Florida Labor Letter – All Quiet before Memorial Day (Week of 5/22)

Daniel Diaz |

Welcome to another edition of the Florida AFL-CIO’s weekly Florida Labor Letter for the week of 5/22. As the legislature continues to retire until after the long weekend, we wanted to begin by highlighting the upcoming Memorial Day holiday.

On behalf of your FL AFL-CIO family, we would like to recognize the sacrifices and efforts of all of our members who have lost loved ones in service to this great nation. Whether you are reflecting on your current or prior service, or remembering the lives of those no longer with us, we are proud to walk side by side and in the footsteps of so many who have been willing to put their very lives on the line for our freedom. We will never take that for granted. Thank you for all you do.

With that, here are the week’s latest updates in Florida Labor.

🏛️Legislative News

It’s Too Quiet in Tallahassee

This week, as The Capitol undergoes construction and legislators stay home for the Memorial Day weekend, the running theme this week in Tallahassee has been one of things being too quiet and little transparency or communication in our “Sunshine” State. Here are a few examples:

Budget Talks Continue Behind Closed Doors

Following last week’s conclusion of the first part of budget negotiations, the legislature at large has taken the week off, letting the final negotiations on the $115 Billion State Budget continue to hashed out between House & Senate Appropriations chairs McClure and Hooper. These discussions though, have largely been a matter of mystery to the public, as this part of the process usually occurs behind closed doors. Still, as capitol reporters have been noting, we err dangerously close to due dates on the budget, with the Legislature planning (and needing) to have voted by next Tuesday in order to finish by the end of the month as planned.

Appointees and University Presidents Decided Outside the Sunshine

It’s reward season for many of the Governor’s favorite allies as he takes inventory of who assisted and who defied him in his final legislative session. Some of the favored are already seeing their loyalty pay off, like Rep. Persons-Mulicka, House sponsor of the anti-union SB 1296/HB 995 this past session and recently passed re-districting maps, who was appointed by the Governor this week to serve as the Lee County Supervisor of Elections.

Elsewhere though, observers have been taking note of the DeSantis Administration’s continued trend of political allies finding themselves in the fortunate positions of becoming university presidents across our State University System. This week our current Education Commissioner and former DeSantis Deputy Chief of Staff Anastasios Kamoutsas found himself this week with the fortunate position of being the sole finalist for the Presidency of Polk State College, following the recent footsteps of former Education Commissioners Richard Corcoran (New College) and Manny Diaz (UWF), and former Lieutenant Governor Jeannette Nuñez (FIU), all of whom found themselves aligned with our Governor and his political ambitions over the years.

Photo Credits: Sam Navarro for the Miami Herald

That said, longtime politicos have begun to notice and monitor this trend of political influence around how our state universities find themselves with new presidents, including Florida Senator and Former Governor Rick Scott, who this week sent a letter to SUS Chancellor Ray Rodrigues criticizing the University of Florida for its announcement of a sole final presidential candidate in former University of Alabama President Stuart Bell. Bell’s candidacy will result in a multi-million dollar payout to outgoing interim president Donald Landry, which Scott derided for its cost and lack of transparency in the candidate selection process, even going so far as to criticize the controversial 6 figure salary and part-time hiring of Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier.

The noteworthy end to this was that Senator Scott concluded by calling for the repeal of 2022 SB 520, the state law passed under DeSantis which pushed the university hiring processes out of the sunshine and allowed them to operate in the dark, and which the House Speaker and Florida House attempted to repeal this past session, before it died in the gubernatorial-friendly Senate. As we see the sun set on Governor DeSantis’ reign, this issue is one of many we may see resurface after his departure, which could hopefully put an end to the cronyism that has plagued Florida’s top universities for the past four years.

🍊Florida Labor News

South Florida Labor Reminds Candidates: Working Class Frustration is Firepower

Photo Credit: Elaine De Valle, Political Cordatito

As our labor movement builds towards COPE Convention in June ahead of the November elections, we’re so excited to see our Central Labor Councils across the state taking the lead in mobilizing our working class brothers, sisters, and kin to electoral enthusiasm and action. Last weekend, our family in the South Florida CLC kicked off their “Labor 2026” political campaign in Opa-Locka, FL, showcasing our strength and reminding candidates of the formidable voice of organized labor.

