leaving it financially weakened. The strike had drawn the AFT's attention, and—sensing that teachers in Florida were ripe for organizing—the union had begun establishing local affiliates in the state shortly thereafter. The AFT convinced FEA president-elect Louise Alford to leave FEA and work for

3627-697: The Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association, the Collier County Education Association, and the Hendry County Education Association disaffiliated from FEA-United over Tornillo's increasingly dictatorial approach to running the state union, and became independent unions. Four years later all three locals chose to become affiliates of the Florida Teaching Profession-National Education Association. In 1982

3720-787: The Miami River. At about the same time, the Seminole Indians arrived, along with a group of runaway slaves. The area was affected by the Second Seminole War , during which Major William S. Harney led several raids against the Indians. Most non-Indian residents were soldiers stationed at Fort Dallas . It was the most devastating Indian war in American history, causing almost a total loss of population in Miami. After

3813-491: The NEA Representative Assembly (RA) passed a resolution establishing the "Urban Project", adopting a policy of "professional negotiations" akin to collective bargaining, and requiring the NEA to provide staff, research and financial assistance to locals involved in "professional negotiations". By 1965, the NEA was providing nearly $ 885,000 a year to locals in support of "professional negotiations", up from

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3906-533: The Republican Party, resulting in the best Republican performance since 2004 . In the 2022 gubernatorial and U.S. Senate elections, Republicans Ron DeSantis and Marco Rubio respectively won the county. DeSantis became the first Republican Governor to win Miami-Dade since Jeb Bush in 2002 . Rubio won the county for the second time, following his victory in 2010 . In 2024 , Donald Trump won

3999-471: The Second Seminole War ended in 1842, William English re-established a plantation started by his uncle on the Miami River. He charted the "Village of Miami" on the south bank of the Miami River and sold several plots of land. In 1844, Miami became the county seat, and six years later a census reported there were ninety-six residents in the area. The Third Seminole War was not as destructive as

4092-630: The Tequesta sent a couple of local chiefs to Havana , Cuba, to ask if they could migrate there. The Cubans sent two ships to help them, but Spanish illnesses struck and most of the Tequesta died. The first permanent European settlers arrived in the early 19th century. People came from the Bahamas to South Florida and the Keys to hunt for treasure from the ships that ran aground on the treacherous Great Florida Reef . Some accepted Spanish land offers along

4185-509: The United States . It is Florida's third largest county in terms of land area with 1,946 square miles (5,040 km ). The county seat is Miami , the core of the nation's ninth-largest and world's 65th-largest metropolitan area with a 2020 population of 6.138 million people, exceeding the population of 31 of the nation's 50 states as of 2022. As of 2022, Miami-Dade County has a gross domestic product of $ 184.5 billion, making

4278-414: The United States was Hurricane Andrew , which hit Miami in the early morning of Monday, August 24, 1992. It struck the southern part of the county from due east, south of Miami and very near Homestead , Kendall , and Cutler Ridge , which was later renamed Cutler Bay . Damages exceeded US$ 25 billion in the county, and recovery took years in these areas where the destruction was greatest. Hurricane Andrew

4371-682: The budget, and Republican legislators upheld the veto. Outraged by the veto, Florida teachers went on a statewide strike—the first statewide teachers' strike in American history. An August 1967 rally at the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando drew 30,000 teachers. Even though public employee strikes are illegal in Florida, FEA leaders began talking up a statewide strike. In September 1967, most of the teachers in Pinellas and Broward counties resigned in protest, forcing schools to close. A court ordered

4464-565: The county by a comfortable margin due to its heavy shift to the right, Florida being his home state, and its large Cuban population, making him the first Republican since George H. W. Bush in 1988 to carry the county. Miami-Dade County is represented in the United States House of Representatives by Republicans Maria Elvira Salazar , Carlos Gimenez and Mario Diaz-Balart of the 27th, 28th and 26th districts, and Democrats Frederica Wilson and Debbie Wasserman Schultz of

