Florida AFL-CIO

Florida AFL-CIO pursues a left-of-center political agenda that mirrors that of the national AFL-CIO. Florida AFL-CIO has adopted left-of-center gun control and immigration policies,³ advocated for raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour,⁴ and supported increasing unemployment benefits. ⁵ Florida AFL-CIO has participated in protests,⁶ funded  programs on behalf of Democrats,⁷ and lobbied for favorable legislation to support left-of-center policy initiatives. ⁸

Andrew Spar, secretary and treasurer of the Florida AFL-CIO and vice president of Florida AFL-CIO affiliate Florida Education Association,⁹ has been a prominent advocate of the lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) that seeks to close Florida’s public school system in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. ¹⁰

Background

In 1958, the Florida American Federation of Labor and the Florida Congress of Industrial Organizations merged to create Florida AFL-CIO. ¹ Florida AFL-CIO membership includes union members from workforces including education, construction, and healthcare. ¹

Though over one million people are members of Florida AFL-CIO unions, the union has one of the smallest bases in the country, with only six percent of Florida employees registered as union members. Florida unions have blamed Florida’s right-to-work status for low participation, in addition to the Taft-Hartley Act that forbids employers from requiring employees to pay fees to a union. The Florida AFL-CIO has sought to change these policies in an attempt to increase union revenues and power. ¹¹

Florida AFL-CIO affiliates have drawn criticism for overpaying union employees. The Florida Education Association, the largest labor union in the southeast United State, pays 43 of its employees a salary of roughly $130,000, more than double the average salary of the teachers the union claims to represent. ¹² These combined salaries are equal to 25% of the union’s total dues collected in Florida. ¹³

Political Advocacy

Florida AFL-CIO has taken a range of left-of-center political stances. Though most of the organization’s political activity has revolved around supporting left-of-center labor policy, Florida AFL-CIO has also taken stances on social issues including gun control and illegal immigration.

Labor Policy

AFL-CIO has advocated for nearly doubling Florida’s minimum wage to $15 an hour from its current $8.56 an hour. ¹⁴  Florida AFL-CIO officials have also argued for increasing unemployment benefits, claiming that every dollar paid in unemployment benefits generates $1.64 in economic returns. ⁵  Florida AFL-CIO has even argued for employment policy that stands in the way of immigration enforcement, supporting a bill to prevent Florida insurance companies from reporting illegal immigrants to United States immigration officials. ¹⁵

Florida AFL-CIO has also taken left-of-center stances on trade, protesting against trade at the Free Trade Area of the Americas summit in Miami. The march, supported by the International Socialist Organization, was intended to oppose the alleged American agenda of global economic expansion. ¹⁶

Social Policy

Florida AFL-CIO has supported left-of-center policy more generally, most notably by attacking state preemption over local governments. Florida AFL-CIO opposed state bills that aimed to restrict the actions of local governments, opposing bills that would prevent the establishment of immigration sanctuary cities, block local minimum wage increases, resist local rent control measures, and prevent localities from establishing gun control ordinances contrary to Florida state policy. ³

Florida AFL-CIO has also supported left-of-center criminal justice initiatives, with former president Cynthia Hall describing Miami as a “police state” and Florida AFL-CIO beginning an initiative to halt the deportation of illegal immigrants. ^{16 17}Jacobson, Susan. “Orlando Police Arrest 15 at Immigration-Reform Rally Downtown.” OrlandoSentinel.com, December 7, 2018. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2013-10-29-os-immigration-reform-orlando-20131029-story.html.[/^note]