As covered by local outlets such as WLRN and the independent Political Cortadito, members of the South Florida Labor community filled the hall of Pipefitters Local 725 for a breakfast with what reporter Elaine de Valle eloquently called:

“… an unusually eclectic Miami political mix: Democrats, Republicans, union leaders, county commissioners, candidates, community activists — and the occasional politician trying very hard to look comfortable near actual working people before campaign season fully kicks into gear.“

Top of the issue list for the event was housing affordability, an issue that, as anyone in South Florida (or anywhere in Florida) will tell you, continues to squeeze the pockets and livelihoods of anyone looking to live there, and continues to evade substantive action from current lawmakers (see: this past session.) Average rent in Miami-Dade County has climbed to more than $3,100 per month, a cost burden that will remain at the forefront of voter’s minds come November and which organized labor will not let any electoral hopeful ignore if they want our votes.

✊Solidarity Spotlight

Florida’s Own Highlighted for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month!

May represents Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and the National AFL-CIO has been highlighting members from across the United States all month long, one of which hails from our very own state!

Tihda Vongkoth is president of AFM Local 427-721, representing musicians across Florida. They are also an organizer with the West Central Florida Labor Council’s Coalition of Manasota Unions, having organized annual Labor Day celebrations to show labor solidarity in Sarasota. They are also a founder of Modern Marimba, a nonprofit that presents concerts, lectures and exhibitions with the explicit goal of combating racism and other forms of discrimination. Shoutout to Tihda and all of those in the FL AFL-CIO who help continue to showcase our diversity as one of our biggest strengths!

🗓️On the Horizon

  • Statewide
    • May 25th: Memorial Day
    • Week of May 29th: Budget Special Session “E”Part Two
      • Following this week’s joint budget conferencing, the remainder of the budget work to be done will be by the House and Senate Appropriations Chairs between now and after Memorial Day. That week, the Legislature will reconvene to debate and vote on the final product.
    • June 13th – June 14th: 2026 Florida AFL-CIO COPE Endorsing Convention
    • First Monday of every Month: FLARA Monthly Meetings:
      • The Florida Alliance of Retired Americans (FLARA) invites any and all to attend their monthly zoom meetings. FLARA meets on the first Friday of every month at 10 AMEST, and features guest speakers and relevant information for retirees from national and state governments as well as important information on demonstrations, partner activities, etc.
      • Those interested in attending FLARA meetings should contact tammy@flara.org in order to get the monthly.
  • Regional
    • North Florida
      • Saturday, May 23rd – Big Bend Labor Chapter May Day Picnic!
        • Rescheduled originally due to inclement weather in North Florida, the Big Bend Labor Chapter invites you to join in celebrating International Worker’s day with food, fun, and solidarity- no matter the time of year!
        • 1PM – 3PM @ J Lee Vause Park in Tallahassee, FL
    • South Florida
      • Saturday, May 30th – 2nd Annual Broward Teacher’s Union 5k Run for Education!
        • Join the Broward County Teacher’s Union in Hollywood, FL for a day of fun in the sun with a cause! This 5K aims to fundraise crucial dollars for the Broward School Community, with all money raised going directly back to Broward County’s Public Schools, funding programs and resources that help students thrive! You can learn more, register, and donate here!

🛠️Business Board

📸Bonus Bulletin

Wealthy Interests Struggle to Read the Commencement Room: No AI!

Here’s something straight from the “you can’t make this up” generator that I definitely have in my office. This week, the next working class graduating from Arizona’s Glendale Community College almost achieved pandemic level disappointment when the University administration decided to outsource the traditional reading of all graduate names to an Artificial Intelligence, which promptly stopped working and left hundreds without the recognition so many students spent years building towards. University President Tiffany Hernandez interrupted the ceremony to address the issue, telling the audience it was caused by the new technology and called it “a lesson learned” before allowing students to walk again after initially claiming that they would not be able to.

We wish we could say the same for the Billionaires and wealthy figures this year who have taken to the trend of using the once unifying and inspiring commencement podium speech as a sales pitch for AI as one of the great advancements of our time. Predictably, these have been increasingly met with the fierce boos of a generation of future workers increasingly fed up with the technology’s current actual use to cut entry level jobs and reduce the cost of labor across industries.

We stand with the many graduates who have shared their feelings with Ex-Google CEOs, real estate executives, and more that the very last thing tomorrow’s workers want right now is those with deep pockets telling them to get excited about an unregulated technology that threatens to displace them. Until then, speakers should expect the boos to continue until executive morale improves!

That concludes this week’s roundup! Thank you for reading and as always, In Solidarity!

Got any tips, actions, or messages you’d like to see in this email?

Please email Daniel Diaz at ddiaz@flaflcio.org

Menu