They Want to Strip Your Representation, Even Mid-Grievance.
Watch the clip below. The sponsor of HB 995/SB 1296 was asked directly what happens if your union is decertified while you are in a pending grievance or disciplinary matter.
That is not a safety net. That is abandonment.
Watch the exchange
During debate, the exchange below matters because it answers the most immediate question plainly: what happens if the union disappears while your case is still active?
Floor debate exchange
Rep. Michele K. Rayner:
Under your bill, every non-public safety bargaining agent must petition for recertification annually.
If they fail a single election, even by one voter, their certification is revoked and they are barred
from petitioning again for 12 months. During that 12-month period, who represents those employees in
pending grievances, disciplinary proceedings, and contract administration?
Speaker (Chair):
Representative Persons-Mulicka, you are recognized.
Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The employee would represent themselves or find representation, just as happens
in multiple local governments across the state where there are no bargaining agents.
What this bill actually does to you
Under SB 1296, every non-public safety union must win a recertification election every single year. Lose by even one vote and the union is decertified immediately. No grace period. No transition. No buffer.
If that happens in the middle of a grievance, a disciplinary hearing, or a contract dispute, the problem does not pause. The union is gone, and with it goes the structure that represents you, enforces the contract, and speaks on behalf of educators.
What does that look like in real life?
No duty-free lunch. No planning time. No breaks. No anything except what the district decides to give us.
Those protections are not automatic. They exist because they were negotiated, defended, and enforced over time. The legacy built into our contract did not appear on its own. It was fought for, piece by piece, over years.
And if the union is decertified, that legacy can disappear just as quickly. Just like that.
This is bigger than representation in a grievance.
It is the loss of your collective voice in how your work is done and how you are treated. It is the loss of organized advocacy against micromanagement, arbitrary decisions, unfair treatment, and bad policy.
And it is not just a loss for educators. When educators lose the power to advocate together, students lose advocates too.
What happens to the contract
Legal analysts believe the contract would not survive decertification. Supporters of the bill have suggested otherwise, but that does not align with how collective bargaining agreements are structured.
The collective bargaining agreement is between the union and the district, not between each employee and the district individually.
No union means no party to enforce the contract. No grievance process. No representation structure. No guarantee of the protections members rely on now.
Here's How We Fight Back
There are only two paths. Reach 60% membership, or roll the dice on a recertification election.
One is stable. The other depends on turnout that historically struggles to reach 25%. That is not a strategy. That is a gamble with your representation, your contract, your voice, and your ability to advocate.
Getting to 60% is achievable. But only if every member does their part.