I Asked My Florida Teachers Union for Basic Records. Then They Expelled Me.

For me, the path into the teaching profession – and my local teacher union – was not a typical one. Neither was my exit. When I started my journey into education, I never thought I’d be expelled from a union for asking for basic records to which I’m legally entitled.

Thankfully, the Florida Public Employees Relations Commission ruled I’d been wrongfully expelled. The union filed an appeal just before the deadline, but the Commission’s clear ruling confirmed what should have been obvious from the start: that my expulsion was unlawful.

As a licensed attorney, I had worked for a local county prosecutor’s office in Illinois and the state attorney general office in Ohio. When I moved to Martin County, Florida, I also moved into a new career as a teacher.

My background first appeared to be an asset for the local Florida Education Association (FEA)-affiliated union. I became active in the union and was elected to the executive board. But I would eventually find that an inquisitive, trained legal mind was not welcome in union leadership.

Almost immediately, I noticed allotments of funds that raised questions in my mind. Instead of answers, though, I encountered strong resistance.

When it comes to teachers’ unions, such questions are not merely academic. A former Martin County Education Association treasurer was arrested in 2016 for stealing more than $149,000. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice sentenced the former president of a Chicago teachers’ union local to four years in prison for embezzlement and accepting bribes. Across the country, such incidents of union corruption continue to surface.

In late 2022, I discovered that union leadership was negotiating a new contract that would negatively affect certain longer-tenured teachers – a group to which union leadership did not belong. When I raised concerns, the local president sent a defamatory email to union members that accused me of acting in bad faith and working against teachers’ interests.

Knowing we needed new leadership, I requested the local union constitution, bylaws, and election guidelines. The executive board refused to provide them. When I reached out to the FEA to obtain this information, I was denied again. I decided to run for president of the local union anyway.

It was a hotly contested election. At one point, while the election was going on, the local president contacted the president of the FEA and asked about expelling me from the union. Voting was changed from paper ballots to online ballots with little notice. They also changed the date of the election without adequate notice. I lost the election.

Seeking to expose their actions, I again requested a copy of the local union constitution, bylaws and financial records, which Florida law entitles union members to access. The local union put me off for several weeks until, out of the blue, they notified me that my membership had been terminated. They cited a provision of the FEA constitution that they alleged permitted them to expel any member upon a two-thirds vote of the executive board. No notice. No hearing. No due process. And I still hadn’t received any of the records I’d requested.

However, it was my expulsion from the union that was invalid. Furthermore, the lack of notice and due process is in direct violation of the FEA constitution.

I filed an unfair labor practice complaint on my own but soon realized I needed assistance. I reached out to a nonprofit legal organization called the Center for Independent Employees, which provided me with a labor lawyer to handle my unfair labor practice complaint with Florida’s Public Employees Relations Commission.

On March 12, 2026, the Commission ruled that the local union had committed unfair labor practices, not only by denying my lawful request for access to union documents but also for expelling me from the union. The Commission found that I “was not provided with even a scintilla of due process” regarding my expulsion.

Unfortunately, my experience is not an isolated case. Across Florida – indeed, across the country – teachers’ unions are collecting dues and making decisions on union contracts and spending. Piles of money are going unwatched when they should be scrutinized.

We’ve seen what happens when no one asks questions. And I found out what happens when you do.

I took the road less traveled to get to a career in education, but my fight on behalf of teachers and employees who pay their dues in good faith was worth it. They, and the public, deserve unions that serve their needs and can answer simple questions.