4557-649: The county's GDP the largest for any county in the State of Florida and the 14th-largest for the nation's 3,033 counties. The county is home to the Port of Miami on Biscayne Bay , the world's largest passenger port with a world record 5.5 million passengers in 2018, and Miami International Airport , the third largest U.S. airport for international passengers and largest U.S. airport for international cargo. The county's land area of nearly 2,000 square miles exceeds that of two U.S. states, Delaware and Rhode Island . The county

4650-492: The county's first female mayor. The Board of County Commissioners is the legislative body, consisting of 13 members elected from single-member districts. Members are elected to serve four-year terms, and elections of members are staggered. The board chooses a chairperson, who presides over the commission, as well as appoints the members of its legislative committees. The board has a wide array of powers to enact legislation, create departments, and regulate businesses operating within

4743-851: The county. Hewlett Packard 's main Latin America offices are on the ninth floor of the Waterford Building in unincorporated Miami-Dade County. Other companies with offices in an unincorporated area not in any CDP: Several defunct airlines, including Airlift International , Arrow Air , National Airlines , and Rich International Airways , were headquartered on or near the airport property. After Frank Borman became president of Eastern Airlines in 1975, he moved Eastern's headquarters from Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan , New York City to an unincorporated area in Miami-Dade County Around 1991

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4836-608: The county. It also has the power to override the mayor's veto with a two-thirds vote. Florida's Constitution provides for five elected officials to oversee executive and administrative functions for each county (called "Constitutional Officers"): Sheriff , Property Appraiser, Supervisor of Elections, Tax Collector, and Clerk of the Circuit Court (also functions as Comptroller). However, the Constitution allows voters in home-rule counties (including Miami-Dade) to abolish

4929-666: The court also said that public employees did not have the right to strike. A year later, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that teachers had a constitutional right to bargain collectively. In 1968, two newly employed teachers and the Dade County Education Association, Local 1875, AFT, sued the Board of Public Instruction of Dade County and DCCTA. In an ironic twist, AFT argued that the school board's collective bargaining relationship with DCCTA

5022-411: The enactment of the professional negotiations policy, so FEA was no newcomer to politics. The association lobbied for a minimum teacher salary of $ 5,000 a year and a more equitable means of funding schools than property taxes . Republican Governor Claude R. Kirk Jr. promised to improve educational funding. The Democratic -controlled state legislature approved higher sales taxes . But Kirk vetoed

5115-399: The federation has proven effective despite these odds, and remains a force in state politics. They point to the federation's king-making role in the state's 2002 Democratic gubernatorial primary, where the union's candidate ( Bill McBride ) defeated a better-known and funded candidate ( Janet Reno ) and ran a strong campaign against a popular, wealthy incumbent (Gov. Jeb Bush ). FEA has seen

5208-426: The first recorded landing when they visited the Tequesta settlement in 1566 while looking for Avilés' missing son, shipwrecked a year earlier. Spanish soldiers led by Father Francisco Villarreal built a Jesuit mission at the mouth of the Miami River a year later but it was short-lived. After the Spaniards left, the Tequesta Indians were left to fend themselves from European-introduced diseases like smallpox . By 1711,

5301-417: The fragmentation of the FEA, teachers in Florida still were able to achieve a major collective bargaining victory. The militancy of the teachers' unions in Florida, combined with continuing concern over the 1968 strike, prompted the Florida state legislature in 1974 to enact a public employee collective bargaining law. Pat Tornillo helped draft the bill. Tornillo quickly came to control FEA-United. Although he

5394-454: The highest group of immigrants . Miami-Dade has small communities of Brazilians , Portuguese , Spaniards , Ukrainians and Poles along with Canadians (including Francophone from the province of Quebec ), French , Germans , other Europeans , British expatriates and Israelis . There were 867,352 households, out of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.8% were married couples living together, 18.8% had

5487-488: The international name recognition of Miami . Voters were acting pursuant to home rule powers granted to Dade County, including the ability to change the name of the county without the consent of the Florida Legislature . With the name change, Miami-Dade County became the only county in the United States whose name was hyphenated. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has an area of 2,431 square miles (6,300 km ), of which 1,898 square miles (4,920 km )

