Mission & Goals
***IMPORTANT NOTE: THE ALACHUA COUNTY LABOR COALITION ENGAGES IN POLITICAL ADVOCACY BUT DOES NOT ENDORSE ANY CANDIDATE FOR ANY POLITICAL OFFICE.***
As amended and approved by our Board on June 7, 2016 and by the general membership on August 23, 2016.
The Alachua County Labor Coalition (ACLC) is composed of individuals, unions, and worker-friendly organizations committed to the economic, environmental, civil, and social rights of working people, their families, and communities, and to the ecological systems that sustain us.
Our principles and goals are adapted from the national Labor Party’s “Call for Economic Justice.”
We are the people who build and sustain the nation, but rarely enjoy our fair share of the wealth we create.
We are the employed, the unemployed, and the retired.
We are the people who make the country run, but have little say in running the country.
We remain dedicated to building a more just society, where we all have the right:
–To be paid a living wage in a safe workplace, to be treated fairly at work, and to not be fired unjustly.
–To join a union freely and to strike without fear of being fired or other retribution.
–To a life where the needs of our families do not have to be neglected because of the demands of our jobs.
–To retire at a decent standard of living after a lifetime of work.
–To free, quality public education for ourselves and our children.
–To universal access to publicly-funded, comprehensive, quality health care for all residents.
–To live free from bigotry and discrimination, where everyone enjoys equal opportunity and the equal protection of the laws without prejudice.
–To honor and respect the human rights of workers across the world.
Executive Board
- Co-Chairs: Tyler Foerst & Jenn Powell
- Secretary: Michele Lesure
- Treasurer: Jonathan Orsini
- Membership Coordinator: Alex Hood
- Outreach Coordinator: Marilyn Eisenberg
- Health Care Liaison: AK
- Union Liaison: Jason Fults
Each member organization is entitled to one delegate to sit on the executive board.
- IBEW Local 1205: Sylvia Arnold
- North Florida Central Labor Council: Dan Harmeling
- Civic Media Center Liaison: Vacant
- Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Gainesville: Mary Bahr
- Gainesville IWW: Ian Pfingsten
- Veterans for Peace – Gainesville Chapter: Sheila Payne
- Emmanuel Mennonite Church: Richard MacMaster
- UF Young Democratic Socialists of America: Gabriel Vasquez
- Alachua County Education Association: Melissa Hawthorne
ACLC Coordinator: Bobby Mermer
ACLC Assistant Coordinator: Alex Hood
Member Organizations
- Agricultural Justice Project
- Alachua County Education Association
- Alachua County Green Party
- Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1579
- Civic Media Center
- Communications Workers of America, Local 3170
- Cultural Arts Coalition
- Emmanuel Mennonite Church
- Farmworker Association of Florida
- Floridians For Freedom
- Gainesville Friends Meeting (Quakers)
- Gainesville Veterans for Peace
- Industrial Workers of the World, Gainesville Branch
- International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1205
- Madres Sin Fronteras
- National Women’s Liberation
- North Central Florida Central Labor Council
- North Central Florida Democratic Socialists of America (Central FL DSA)
- Pride Community Center of North Central FL
- Rural Women’s Health Project
- Socialist Alternative
- Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Gainesville
- United Church of Gainesville Social Justice Committee
- United Faculty of Florida
- UF Graduate Assistants United
- Alachua County Education Association
Join the ACLC as a member organization today!
Contact ACLC
Membership meetings for the Alachua County Labor Coalition generally take place at 6:00 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of the month at the Emmanuel Mennonite Church, 1236 NW 18th Avenue, Gainesville, FL. Any changes will be posted to our e-mail list and on this website.
For more information, please e-mail the Alachua County Labor Coalition at info@laborcoalition.org or call 352-375-2832. Our offices are at 235 S Main St #206 Gainesville, FL 32601, with appointments available to schedule. Visit us on Facebook to stay connected: Alachua County Labor Coalition.
Donate online to support the ACLC today!