Central Florida Transit Authority or Lynx CEO John Lewis stated ” there’s money on the table.” He was referring to Transit drivers and mechanics represented by ATU local 1596 who has have been dealing with 3 years of frozen wages, increasing healthcare costs, and no contract. The CEO was not clear that the money on the table was only a cheap attempt to take everything from these drivers.
As ATU 1596 members went into negotiations, they wanted community members to see how outrageous the company was being. Lynx’s proposal included a .5% raise (only 10 cents for your top drivers), a one time lump sum of 200,00 (before taxes), removing the pension for new employees, taking away overtime after 8 hours and decrease in uniform and tool allowance which employees already pay a lot for out of pocket now. That was just some of the company’s proposals.
Community members including transit riders and people from the local Occupy Orlando Movement came to show support for union members and watch how Lynx treats their employees. The tense room was packed with over 50 community and union members standing in solidarity to send a clear message to management : Our
Over several months, Central Florida Jobs with Justice has been engaging bus riders in the fight to save transit services. A key bus route from Kissimmee that stops at 2 major hospitals, a bus transfer center and shopping mall was facing a potential cut in the last run of the night. Hospital and Service industry employees that depend on the bus would have had no way to get to and from work. When Lynx asked for public comment on this potential cut, CFJWJ mobilized riders to make their voices heard against this change. People filled out comment cards with a simple demand …Don’t Cut Route 18! After 2 weeks of collecting comments and bringing awareness to this issue, the route was taken off the list of potential cuts.
Coming up in the next few months, Public Transit Riders in Central Florida have a huge fight on their hands. Lynx transportation is looking into cost-cutting options in order to deal with a $9 million budget shortfall for the 2011-2012 fiscal years. This is the same yearly problem due to the lack of dedicated funding sources for the bus service. On April 7th, the Lynx Board will begin the discussion on
On Friday, March 25th, the Florida Governor signed legislation into law that ties teacher’s salaries to test scores and removes tenure. On the same day, the Florida House passed legislation to make union dues deduction of public workers illegal.
Workers and students united in Orlando to say “Enough is Enough” to these attacks on working people. Protesters demanded the Speaker of the House Dean Cannon stop the scapegoating of workers and students. Rep. Cannon is following the Governor’s agenda of prioritizing corporate interests at the expense of middle class families dealing with the effects of economic crisis. Its time to find real solutions and sensible policies and not keep it as politics as usual.
The delegation loudly marched into Rep. Cannon’s office. A person dressed as the Notorious Governor Rick Scott left a huge box of money behind congratulating the Representative on blaming working people on behalf of their corporate cronies. People carried framed testimonials from a student, an unemployed worker, a professor, a parent and an immigrant advocate: we will not be framed for the state’s revenue shortfall!
Protests will continue to escalate throughout the legislative session. Coordinating groups include Central Florida Jobs with Justice, Central Florida AFL-CIO, and
The Central Florida Jobs with Justice Disappointed Citizens Chorus paid a visit to Senator Bill Nelson’s (FL-D) Orlando office to express their disappointment in not hearing his position on extending the tax cuts. Organizations have been trying to meet with the Senator’s people for weeks now without any luck, so they decided to come in with a more festive tone and demand some clarity on the Senator’s position during the lame duck session. After hearing the carols with lyrics like, “On the first day of Christmas, Congress gave to me, a job that went overseas” and “Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way, The unemployed need extensions, help us right away – HEY!” the Senator’s staff agreed to a meeting right away!
The Senator’s staff heard from a 99er who has exhausted her unemployment and has no income coming in. She mentioned that she didn’t want tax cuts or unemployment, instead she wanted a job.
The Caroling came at an urgent time when Florida’s unemployment remains stagnant at 11.4%, yet elected leaders are spending
Central Florida JwJ joined the Central Florida AFL-CIO as part of a nationwide effort to demand good jobs and a stop to bank bailouts. On Friday March 26th, a group of 30 people started leafletting in front of a Wachovia Bank located on Wall Street in Downtown Orlando. As people leaflettted, a representative was there on behalf of big bankers to thank customers for their hard earned tax dollars in bankers’ pockets. At the end, a delegation walked into the local branch to deliver the Crook of the Month Award.
The fight for keeping and creating jobs grew stronger in Florida this past week. Central Florida Jobs with Justice mobilized for a rally, organized by the Space Coast AFL-CIO and Florida state AFL-CIO, that brought over 2,000 people from across the state to say “Save Our Space”! Workers and their families traveled to the space coast from Miami, Pensacola, Jacksonville and all points in between to join business and community leaders to rally in support of continued federal funding of this vital economic driver for Florida’s future. The rally featured National AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and other leaders from the American labor movement who used this dire situation as a backdrop to launch a national jobs campaign that would create 10 million American jobs.
Recent budget proposals working their way through Congress all but eliminate funding for NASA’s human spaceflight operations in Florida. Space operations have long been one of Florida’s most important economic sectors, supporting tens of thousands of good jobs and providing the economic cornerstone for many communities across the state. The loss of funding would eliminate tens of thousands of jobs, decimate many communities, and send shock waves across the state this at a time when Florida
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.
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
When word came down that the USPS had slated to close 5 post offices in the Orlando area, Central Florida JwJ teamed up with APWU 1462 to build community pressure against the closures. Central Florida JwJ set up a 6 week mobilization plan to engage their member organizations, residents, and the media to pressure elected officials and the USPS to keep these post offices open.
JwJ mobilized their member organizations and residents to send letters and emails to their Congressperson. Every Friday, JwJ activists and postal workers collected signatures in front of a one of the 5 set to be closed post office. Local press was invited to cover these events every week, and the story got bigger every time.
On December 14th, the USPS announced that 4 of the 5 post offices slated to close in Orlando were removed from the closing list! This is a great win for the affected communities and the workers. More than 100 jobs were saved in Orlando, and more importantly essential services were saved for thousands of people. It these concrete victories that lead to greater wins together in the end!
As the Florida foreclosure crisis continues to hit property owners, including landlords, renters are often the most vulnerable and least considered.
For three weeks, tenants of Golf Villas apartment complex in New Smyrna Beach, FL were forced to live without water after the owner of this 20-apartment complex inhabited by working class families went into foreclosure and failed to pay the water bill. Tenants had been paying their rent, and were never informed of the foreclosure or neglected water bill.
When the water was cut off, many tenants self-evicted themselves while others purchased bottled water to get by. Residents brought the issue to the City Commissioners, but Commissioners were reluctant to urge the Utilities Commission to work with these tenants to turn the water back on.
Members of the Central Florida Jobs with Justice coalition came together with tenants to fight back. Local faith and community leaders, students, and labor leaders from the Volusia/Flager County AFL-CIO held a press conference to build pressure on the Utilities Commission to follow through with legal proceedings to appoint another person responsible for the account so tenants could have running water. After the press conference, the Utilities Commission met with advocates and started working on getting the water turned on.
When word came down that the USPS had slated to close 5 post offices in the Orlando area, Central Florida JwJ teamed up with APWU 1462 to build community pressure against the closures. Central Florida JwJ set up a 6 week mobilization plan to engage their member organizations, residents, and the media to pressure elected officials and the USPS to keep these post offices open.