Category: Uncategorized

COVID-19 Resources

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For a current and updated version please click here.

Unemployment Assistance 

 

Food Assistance

    • Tues at 2:45pm – (updated 20-3-19)
    • This is reclaimed food (mainly from Fresh Market) donated by a local farm. Please bring your own bag if possible.
  • Bread of The MIghty – 325 NW 10th Ave, Gainesville, FL 32601 – (352) 336-0839
    • 8:00 AM – 2: 00 PM Monday through Friday. – (updated 20-3-23)
    • Call if need delivery. 
    • “Need everything shelves are just about empty”
  • Field and Fork (updated 20-3-18) – 564 Newell Dr, Gainesville, FL 32603 – (352) 294-3601 – (updated 20-3-23) Need a UF ID. Students, faculty, OPS, etc. 
    • MONDAY: 10 – 2PM TUESDAY: 1 – 5PM WEDNESDAY: 3 – 7PM THURSDAY: 1 – 5PM FRIDAY: 10AM – 2PM
    • Could always use donations, has the basics, things are going fast. Trying to keep stocking. Donation during operating hours too. Relying on volunteers to keep going. Mostly GAs.
  • Gainesville Vineyard
  • Every other Saturday (happening on 3/21, 4/4, 4/18) from 9-11AM.
    • 1100 SE 17th Dr. 33641
    • Usually have a client choice approach but this week will be handing out pre-bagged groceries and do it as a drive thru. Will be giving out frozen meat, veggies, fruit, pasta, staples, toilet paper, feminine hygiene products, etc. 
  • Unconfirmed Food Information:
    • Grace Marketplace will distro food at gate
    • Healthstreet – might be used as staging location 
    • Alachua County Public School Farm to School Program – might open up their school lunch program to general public
    • First mag might be a pick up location for food. 

Housing

  • Trump Administration’s eviction halt most likely didn’t affect you.
  • New eviction orders are not being processed by Alachua County Courts. Old orders are not being enforced by Sheriff Darnell. 
  • Collier said they don’t have standardized guidance for renters yet and that each individual should reach out to their own community. Since things are developing quickly, once they have any guidance on these issues, they will send it out via resident portals. 
  • Trimark said they are waiving late fees on a case-by-case basis (for example, they won’t waive it for you if you’re late every month already). They have been in communications with their legal dept and have been advised that closure of school does not impact legal contract, so they are honoring all leases in their entirety. There may be further developments.
  • Florida Housing Coalition COVID-19 Response for Housing and Homelessness in Florida Webinar – will be weekly on Thursdays, from 1:30 – 2:30 pm, through the Florida Housing Coalition website. 

 

Other

Statewide Call/Text Centers:

Food:

Financial Safety:

Small Business Owner Assistance: If you are a small business owner, The Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program has been activated to support small business! Application period is from today March 17th until May 8th. Get more information and apply here: https://floridadisasterloan.org

The ACLC joins the Food Justice League coalition

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By the Food Justice League

The University of Florida’s food services contract is currently under review by an Invitation to Negotiate Committee, with goals for the contract to be up for bidding by the end of June, with bids expected to be negotiated by August. Currently, UF’s food service vendor is Aramark Corporation, which is responsible for numerous violations of workers’ rights and refusal to engage with goals regarding local sourcing and sustainability.

The Food Justice League is demanding that UF require that the new contract has:

· a $15 minimum hourly wage for all UF contracted food service employees and a union neutrality clause.

· a commitment to decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.

· justice for farmworkers, farmers, and food system workers

· an increase in local sourcing of food products.

· and concrete accountability measures.

As the University strives to become a top #5 public university, it has a responsibility to provide a living wage to its employees and contracted workers, as well as take steps to become a sustainable component of the Alachua County community.

Please read our letter and sign the petition to show your support!

Update on the Living Wage Campaign

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By Ashley Nguyen

The ACLC, employees and contracted workers at UF, and community allies are actively
campaigning for a $15 minimum wage at UF, as well as the right for workers to unionize without
obstruction from administration. On the wages paid by UF and contracted companies like
Aramark, many employees and contract workers face the harsh reality of living paycheck to
paycheck. A $15 minimum wage is the first step in achieving a better standard of material well-
being for workers who are integral to the daily campus functions. UF is one of the largest
employers in Alachua County, but many employees and contracted workers make well below a
living wage. Workers at UF, particularly Aramark contracted employees routinely share stories
of wage theft, poor management and revocation of sick leave.


