Here's what you need to know this week:
If you've been involved with labor in Florida, you've probably heard of the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans, or FLARA. FLARA's mission under normal circumstances is to advocate for the interests of not only union retirees, but all current and future retired Floridians. This is done by pursuing legislation that will protect and expand Medicare and Social Security, but local events are always taking place in FLARA's 21 chapters around the state. These chapters are divided up by congressional districts and are usually making monthly visits to our Congresspeople and US Senators to do issues advocacy. In light of recent events, though, FLARA has been sending out regular updates and resources for members to assist them through this pandemic. These include everything from help with Medicare to assistance with food. Many union retirees are members of FLARA by default through agreements made at the national level, but for those who are not, dues are only 25 cents per year.
Our retirees are some of the hardest hit by the COVID 19 pandemic, and it's important that they have access to all of the resources they need to keep them safe. To get involved with FLARA or get more information, we encourage you to reach out to Jordan Kanter, their Executive Director, for details. Jordan can be reached at jordan@flara.org. You can also sign up to receive FLARA updates using THIS LINK.
Here's what's coming up:
We are in the preliminary stages of setting up tentative screenings for the end of May, as well as Zoom conference for our May CLC meeting. For those unfamiliar with Zoom, we highly recommend you attend one of the free digital trainings offered by the AFL-CIO. There are currently trainings scheduled for 3pm on April 17th, April 20th, and April 22nd. You can get more info on these trainings and sign up by following THIS LINK. Stay tuned for more info on future events.
Keep in Mind:
Florida's unemployment system continues to make an example of itself. Record breaking numbers of out-of-work Floridians have started to seek out benefits, only to be met with a dysfunctional website and abysmal wait times on the phone. In fact, our unemployment system consistently ranks LAST in the nation because of it's low benefit caps and high eligibility requirements. Now, even as bottlenecks in the system begin to ease up, many of those that get through are finding that they've been deemed ineligible for benefits. This is a crisis, and Governor DeSantis has the power to fix it immediately. We're encouraging anyone who has a story to share or simply wants the system to change to visit www.flworkersneedrelief.com to be a part of the effort to make this change. Working people in Florida need help, and our Governor should do the right thing by fixing the system so they can get it.
That's all for this week! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more updates. If you would like to receive text message alerts from the Florida AFL-CIO (Msg & data rates may apply), text FLUNION to 235246!
In Solidarity,
West Central Florida Labor Council
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