Bob Martinez

Robert "Bob" Martinez (born December 25, 1934) was the 40th Governor of Florida from 1987 to 1991; he was the first person of Spanish ancestry to be elected to the state's top office. Prior to that, he was the mayor of Tampa from 1979 to 1986.

Education and early career

The grandson of Spanish immigrants, from Asturias, Martinez was born in Tampa, Florida. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of Tampa and went on to earn a masters in labor and industrial relations from the University of Illinois in 1964. Then he returned to Tampa and became a business labor consultant and an economics instructor at the University of Tampa.

HCTA

In 1965, Martinez was named the executive director of the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association (HCTA), the local teachers' union in Hillsborough County. In 1968, the HCTA joined the Florida Education Association's statewide teacher strike in support of more education funding and collective bargaining rights for teachers. Though the labor action was seemingly unsuccessful in the short term, its goals were gradually met over the following few years through court and legislative actions. In 1971, Martinez and the HCTA negotiated the first union contract for Hillsborough County teachers.