At the university level, the ACLC has been partnering with the Young Democratic
Socialists of Gainesville (YDSA GNV) on a Fight For $15 campaign at the University of Florida.
Members have engaged in meaningful conversations and contact discussions with workers,
specifically contracted Aramark employees, about working conditions and workplace abuses at
the University. While UF service employees and contracted Aramark workers are willing to
engage with ACLC and YDSA GNV organizers and share their stories regarding struggles in the
workplace, they have asked that community members and students support this campaign by
rallying around Fight for $15 and the right to form a union without administration from
university officials. Without this crucial support, UF workers feel that they will not have the
requisite insulation from UF hostility as they take steps to build a more fair and just work
environment.


At the City level, the Gainesville City Commission has heard ACLC demands for a more
just Living Wage Ordinance.
These changes would apply to businesses who contract with the city.

The major changes we are seeking are:

● To close the loopholes which allow businesses to skirt the living wage ordinance.

● Lower threshold from current $100,000 to $50,000 so it applies to more contractors.

● Tie the living wage standard to the wage of the lowest-paid regular city employee which
is currently at $13.75/hr. The current ordinance is $12.38/hr which encourages
outsourcing.

● Use the Affordable Care Act market rate (currently $2.17/hr) as opposed to the current
arbitrary $1.25/hr to determine the true cost of healthcare.

● Remove exemption for incarcerated workers.

These changes would build on the successful Alachua County Government Living Wage
Ordinance passed in 2016 by the ACLC.

If you would like to get involved with this campaign, please reach out to
info@laborcoalition.org.

Safe and Affordable Housing/Renters’ Rights Update

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By Sheila Payne

Members of the Alachua County Labor Coalition Housing Committee have been outreaching to city staff and Commissioners to find out when the Safe and Healthy Housing draft ordinance would be finally made available to City Commissioners and the public for mark-up and movement towards a final vote and implementation.

The latest email from the office of the city attorney stated that “…we don’t expect it to go before the City Commission any sooner than February 20, 2020.” ACLC has been working on a Renters’ Rights ordinance since early 2018 after months of meetings with renters about their greatest concerns. Our lawyer with Florida Legal Services, Reina Sacco, shared with us her well-researched white paper with examples of rental ordinances from all over Florida and the U.S.  The ACLC shared these documents plus our own position papers with City Commissioners and staff in 2018.

The City Commission Renters Rights subcommittee has been meeting since at least Jan. 2019. The minutes from that meeting show that the program was already laid out with the elements that ACLC had presented and that you can find on ACLC website. Though there were subcommittee meetings roughly every two weeks for five months, a draft ordinance is still not out. We also know that the first year after the ordinance is voted on by the City Commission will be spent on educating renters and landlords and securing the infrastructure such as more housing inspectors to inspect rental properties. Please let the new City Manager and City Commissioners know that you are still waiting for an ordinance to be enacted so that we can stop the decline of housing stock, weatherize rental housing to lower utility bills, and educate renters on their rights to safe and healthy housing.

Jason and I met with the new Code Enforcement Head Pete Backhaus in mid-January 2020. He told us that the draft ordinance had just been circulated amongst involved staff and that he would follow the lead of the City Commission. We were previously involved in meeting with Code Enforcement as they came up with a draft budget for hiring more inspectors, a timeline for a four-year inspection schedule and what would be on the Renters Rights and Responsibilities handouts, among other items. Hopefully, that due diligence is not scrapped. We are now scheduling an appointment with the new City Manager, who seems to be very hands-on (he answered questions directly from City Commissioners this week about progress or lack of with the Living Wage ordinance and contract workers rather than sending an assistant manager).

