Welcome to the latest edition of the Florida AFL-CIO’s weekly e-newsletter: The Florida Labor Letter! Building on the good work that went into our prior E-messenger program, we hope to use this newsletter to provide you a weekly roundup of the latest and greatest from the Florida labor community, as well as keep you engaged with the latest events, resources, and actions taking place from across the Sunshine State and nation at large! As the 2026 Legislative Session rolls on, what better time to start getting involved than now? Without further ado, let’s get into this week:

🏛️Legislative Session: Week of 2/6

Week 4 was an impactful one in Tallahassee. As we near the midpoint of the legislative session, (when issues that want to go the distance usually must make an entrance by) we saw the deep-pocketed interests in the Florida Capitol push for the sudden re-introduction of anti-worker and culture war issues once thought dormant, and still deeply unpopular. Thankfully, your Working Family Lobby Corps was just as responsive, ensuring that none of these bill went through committee smooth sailing, educating lawmakers and highlighting serious flaws unforeseen to both bill sponsors and committee members. Let’s get into it:

• Don’t Say Gay – At Work (SB 1642 / HB 641)
  • Like Pennywise arisen from his long slumber, so too has the culture war returned to Tallahassee. Billed as the so called “Freedom of Conscience in the Workplace Act,” both of these unfriendly bills arrived in committees this week, and seek to impose unto all public sector workers the same free speech restrictions that 2023 legislation put upon school employees, that established they can’t ask students for their preferred pronouns and restricting school staff from sharing their pronouns with students if they “do not correspond” with their sex. In committee, supporters argued it’s a matter of preserving rights to personal beliefs, citing a former Miami-Dade city commission employee who was fired upon posting what he called simple “disagreement with gender ideology” and a refusal to attend anti-discrimination training. Working families and member of the public though made sure to reveal this wolf in sheep’s clothing message, with one legislator clarifying the true harmful language cited as “disagreement”, and reminding us that the dangers of this bill revolve not around personal consciousness, but the potential proliferation of harmful conduct and harassment in the workplace.
• The Nail in Florida’s Unemployment Insurance (SB 216)
  • Readers may recall that in Week 2 of session, we saw the introduction of this unfriendly bill, which adds impossible new hurdles, reporting requirements, and unreasonable job search mandates to those on hard times who seek to get any assistance from Florida’s already broken unemployment insurance system, which ranks dead last in the nation in terms of benefits, eligibility, payout, and length.
  • On Thursday, the bill reached its final Senate committee stop, where FL AFL-CIO Director of Politics and Public Policy Dr. Rich Templin gave important historical context and information that clarified that the only thing this bill does is ensure that those most in need of essential assistance are given impossible distance from getting it, especially in rural communities. Despite it’s final committee passage before the floor, enthusiasm for the bill noticeably dropped, with several members of the majority making clear in debate their concerns with the bill, and even declaring hesitancy for supporting its final passage out of the chamber in its current form. You can watch the full discussion on The Florida Channel
• Public Sector Union Busting (SB 1296/8 & HB 995/8)
  • Readers from last week remember the sudden appearance of this House Bill towards the end of week 3. This unfriendly and anti-labor bill builds on the nefarious work of 2023’s SB 256, seeking to close the few remaining avenues our public unions have been able to survive following its adoption. With new arbitrary bureaucratic hurdles on recertification and bans on advocacy, the bill also require all union elections to have over 50% of the entire workforce in the bargaining unit voting.
    • In the House, the bill appeared for its second committee stop this week in the House, where working families made clear to highlight the bill’s the compulsory negotiation timeline, its effect on teacher raises (and the incorrectness of talking points against our teacher’s unions), and 50% + 1 workforce requirement.
    • In the Senate, something surprising happened. Despite a surprise assignment for this past Monday, attendees of this week’s Governmental Oversight and Accountability committee discovered that in the Upper Chamber of the legislature, this deeply unpopular bill has remained just that, Temporarily Postponing the bill in its first stop. As both chambers are necessary for the bill’s ultimate passage, this stop marks a noteworthy change that threatens the bill’s survival and one that we are continuing to monitor.
• Private Sector Union Busting (SB 1236 & HB 1387)
  • Because evil never rests, our public sector brothers and sisters are not the only ones under attack by the billionaire interests this session. This unfriendly and anti-labor attacks the ability of our private sector brothers and sister’s ability to collectively bargain by removing the ability of any private employers and subcontractors that receive state money from engaging with unions or union work that is recognized through card check and bars them from entering a (voluntary) neutrality agreement. In both chamber committees this week, the bill’s broad scope led to working families from across the private and public sector highlighting the severe risks this poses to private industry work, eager to inform and fill in legislators as to the true intentions and impact behind a bill like this: to bust unions in the private sector. The testimony was unmissable by members, with legislators and both bill sponsors acknowledging and committing to further conversation from workers impacted. If evil never rests, neither do we.

🍊Florida Labor News

From FEA: A Closer Look at the Opportunities for Better Education in the Sunshine State

This week in the Orlando Sentinel, Florida Education Association President Andrew Spar wrote an extended piece on the many proactive and pro-teacher bills that are moving (or stalling) throughout the session so far and how they could transform not just the lives of educators, but also change the direction of the state’s education outcomes for the better. You can read the full piece here!

