Continuing a decades-long streak of cover-ups and corruption, significant discrepancies listed in the United Teachers of Dade’s (UTD) financial reporting have been uncovered.
Under Florida’s new union transparency laws, filing false financial statements could threaten UTD’s certification status.
A $100,000 average disparity between UTD officer salaries reported to the Internal Revenue Service and Florida’s Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) is the subject of a complaint submitted on June 17 by Miami-Dade Education Coalition officers, Miami-Dade teachers leading the independent union’s challenge to UTD in an upcoming decertification election this fall thanks to widespread support from their peers.
According to MDEC President Brent Urbanik, “This is the kind of thing the teachers in Miami have unfortunately grown accustomed to.”
“From the way they conduct their rigged elections to their methods of diverting attention away from obscenely high salaries,” Urbanik continued, “UTD regularly engages in unscrupulous actions to enrich themselves and protect financiers that use them to ensure money for teacher salaries are diverted elsewhere.”
“We stand for integrity and honesty in all aspects of our profession, including salary reporting,” added MDEC Treasurer Vicky Gutierrez.
If PERC’s investigation confirms UTD’s fraudulent disclosures, PERC could revoke the union’s certification, empowering Miami-Dade educators with the potential to circumvent a union whose misconduct has neglected the wellbeing of its members for far too long.
