Central Florida Jobs with Justice

Background

Central Florida Jobs with Justice (CFJWJ) is an advocacy and activist group organizing “labor, community, faith, and of youth” to advance left-of-center public policies and social issues in the Orlando, Florida area. It is part of the Jobs with Justice national network of labor union-aligned workers centers and left-wing advocacy groups. ³

According to its website, the CFJWJ’s member groups include local chapters of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), the Communications Workers of America (CWA), the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Unite Here, and the National Education Association (NEA). Other CFJWJ member organizations include Christ International Church, the Florida Access Network, the Florida Immigrant Coalition, Florida Rising, Hablamos Espanol FL, the Hope Community Center, and QLatinx. ⁴

Activism

Central Florida Jobs with Justice (CFJWJ) engages in activism to promote left-of-center public policies and social causes, with focuses on labor policy, environmental and energy policy, health care, and education. ³

CFJWJ has supported left-of-center policy proposals including an increase to the state minimum wage, expansion of Florida’s Medicaid program, opposition to federal immigration law enforcement, rent control programs, and the declaration of a “climate emergency” in Florida. ²

In 2020, CFJWJ opposed the Orange County School Board’s decision to increase school safety funding, claiming that it would support “excessive policing.” ⁵

CFJWJ is a member of the Just Transition Alliance, an advocacy coalition that promotes left-of-center environmentalist and climate-related policies. ⁶ In 2022, members of CFJWJ traveled with members of the United Steelworkers labor union and Familias Unidas por la Justicia to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt to participate in the 2022 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP27. Their stated goal was to “[force] world leaders to abandon corporate schemes such as ‘net zero emissions,’ and to embrace just transition strategies that address the needs and priorities of workers and communities hit hardest by climate change.” ⁷

CFJWJ is also a member of the Florida for All coalition, a network of left-of-center community organizations that advocate against policies passed by Governor Ron DeSantis (R). ⁸ In 2022, the coalition ran a reported $100,000 worth of advertisements criticizing Governor DeSantis on polices passed regarding abortion coverage, insurance, and COVID care. ⁸

Use of ARPA Funds for Medical Debt Relief

In 2024, CFJWJ organized a campaign to persuade Orange County, which includes Orlando, to use millions of dollars in unspent funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to pay off the medical debts of county residents. ⁹ CFJWJ requested $8.7 million in ARPA appropriations for medical debt relief, but the county government only approved $4.5 million towards the project. ¹⁰

Funding

Central Florida Jobs with Justice (CFJWJ) receives its funding from individual donors, fundraising events, and grants from foundations and other donors. ¹¹

It has previously received funding from the Ford Foundation, including $250,000 for general support funding in 2025; $400,000 in 2024; $400,000 in 2022; $230,000 in 2021; $200,000 in 2020; and $200,000 in 2019. ¹²

In 2023, CFJWJ received a $30,000 general operating grant from the Solutions Project, an environmentalist advocacy group co-founded by actor Mark Ruffalo, Stanford professor Mark Jacobson, banker Marco Krapels, and anti-natural-gas filmmaker Josh Fox. ¹³

CFJWJ has received funding from the Schott Foundation for Public Education, a pass-through funder that receives funding from major left-of-center donors including the American Federation of Teachers Education Foundation, the Chrysalis Fund, the Josephine and Louise Crane Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Gates Foundation, the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Hill-Snowdon Foundation, the Hyams Foundation, the NEA Foundation, the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, the Raikes Foundation, and the Wellspring Philanthropic Fund. ^{14 15}