5580-407: The land that now contains Palm Beach and Broward counties, together with the Florida Keys from Bahia Honda Key north and the land of present-day Miami-Dade County. The county seat was originally at Indian Key in the Florida Keys; then in 1844, the County seat was moved to Miami . The Florida Keys from Key Largo to Bahia Honda were returned to Monroe County in 1866. In 1888 the county seat

5673-444: The larger bones in a box for the village people to see. The Tequesta are credited with making the Miami Circle . Juan Ponce de León was the first European to visit the area in 1513 by sailing into Biscayne Bay . His journal records he reached Chequescha , a variant of Tequesta , which was Miami's first recorded name. It is unknown whether he came ashore or made contact with the natives. Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and his men made

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5766-403: The largest ancestry groups were: Residents of Miami-Dade County are often described as "Miamians." In 2010, Cubans made up the largest population of immigrants (with more than half of the population) with Colombians coming in second, Haitians in third, followed by Nicaraguans in fourth place, then Dominicans , Venezuelans , Peruvians , Jamaicans , Mexicans , and Argentinians among

5859-565: The majority of which are heavily suburbanized. These residents are part of the Unincorporated Municipal Services Area (UMSA). For these residents, the County fills the role of both lower- and upper-tier government, the County Commission acting as their lower-tier municipal representative body. Residents within UMSA pay a UMSA tax, equivalent to a city tax, which is used to provide County residents with equivalent city services (police, fire, zoning, water and sewer, etc.). Residents of incorporated areas do not pay UMSA tax. The Mayor of Miami-Dade County

5952-462: The most militant teachers. Although the 1968 strike did not achieve the goals the FEA had set, FEA members were radicalized by the strike and the association won other victories. Later in 1968, the Florida Supreme Court ruled in Pinellas County Classroom Teachers Association v. Board of Public Instruction , 214 So. 2d 34 (September 18, 1968), that state law did not prohibit public employees (such as teachers) from bargaining collectively. However,

6045-452: The need for more teachers, buildings, and supplies—had soared. Teachers were underpaid, benefits were poor, and school facilities in bad shape. The report electrified teachers in Florida, and Dade, Broward , and Hillsborough counties were placed under sanction. FEA began to lobby the state for more funding for public schools. State legislative action had often been the only way for NEA locals to win better pay and working conditions prior to

6138-445: The offices and reorganize them as subordinate County departments; Miami-Dade voters chose this option for Sheriff, Supervisor of Elections, and Tax Collector. The offices of Clerk of the Circuit Court, State Attorney , and Public Defender are still branches of State government and are, therefore, independently elected and not part of County government. Miami-Dade is the only county in Florida that does not have an elected sheriff or

6231-458: The old and new Florida constitutions gave all employees—whether employed in the public or private sector—the right to bargain collectively. The court did not hold that public employees had the right to strike or that the state had a duty bargain with its employees or their organization, but the mere affirmation of public-sector collective bargaining rights was a major victory for FEA. External and internal pressures caused two organizational splits in

6324-478: The opinion of the local association, had engaged in "unethical or arbitrary" policies or which had refused "sound professional practices". Tornillo eagerly embraced professional negotiations and sanctions, and in 1966 he forced the Dade County school system to open negotiations with the DCCTA. Although the national NEA was obligated to provide assistance, the FEA was not and refused to become involved in Tornillo's campaign for professional negotiations. The DCCTA won

6417-404: The population spoke only English at home, while 63.8% of the population spoke Spanish , 4.2% spoke French Creole (mainly Haitian Creole ), 0.6% French , and 0.6% Portuguese . About 52% of the county residents were born outside the United States, while 71.9% of the population spoke a language other than English at home. In 2010 statistics, the largest religious group in Miami-Dade County

6510-423: The presidential elections in the past four decades, and had gone Democratic in every election since 1992, until 2024, when it voted for Republican Donald Trump over Democrat Kamala Harris. It did vote twice for Ronald Reagan (1980, 1984) and once for George H. W. Bush (1988). From 1904 to 1972 it supported the Democratic candidate in all but four elections. The Democrats had expanded their winning margin in each of