Organization and Negotiation Across The State

Though it’s easy to get lost in the session, we always want to remind you that unlike the 90-day legislative session, Florida’s unions are fighting and making progress for you year round, advocating for better pay, fair work conditions, and quality of life for working families- no matter the season or where you are located! Here are some small and always impactful examples:

From our family in West Central Florida:

This week, Creative Loafing reported on restaurant workers’ efforts to organize a union at several different establishments at Tampa International Airport. Workers at Hard Rock Cafe, Buddy Brew, Ulele, and Ducky’s all work for the airport contractor SPP America. UNITE HERE Local 362 represents SSP America restaurant workers at the Orlando Airport. These TPA workers are organizing to get similar benefits that Local 362 won in a recent contract. To start, Orlando SPP employees won a $19.30 per hour wage for bussers and cashiers. Servers currently make $14 per hour at TPA.

Meanwhile in Tallahassee (outside the Capitol):

As reported by WTXL Tallahassee, Leon County Schools and the Leon Classroom Teachers Association are heading back to the negotiating table to discuss teacher salaries, following a November impasse and invoking of third party review. With both sides displaying a willingness to good faith discussion, there is hope that a path forward can be made for teacher raises be made amidst city concerns about budget constraints and a county millage increase planned to help. You can see the full story here

✊Solidarity Spotlight

Action Update: SEIU/Unite Here, TPS Workers in South Florida receive temporary stay against expiration of Haitian TPS

Last Week, readers of our previous Labor Letter will recall that, in Fort Lauderdale, members of UNITE 355 and SEIU 32BJ helped mobilize an incredible coalition of airport, hotel and nursing home workers, community partners, local faith leaders, and elected officials to host a press conference and silent march to raise awareness and opposition of the soon to expire TPS status of the over 100,000 Haitians that are valuable members of South Florida’s community and even contribute billions to South Florida’s economy.

This Week, those same activists and community members, achieved a temporary victory as a result of U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes ruling on Monday (2/2) to pause the Trump administration’s plan to end TPS for Haitians.

The ruling arrived just in time, one day before the TPS Protections were set to expire. Exploring her reasoning, WPLG Local 10 reported that:

Reyes pointed to the U.S. State Department’s Level 4 Do Not Travel advisory for Haiti. She wrote: “‘Do not travel to Haiti for any reason’ does not exactly scream, as Secretary Noem concluded, suitable for return.”

The ruling represents a temporary, but hard earned victory by the South Florida labor community and their organizing partners, reminding us the importance of and continued value in giving voice to the issues and how that visibility generates the conversations necessary to enact change. You can read more in the WPLG Local 10 Article here or this in-depth piece from the Miami Herald!

🗓️On the Horizon

• February 7th, 2026​ – Young Workers March on Washington!
  • The time to take action for the future is the present! This February, young workers from unions across the united states are meeting in Washington D.C to demand young workers are provided the same opportunities as their parents by raising our long out-dated Federal Minimum Wage, providing for more affordable housing, and more! Learn more about this day of action on the official website for Young Worker’s March!
• March 11 – 13th, 2026 – AFL-CIO Organizing Institute 3-Day Organizing Training in Austin, TX
  • The Texas AFL-CIO and the AFL-CIO Organizing Institute (OI) is welcoming any and all to their 3-Day Organizing Training. The deadline to register is February 18th, and interested parties can register your organizing teams at www.aflcio.org/OI.
  • Below is a brief preview of what to expect:
    • Day 1 – How to have the Right 1-on-1 Organizing Conversation;              
    • Day 2 – Recruiting and Developing Key Workplace Leaders;
    • Day 3 – How to Run Issue Campaigns to Build Momentum!  
• March 28th, 2026 – No King’s Protest!
  • Tallahassee was one of many participants in the recent January 24th “No Kings” protest that marked a year of continued resistance against the Trump Administration’s authoritarian policies. In the wake of the events in Minnesota, organizers are building towards a fourth series of protests in March. Those interested in participating can find out more here.

🛠️Business Board

• FREE Trainings from the National AFL-CIO: The National AFL-CIO provides free virtual training sessions leaders and members of all of its State Federations, Area Labor Federations, CLCs and Affiliates. This list of training courses is updated regularly and covers a myriad of topics such as honing political skills, issue specific communications, and more. This page is updated regularly, so please visit and bookmark this link to stay informed and learn more about what is currently available to sign-up for in order to take your labor skills and knowledge to the next level!

📸Bonus Bulletin

St. John’s County Day at the Capitol 🐊🦦

This week, North Florida made its voice heard in the Capitol Complex with St. John’s County Day on Thursday, which featured some of the county’s famous Gators, River Otters, Barbecue, and live Jazz! In case anyone was wondering, yes, you could in fact pet both animals, although the barbecue was better with a fork, and the Jazz best left untouched.

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

Please email Daniel Diaz at ddiaz@flaflcio.org