Teachers' Federation of Puerto Rico

Teachers union in Puerto Rico

The Teachers' Federation of Puerto Rico (lang es, FMPR) is a trade union federation of teachers in Puerto Rico. With currently 32,000 members, it is one of the most important non US aligned unions in the territory. Its primary base is among employees of the Puerto Rico Department of Education.

FMPR was formed in 1966 by radical union activists and led strikes in 1974 and 1993. During this time, it was loosely affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). In 1999, Puerto Rico's teachers voted to be represented by FMPR instead of the rival Puerto Rico Teachers Association (APMR). This led to growing dissatisfaction throughout the next years. In 2003, sitting president Renán Soto was defeated in an election by the leader of the "Compromiso, Democracia, Militancia" faction, Rafael Feliciano, who became new president. FMPR opposed the salary plans for teachers of the Alejandro García Padilla and the Ricardo Rosselló governments. In 2017, FMPR also opposed plans to lay off 3,000 education personnel. FMPR protested in San Juan in February 2018 against a planned privatisation of 307 schools. The union accused the "charter" school system of being a way of transferring public money into private pockets, motivated by corruption. In March, the union also rejected the privatisation of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority and the University of Puerto Rico, again protesting in San Juan. The next year, FMPR sued the Department of Education on behalf of a group of high school teachers in Toa Baja, stating they had not been properly paid. FMPR challenged AMPR in representation elections in 2021. AMPR had been declared representative union for Puerto Rico's teachers in the meantime. FMPR led protests through San Juan in February 2022 against a debt adjustment plan that reduced teachers' pensions and increased the retirement age to 63 years.