As you all know, the greatest accomplishment that has come out of our Housing efforts besides lots of meetings with affected renters and public awareness of the shabby conditions of much of the rental housing stock in Gainesville is Alachua County Commissioners adding an anti-discrimination clause to their Housing Codes to include no discrimination based on source of income or citizenship status in April 2019. All cities in Alachua County are included. This means Housing Choice vouchers have to be accepted as income when renting a house anywhere in Alachua County. ACLC is now collecting complaints from renters who have been denied use of their vouchers when seeking housing. We are outreaching to landlords to educate them about the new law. We have also made some beautiful posters detailing renters’ rights and are distributing them. We seek more help on this campaign so we can go door to door visiting with the most affected renters to alert them of the new anti-discrimination law and the upcoming City of Gainesville housing ordinance provisions.

Jeremiah and I went to the County Commission Housing Authority Fair Housing update meeting just before newsletter deadline. There have been 30 complaints so far to the county about landlords not accepting Housing Choice Vouchers. Many of those include large apartment buildings. Also, some landlords will not answer questions on the phone about whether they will accept housing vouchers; they expect the potential renter to fill out an application before they will answer any questions. That would mean that a renter would have to pay an application fee to find out that their voucher will not be accepted as income towards renting. This is expensive and is a method of discouraging applications and obviously a way to circumvent detection of non-compliance with the ordinance.

Community advocates convinced the County to include in its sweeping anti-discrimination ordinance strong protections for those who are victims of domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and human trafficking. The removal of tenants or denial of housing based on this gendered violence is now prohibited in Alachua County

Upcoming goals based on renters input:

  • continue meetings with folks who would like to form tenant unions
  • promote more publicly-owned housing
  • removal of rental application fees
  • rent controls and stabilization
  • greater protections for rent withholding
  • longer eviction time frames
  • reduction of deposits
  • And more assistance from the big 10 companies in Alachua County to provide assistance in upgrading current housing and building affordable housing.

 

We need more workforce housing. There are many colleges and universities around the U.S. who build workforce housing and also design and build affordable housing through their construction programs in the communities where they are supposed to be part of the fabric of the community. No more studies, “Friendship Seven,” more action! To get involved email, housing@laborcoalition.org.

Continuing to Fight for Just Health Care

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By Chad Hood

The groundswell of support for Medicare for All continues to grow.  Two major Democratic frontrunners for the presidency support the single payer model – to replace our complicated private for-profit insurance system with a single public plan that covers all necessary medical care, spends 97 cents of every dollar on health care, ends medical bankruptcies, and saves billions of dollars (not to mention human lives) in the process.  And most other candidates support incremental steps that could potentially move us towards a single payer model. What a difference from ten years ago (!) when with a Democratic House, Senate, and President we couldn’t even get a public option on the bargaining table.

As another indication of the turning tide, last month the American College of Physicians (ACP) endorsed a single payer system.   The ACP is the second largest physician organization in the United States, representing internal medicine physicians and related subspecialties, like cardiology, pulmonary, and others.  Again, contrast this to nearly a century of opposition from physician organizations like the American Medical Association to “socialist” reform like Medicare – which has saved the lives of millions of senior citizens and kept even more out of poverty.

We should expect fierce opposition, though.  Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) recently reported on Canadian physician resistance to implementation of their single payer plan in the 1960’s.  At that time, Canadian medical costs were identical to the United States. Now, Canadian spending is nearly half of ours due to a low 2% overhead (compared to 15-20% in the U.S.).  Meanwhile, their health care outcomes, out of pocket savings, and patient satisfaction put ours to shame. 

In the 1960’s, though, Canadian physician fear and opposition was rampant.  Saskatchewan was the first province to enact a single payer health plan. The medical association there led a three week physician strike against the program.  While we can anticipate a massive advertising campaign against single payer from the private insurance industry, it’s encouraging to see that in 2020 under a Trump presidency, support continues to grow amongst physicians and physician organizations.  About 2/3 of physicians specifically support a single payer plan.

It’s also encouraging to see how opinions change after anti-government and anti-socialist fears fade in the face of a system that puts patients ahead of profits.  Dr. E. W. Barootes was president of the Saskatchewan medical association that led the physician strike in the 60’s. Decades later, he professed his support for the Canadian single payer system – which did not interfere with the patient-doctor relationship, as feared.  In contrast to Canadian smear campaigns in the U.S., the Canadian health care system has become a beloved national treasure.  “A politician is more likely to get away with cancelling Christmas,” said Dr. Barootes, “than canceling Canada’s health insurance program.”

