History of CTA

Orange County CTA is the Bargaining representative for approximately 12,000 instructional personnel. CTA was formed in the 1940s and immediately affiliated with the Florida Education Association and the National Education Association. Administrators as well as teachers belonged to the Association.  CTA was mostly a social organization that provided the occasional workshop on the teaching practices of the day.  We were not in any sense a Union until 1968.  In the spring of 1968, FEA called a statewide teachers strike to protest low salaries and poor working conditions (starting salaries were $3000 a year!).  Many teachers and administrators walked out and stayed out for 2 weeks paralyzing the schools.  When the Governor ordered us back to work, a deal was cut to give us bargaining rights however at the same time all public employees were forbidden to strike and Florida became a "Right to Work" state.

CTA bargained the first contract in 1969-70 with a starting salary of $6000 and top salary of $10,000 after 20 years of service. We secured a 25 minute duty free lunch, a planning period equal to a teaching period and the right to grieve our new contract. Integration occurred by court order in Orange County shortly thereafter. Teachers in the majority in their schools had their names drawn from a fishbowl on TV as they were transferred to a school where they were in the minority. African American teachers sent to schools which were majority white and vice versa.  The students were bused to achieve a court ordered ratio.  We remained under this court order until 2010.

CTA agreed to help organize the support professionals and OESPA was born.  There was a competition between the two statewide organizations FTP and FEA until 1998. Union members statewide realized our real enemy was the politicians who did not support public education and we merged back into FEA.  Through all these changes, CTA continued to grow in membership and bargaining power.  We defined student contact as 25.5 hours a week, the work day as 7.5 hours long, set suppliments for extra work and established insurance that we controlled rather than an insurance company.  Through the 80s and the early 90s, we secured respectable raises between 5-9% with one high year of 11%.  The recession of 93-94 caused teacher layoffs and the end of good raises.  CTA bargained to impass and had a contract imposed by the School Board for the first time.  We bought into the sham of the lottery and watched it diminish rather than enhance education funding.

The new millenium brought the Jeb Bush years of education reform. This included testing for accountability and vouchers so students could use public dollars to attend private schools. The battles with the Governor and the Legislature became our focus.  CTA sent teacher lobbyists to Tallahassee, built coalitions with parents and concerned citizens and organized marches and demonstrations. We helped win a court ordered repeal of the full voucher program.  We helped to pass the class size amendment but money for raises and benefits remained scarce.  FEA did manage to effect some positive change to retirement benefits with a health insurance subsidy and vesting of 6 rather than 10 years.  CTA moved to a new system of bargaining called collaborative and tried to solve problems together with the district.

We continue today as we were in the 1970s, the one voice speaking for teachers and students while more attacks come from politicians, foundations and billionaires while dollars continue to be cut from the education budget.  CTA continues to defend teachers assuring them due process and informing them of their rights.  We continue to lobby the school board and the Legislature explaining our positions to ears that don't always listen.  CTA members continue to stand together as the unified voice advocated for public education in Orange County!

Our Values

The CTA strategic planning team is in the process of creating the values of the organization.