Education and Early Career
The grandson of Spanish immigrants, Martinez was born in Tampa, Florida. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of Tampa and went on to earn a master's in labor and industrial relations from the University of Illinois. In the 1960s, Martinez returned to Tampa and became a teacher.
Martinez became involved in the Hillsborough County Classroom Teachers Association, the local teachers' union, and was named the executive director of the HCTA in 1966. In 1968, the Hillsborough CTA supported the Florida Education Association's call for a state-wide 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, it eventually set the stage for better salaries and better relations between teachers and the state.
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