Welcome to another edition of the Florida AFL-CIO’s weekly Florida Labor Letter for the week of 6/19! Returning from a short week hiatus, we’re back with a special edition to recap the 2026 FL AFL-CIO COPE Convention. Over the last weekend, over 200 member delegates from across all of our CLCS and unions met in Lake Buena Vista, FL to make their voices heard, meet candidates, and voting on resolutions and endorsements as part of our biennial endorsement process. Let’s get into how it went below!

Solidarity in Central Florida

Gathering in the gorgeous Lake Buena Vista Palace Hilton that held our biennial convention last year, over 200 member delegates met on Saturday, June 14th, to kick off a weekend of discussion, screenings, workshops, and solidarity. FL AFL-CIO President Kimberly Holdridge led the ceremonies with a presentation of the colors by Scout Troop 957 from nearby Clermont, FL and an invocation by Reverend Steve Rosebrock

The Convention featured a number of guest speakers this year, including Central Florida CLC President Brother Eric Clinton, Florida House Representative/Mayoral Candidate Dr. Anna Eskamani, Senate Minority Leader Pro Tempore Tracie Davis, and an in-depth political presentation by our own Director of Politics and Public Policy, Dr. Rich Templin on Saturday. The political presentation also featured some much needed clarification on Florida’s best Football team. Hint: They come from Duuuuvaaalll!

Workshops, Conversations, and Catching Up!

In between all the deliberation and business of the day, COPE served another role all weekend: bringing the Florida labor family together! Over meals, drinks, and endless conversations, we caught up over the year at large, what’s to come, and the universal truth: that it’s always better in a union.

We also featured robust workshops on some of the most important issues to face this upcoming election, Changes in Election Law and the need for Medicaid Expansion in Florida. A special thanks to Amy Keith, Executive Director of Common Cause Florida and Holly Bullard, Chief Strategy & Development Office of the Florida Policy Institute respectively for setting up these workshops and spending time with us this weekend to discuss these critical issues for Florida voters.

Candidates, Candidates, and More Candidates!

It wouldn’t be an endorsing convention without anyone to endorse! Saturday night’s festivities concluded with our 2026 COPE Candidate Reception, which featured over 150+ attendees and political candidates and elected officials from across the political spectrum eager to meet Florida’s working families. Highlights included Gubernatorial candidates like the now endorsed David Jolly & Gwen Graham, Congressmen Darren Soto & Maxwell Frost, and even state leaders such as Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell and Representative Dotie Joseph.

The campaign turnout and interest wasn’t for each other either. All candidates, whether incumbent or not, were eager to meet with our delegates and members, signaling strongly that despite all the attempts at union busting from Tallahassee, Florida’s organized labor continues to remain among the state’s most consistent and formidable political forces. That’s all thanks to YOU!

Endorsements and Excitement for the Future

On Sunday, we kicked things off with some words from Florida House Representative Leonard Spencer and keynote speaker Jose Javier Rodriguez, the FL AFL-CIO’s early endorsed candidate for Florida’s Attorney General. Both speakers filled us with motivation as we looked forward to an election not just to undo the damage done in recent legislative cycles, but build a coalition of labor advocates who will build a brighter Florida for all of us.

After their openings, delegates cast their final votes on a slew of different resolutions, amendments, and endorsements! To see the full list of the latter, see our recent announcement of the state federation’s first slate of congressional, statewide, and state legislature candidates for the 2026 election!

A Moment of Thanks

As we take the time for a moment of breath after a busy convention, we wanted to take this moment to thank some of the unsung heroes who helped organize this incredible weekend! You know them, you love them- our state federation staff! A huge thanks to Dana Shumate, Danielle Thomas, Alec Wilcosky, Stephan Rahmdor, Trevor Sweet, Danny Diaz, Carlos Jimenez, Pablo De Leon & Addie Britt from the National AFL-CIO, Rich Templin, Maira Rivera, Madame President Kimberly Holdridge, Laverne Davis and William Lawson- Convention Manager and Organizer extraordinaire

The future of Florida is bright, and we are so excited to work towards it with you this Election year!

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