Florida Labor Letter – Legislative Mayhem & May Day (Week of 5/1)

Daniel Diaz |

Welcome to another edition of the Florida AFL-CIO’s weekly Florida Labor Letter for the week of 5/1. Starting off today’s issue by wishing you all a very happy May Day/International Worker’s Day from your FL AFL-CIO family. On this day we don’t just remember the legacy of worker pride and solidarity across history, we honor its continuation each day. A huge thanks and applause to each and every one of you who continues to stand shoulder to shoulder with us to take part in the forever fight for a better, more equitable quality of work and life for all of us.

With that, let’s get into the week’s news.

🏛️Legislative News

A Quick & Dirty 48-hour Redistricting Effort

As we stated in our Labor Letter last week, this week’s Special Session “D” on Redistricting was sure to be a dramatic one, with the Senate and Governor putting forward schedules and the new additions of AI and “Vaccine Freedom” on the agenda, all with a Florida House completely quiet on the other side of the Capitol and no maps even being presented.

That silence was broken on Monday, when newly drawn congressional maps were presented first not to the legislature, but Fox News, where despite the Florida Voter approved Fair District Amendment explicitly banning gerrymandering for partisan gain, the maps were spun as a net gain of 4 GOP congressional leaning districts for the upcoming mid-terms, colored in red and blue.

After that, the drama continued to unfold, as following the legislature’s receiving of the maps , the formerly silent Florida House was convened ahead of the Senate, where House Speaker Daniel Perez announced that while they were going to take up and present the GOP’s maps for consideration the next day, they would be refusing to take back up the AI Bill of Rights and Medical Freedom bills that were denied in the regular session and re-inserted into the special session by the Governor and Senate.

Drama unfolded quickly over the next 48 hours in an almost countless number of unpredictable ways, whether from the Governor’s public critique of the House Speaker, retirement of Congressional Republican and critic/former architect of redistricting Dan Webster , the last minute arrival of the long awaited U.S Supreme Court Decision on Racial Gerrymandering Louisiana v. Callais– the basis for this special session, and even a bullhorn on the House Floor during voting!

With that much occurring in such a short time span, it could be easy to get lost in the noise and mayhem of redistricting. The Bottom Line/Key Takeaways are this:

In any scenario, this story is far from over, and while we hurtle towards COPE and the Mid-Terms, our finger is on the pulse of these maps and how they may be impacting candidates and races later this November.

🍊Florida Labor News

Florida Celebrates Organized Labor on May Day, Governor Targets It

While today is being celebrated across the world as a day to lift up and honor worker’s role in society, our esteemed Governor instead took the opportunity of International Worker’s Day to put his signature to the billionaire backed attack on our public sector workers that is SB 1296.

Readers and 2026 Working Family Lobby Corps members may remember this nefarious bill from earlier this year during the recent 2026 Legislative Session. The subject of intense and continual scrutiny in the face of postponements, embarrassing bill testimonies, misinformation campaigns against teachers, and backdoor dealings lying to members and the public in order to get it across the finish line, SB 1296 finally arrived across the governor’s desk yesterday and was quickly whisked to a press conference in Fort Myers this morning. There, the Governor, Education Commissioner, and bill sponsors open faced admitted the bill’s true intention to bust our teacher’s unions, spread misinformation against our educators, and ignored any mention of the bill’s widespread impact across all of our public sector workforce.

You can read our official statement in response below:

Meanwhile, Florida’s working families remain strong this May Day, and have been active across the state showing out for the legacy and future of organized labor! Remember that the celebrations and events do not conclude today either, and that you can visit our May Day in Florida Page or visit Mobilize to see some of the weekend’s solidarity events taking place.

✊Solidarity Spotlight

UPDATE: USF Labor Community Ramps Up Actions vs. SSC Services

You might recall from last week, we highlighted a story of the USF Workers seeking solidarity in their efforts to fight for fairer wages and improved benefits in the face of an increasingly distant and unresponsive management. This week, those same workers of SEIU 32BJ ramped up their efforts, protesting on Wednesday and increasing coverage of their fight across Tampa, and forcing a response from management company SSC Services. SSC said they aim to “…continue discussions through the established bargaining process and remain committed to negotiating in good faith with the Union to reach an agreement that is fair to all.” but union members say if such negotations do not materialize, they will consider bigger, bolder actions. We stand in solidarity with their efforts and hope for a favorable resolution for these critical workers at USF!

Orange County Unions Team Up for Huge Town Hall, Kick off May Day, and More!

This week, our unions have been active in getting in the spirit of Solidarity, and we wanted to highlight some of the great actions put together by our folks in and around our Central Florida AFL-CIO such as Unite Here Locals 727 and 326, and the Orange County Classroom Teacher’s Association. This week they gave voice to a number of issues, hosting a collaborative townhall with over 180 members of the community to speak out on rising costs of living, canvassing operations, ongoing property tax lawsuits against Disney, and more! You are encouraged to check out their great work here! Photo credits to UNITE HERE! Local 362 Facebook

🗓️On the Horizon

  • Statewide
    • (!!NEW!!) May 12th – May 29th: Budget Special Session “E”
      • As the legislature’s redistricting effort (and AI/Vaccine re-attempt) concluded earlier this week, the way is paved for the legislature to finally pass the only bill that they constitutionally must: the State Budget.
      • With a brief break before the Budget work begins, we will see what role the House speaker’s defiance against the governor has on redistricting negotiations with the executive and Florida Senate.
    • 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.
  • Nationwide
    • May 1st – 2nd International Worker’s Day / May Day Celebrations
      • For worker’s everywhere, May Day and Worker’s Memorial Day represent days to remind us that the wealth of our community comes from the labor of everyday people. Fair wages, safe workplaces and the right form a union aren’t just ‘worker issues’; they are issues that affect everyone, and they inherit a long history of solidarity, action, and leadership across industries.
      • As we approach these historic days in the Labor movement, you can find a nearby event at the National AFL-CIO’s May Day Mobilize Center here or on our May Day Central Hub!
    • May 9th – National Letter Carrier’s Food Drive
      • Each year, letter carriers across the country head out on their routes on the second Saturday in May to collect donations of non-perishable food items to benefit local food pantries. Since launching in 1993, the National Association of Letter Carriers’ annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive has grown into the nation’s largest one-day food drive, helping to fill the shelves of food banks in cities and towns throughout the United States.
      • You can prepare to participate in next month’s Food Drive by visiting the NALC Website to find your nearest participating food bank or NALC branch!

🛠️Business Board

📸Bonus Bulletin

Graduation Weekend features another FSU Alum turned House Speaker

Though we aren’t biased towards any one of our Florida Universities, it’s undeniable in Tallahassee to ignore the scores of people arriving in town this week to gather for graduations at Florida State, FAMU, and TSC. This weekend though, an unusual appearance will be made at FSU by none other than House Speaker Daniel Perez himself, marking another notable appearance of a Florida State Alumni turned House Speaker, after former university president John Thrasher. While we don’t have any immediate staff attending graduation this semester (that might have to wait until Summer), we can only ponder what the Perez might advise to the future graduates of tomorrow…How to run a branch of government, or stop one?

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

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