Central Florida Townhall and Call to Action on the Economic Crisis

As President Obama announced in Tampa that High Speed rail jobs were coming to Orlando, local community and labor activists came together to understand the uphill battle for workers accessing these jobs.   Central Florida Jobs with Justice along with the Central Florida AFL-CIO hosted a townhall to discuss how this economic crisis will impact the city’s outlook for jobs.

With over 40 people in attendance, people heard passages from the study Battered by the Storm: How the Safety Net is failing Americans and How to fix it which shows the severity of families quickly falling into poverty.  We also heard from the report Beyond the Quick Fix: ARRA Contracting, Jobs and building a fair recovery that highlighted the lack or transparency and impact of Stimulus dollars on communities of color and low income.

A diverse panel of speakers responded to these reports based on their experiences throughout this economic recession.   Paul Wilson, President of Amaglated Transit Union local 1596 representing Lynx, MV and Grant bus operators, spoke on how local counties use the stimulus dollars on things besides operating costs, resulting in no wages increases for bus drivers.    David Fernandez, an undergraduate senior at the University of Central Florida, highlighted the impact of the state budget crisis that has left students without many options for affordable and quality education.   Saqueena Callendar , AT&T mobility worker and member of Communications Workers of America local 3108, gave a powerful call to action for people to come together to fight for social change in our communities.  She described her recent loss of health care benefits from her employer AT&T and the toll that has taken on her income as a single mom.

Following a large group discussion with  questions for the panel, groups came forward with a call to action.  Central Florida Jobs with Justice Organizer Denise Diaz announced the Jobs for America Now coalition that will be working in the next few months to pass a jobs and recovery package that will start putting communities back to work and out of poverty.   The local President from AFGE local 556 asked for support for Transportation Security Agents fight for collective bargaining rights and dignity on the job.  UCF Student Labor Action Project described their plans in March to fight back on Education cutbacks and asked for support.  Last we heard from local independent taxi drivers who will soon be impacted by privatization of taxi services at the Convention Center.

These campaigns and call to actions left the crowd feeling inspired and ready to get involved.  A final closing was made with  strong chants from the crowd for JOBS WITH JUSTICE!