6603-596: The same set of powers by the Florida Constitution and state law . Unlike a consolidated city-county , where the city and county governments merge into a single entity, these two entities are separate. Instead there are two "tiers", or levels, of government: city and county. There are 34 municipalities in the county, the City of Miami being the largest. Cities are the "lower tier" of local government, providing police and fire protection, zoning and code enforcement, and other typical city services within their jurisdiction. These services are paid for by city taxes. The County

6696-593: The second, but it slowed the settlement of southeast Florida. At the end of the war, a few of the soldiers stayed. Dade County was created on February 4, 1836, under the Territorial Act of the United States. The county was named after Major Francis L. Dade , a soldier killed in 1835 in the Second Seminole War , at what has since been named the Dade Battlefield . Originally, the county was set to be named " Pinckney County ", after Thomas Pinckney ,

6789-455: The state association nor local unions have done much to protect under-performing teachers from being fired. These critics say the association is increasingly frozen out of politics in a state where Republicans control both the executive and legislative branches of government, and has made little headway in convincing the public that the candidates it backs are worth electing or the policies it supports are worth enacting. FEA supporters counter that

6882-605: The state association would support local teachers if they walked off the job. Thousands did. Schools closed in roughly two-thirds of Florida's counties. At the height of the strike, 25,712 teachers—about 40 percent of the state's teachers—walked out. The statewide Florida teachers' strike was not uniform, however. Strikes lasted only a few days in some districts, while in others teachers walked picket lines for weeks. In Pinellas County, teachers stayed out for six weeks. Small groups of teachers struck for as long as three months. Arnold and other FEA leaders were threatened with arrest. Tornillo

6975-400: The state. Maureen Dinnen , a Broward County community college professor, was elected president. She subsequently won election as an AFT vice president as well. Since the merger in 2000, FEA has been involved in a number of political battles. Florida's governor's office and state legislature have been dominated by Republicans, who have proven legislatively active and willing to experiment with

7068-507: The statewide federation's First Vice President in 2000. Ford has focused FEA's energies on internal organizing, grass-roots political mobilization, building stronger and more effective locals, and offering union-provided professional development to all FEA members. Andrew Spar is the current FEA president. He was formerly the vice president of FEA and took on this position in September 2020 after succeeding former president Fedrick Ingram, who

7161-448: The strike, shrunk dramatically after the first several weeks. "'We thought they [the public] would be with us,' Arnold said. 'We thought it would unite the community and the teachers. It did a little bit of the opposite. ... A lot of teachers lost their innocence. They thought the community liked them.'" Local education associations began to negotiate their own settlements, often agreeing not to challenge school districts for terminating

7254-465: The teachers back into the classroom, but hundreds stayed out. Despite government action, the teachers struck again. Gov. Kirk called a special session of the legislature in January 1968, which led to higher sales and sin taxes . But most teachers felt the increases were not enough, and a special convention of the FEA voted against accepting the package. In February 1968, FEA president Jane Arnold said

7347-438: The three elections from 2008 to 2016; in 2008 and 2012 , Democrat Barack Obama averaged 59.69% of the vote. In 2016 , Democrat Hillary Clinton won 63.22% of the vote. However, in 2020 , Democrat Joe Biden only won 53.31% of the vote, winning the county by just over seven percent over Republican Donald Trump . This was attributed to a large swing of Cuban Americans , Venezuelan Americans , and other Hispanic Americans to

7440-467: The time of first European contact were the Tequesta people, who controlled much of southeastern Florida, including present-day Miami-Dade County, Broward County , and the southern part of Palm Beach County . The Tequesta Indians fished, hunted, and gathered the fruit and roots of plants for food, but did engage in agriculture. They buried the small bones of the deceased with the rest of the body, and put

7533-406: The two unions kept merger talks from progressing very far. The conditions for merger improved in the mid-1990s. In 1996, the national NEA and AFT signed a no-raid agreement . The unions encouraged each state to also sign no-raid and jurisdictional agreements, and both teachers' federations in Florida quickly did so. With raiding no longer causing tensions between FTP-NEA and FEA-United, a merger

