MIAMI, FL. Today, the South Florida AFL-CIO (SFL AFL-CIO), the coalition of more than 40 local unions in Miami-Dade, Collier, and Monroe counties, announced that it has once again endorsed Debbie Mucarsel-Powell for Florida’s Congressional District 26 seat. The organization collectively represents more than 136,500 workers in the public sector, education, communications, first responders, transportation, construction, hospitality, and healthcare, among others.
“Throughout her tenure, and specifically over the past six months, Congresswoman Mucarsel-Powell has exhibited exceptional leadership for her constituents in District-26 and the Miami-Dade community as a whole,” said South Florida AFL-CIO President Jeffery Mitchell. “The COVID-19 crisis has brought an unprecedented wave of concern and risk to our labor force and where our Miami-Dade County leadership failed, Congresswoman Mucarsel-Powell excelled,” he said.
Over the course of the pandemic, essential workers across South Florida have been battling with the challenges and the high-risk exposure that comes with keeping the community running during a pandemic while also trying to mitigate the spread of the virus. Bus operators, janitors, food service workers, teachers, and others have been called to arms to stand on the frontline with first responders all while lacking access to the proper PPE and safeguards on the ground. During this time, local leaders such as Congresswoman Mucarsel-Powell stood up in solidarity with them by providing much-needed resources to Miami-Dade County’s labor force.
“For many years now, the Gimenez administration has cut corners and depleted Miami-Dade County’s transit department of the proper funding needed to maintain, run, and expand the community’s public transit needs. As a global destination, Miami-Dade deserves a world-class transit system. Instead, Mayor Gimenez has chosen to give out lavish contracts that have only benefitted him and left Miami-Dade residents with a third-world operation.
“The arrival of the pandemic has put a spotlight on these deficiencies and shortcomings and unfortunately, it has been our workers and their families who have borne the brunt of Mayor Gimenez’s poor leadership. By no means should we be entertaining the idea of having Mr. Gimenez as the congressional representative for Florida’s District-26. Congresswoman Mucarsel-Powell has proven to be a true representative of the community and deserves all of our support in her run for a second term,” Mitchell added.
Over the last two years, Congresswoman Mucarsel-Powell has worked tirelessly on behalf of labor. In addition to providing PPE for transit workers during the on start of the pandemic, she has worked to secure fair wages by supporting the Raise the Wage Act to increase minimum wage to $15 an hour; helped pass the Moving Forward Act, a $1.5 trillion investment that will protect and create countless good-paying jobs for American workers; increased workers’ safety by purchasing protective equipment for transit agencies and reducing maintenance backlogs throughout transportation and infrastructure sectors; and reduced assaults against transit workers and provided victims with resources after an incident occurs. Additionally, she cosponsored the Transit Worker and Pedestrian Protection Act to reduce the number and rates of accidents, injuries, and assaults on bus operators.