7626-490: The two unions merged, FTP-NEA membership had risen to 60,000 while FEA-United had 45,000. By 1990, FEA-United and FTP-NEA were talking merger. Despite 15 years of competition, neither union had achieved an overwhelming majority among the state's teachers. Worse, the problems confronting the state's schools had not improved much since the mid-1970s. With state politics trending more and more conservative, both unions felt merger would be advantageous. But continuing conflict between

7719-566: The union began exercising its political muscle. In 1993, FEA-United, working with AFCSME , unseated 16-year incumbent state AFL–CIO president Danny Miller. With FEA-United's support, the post was won by Marilyn Lenard, president of the Space Coast Labor Council and a CWA member. However, conflict between FEA-United and FTP-NEA continued. In March 1983, the AFT successfully raided the FTP-NEA's large Broward association,

7812-415: Was 38.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males. The median income for a household in the county was $ 43,605, and the median income for a family was $ 50,065. Males had a median income of $ 35,096 versus $ 29,980 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 22,957. About 13.8% of families and 17.2% of the population were below

7905-405: Was elected secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Teachers. Dade County, Florida Miami-Dade County ( / m aɪ ˈ æ m i ˈ d eɪ d / ) is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida . The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census , making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in

7998-647: Was embezzled from the St. Lucie County Classroom Teachers Association. And in April 2003, the FBI and Miami police raided the headquarters of the United Teachers of Dade after receiving a tip that president Pat Tornillo had embezzled or misspent millions of dollars in union dues. Critics and supporters worry that the scandals are symbolic of deeper organizational and financial control problems within FEA. FEA has also had

8091-412: Was fined $ 30,000 and given two-year jail term (which, after appeal, he was not forced to serve). In the end the strike was not successful. Gov. Kirk and the legislature refused to appropriate more money or raise taxes further. School districts hired substitute teachers as strikebreakers , and local businesses paid their employees to teach classes. Public support for the teachers, weak at the beginning of

8184-437: Was moved to Juno, near present-day Juno Beach, Florida , returning to Miami in 1899. In 1909, Palm Beach County was formed from the northern portion of what was Dade County, and then in 1915, Palm Beach County and Dade County contributed nearly equal portions of land to create what is now Broward County. There have been no significant boundary changes to the county since 1915. The third-costliest natural disaster to occur in

8277-541: Was not elected president of the federation until 1978, a position he held until 2000, he was the dominant force within the new AFT state federation. In 1981, he was elected a vice president of the AFT and sat on the AFT executive council's influential executive committee. Under Tornillo, FEA-United proved to be very influential within the Florida AFL–CIO. A quarter of the AFL–CIO's state membership belonged to FEA-United, and

8370-456: Was quickly agreed to. FTP-NEA's Board of Directors signed off on the terms of a merger in April 1998, with FEA-United following suit in June. Members of each organization approved the merger in April and May 1999, and a founding convention was held in June 2000. The combined federation, now calling itself by its original name, represented about 240,000 members and was the largest labor organization in

8463-546: Was the Archdiocese of Miami with 544,449 Catholics in 65 parishes, followed by 96,749 non-denominational adherents with 197 congregations, 80,123 SBC Baptists with 313 congregations, 47,921 NBC Baptists with 44 congregations, 27,901 Seventh-day Adventists in 62 congregations, 25,244 AoG Pentecostals with 45 congregations, 14,628 LDS Mormons with 18 congregations, 12,569 TEC Episcopalians with 30 congregations, and 11,880 UMC Methodists with 32 congregations. There

8556-491: Was the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history until Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf region in 2005. Miami-Dade County has previously attempted to change its name 5 times between 1958 and 1990, with voters rejecting each proposal. Below are the results of the previous elections to change the county's name: On November 13, 1997, voters changed the name of the county from "Dade County" to "Miami-Dade County" to acknowledge

8649-583: Was unconstitutional under Florida's constitution . The AFT's strategy was to break DCCTA's collective bargaining relationship, then organize the teachers in Dade County itself. But after the lawsuit had been filed, Florida voters in November 1968 approved a new state constitution. In mid-1969, the Florida Supreme Court held in Dade County Classroom Teachers Association v. Ryan , 225 So. 2d 903 (July 9, 1969), that both

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