Meanwhile, what can we do here in Alachua County?  For one, know and share with friends that single payer is not just a utopian fantasy or policy pipe dream.  It’s the reality in most industrialized countries – who spend half of what we do with better health outcomes.  It’s the true fiscally responsible pathway to universal health care, covering everyone while saving billions of dollars.

Join us on the ACLC’s Just Health Care committee and help spread the word.  We’ve co-sponsored a dozen or so Medicare for All presentations in the north central Florida region over the past year and are preparing an online version to share nationwide.  Let us know if you’d like us to bring the presentation to your church, reading group, or organization.

Florida Joins the “Red Wave” for Public Education

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By Phil Whelpton

On January 13th Florida became the latest state embracing the “red wave” in support of public education that began in West Virginia in 2017.

Public education workers and their local supporters from across the state answered the Florida Education Association’s call to “Rally in Tally”, on the opening day of this year’s legislative session, in support of FEA’s “FUND OUR FUTURE” campaign, which demands a “Decade of Progress” to restore funding and reverse the damage done by four decades of neglect, designed to literally dismantle the traditional public school system and bring our public colleges and universities under corporate control of the billionaire class.

In response to Gov. DeSantis’ divisive plan to raise the salaries of first year teachers, with no proportional raises across the entire work force, including Education Support Personnel; and his “more of the same” cuts in funds for traditional public schools, to increase the already obscene amount of state money currently being wasted on unaccountable charters and private schools; “FUND OUR FUTURE” puts forth specific proposals to responsibly increase funding for all facets of public education, while restoring local control to school boards and citizens in every district.

The Decade of Progress calls for a 10 year investment of $22 billion in education funding through 2030. Lawmakers must make a serious down payment this year in the form of a $2.4 billion opening investment, which represents a 10% increase in per-student funding in our traditional public schools. It sounds like a lot, but will only move Florida up 4 spots in the national rankings. The investment will increase the per-pupil funding by $767, of which at least $614 must go to the base student allocation, the flexible money under local district control. This will allow for across the board raises of 10% for every public school education worker in Florida; teachers, paraprofessionals, bus drivers, secretaries, media specialists, social workers, cafeteria staff etc.

Along with the increased funding for the K – 12 schools, the Decade of Progress demands increased funding to Florida’s colleges and universities.

The investment will restore electives including art, music and drama; along with additional funding for lab materials, so students don’t just read about STEM, but can engage in it.

It will ensure access to mental health services, making school counselors, social workers and school psychologists readily available to assist struggling students and families.

And it will help Florida districts better address the struggling schools that have suffered the most from decades of underfunding.

The program also demands loan forgiveness for teachers and laws to protect all college students from predatory lending.

It calls for reducing the cost of teacher certification tests; and a halt to linking student test scores to teacher evaluations by redesigning evaluations to align with teaching and learning.

In support of this bold, but realistic program, 15,000 people traveled in buses arranged by the local FEA affiliates in each school district, or drove their own vehicles to Tallahassee the morning of  January 13th to gather in the Tallahassee Civic Center in preparation for the march.

Our Alachua County Education Association, in conjunction with the United Faculty of Florida and the Graduate Assistants Union at UF, organized 300 union members along with members of the ACLC, Democratic Socialists of America, Indivisible, Socialist Alternative of Florida and individual supporters of teachers and public education, for the rally.

As each new district arriving at the Civic Center received an ovation from their colleagues and friends already in the building.

The highlight came late in the morning when the announcement was made that the Polk County Education Association had arrived.

As many of you may know Polk County’s Superintendent, when she realized that more than 600 Polk County teachers and support workers had asked for, and received, a personal day off to attend the rally, contacted the Florida Dept. of Education and Education Commissioner, Richard Corcoran, about any “help” the DOE could provide in covering for those workers. Responding for the commissioner and the department, the general counsel of DOE advised the superintendent that this could be construed as a strike action and she could fire the workers and fine the union $20,000 a day for any missed days. The workers could also have their retirement cancelled under Florida’s law that precludes public employees from engaging in strike activities.

Under this potentially devastating threat Polk County brought their entire contingent of more than 600. Their entrance set of a sustained standing ovation from the crowd.

As did the introduction of the union president, Stephanie Yocum.

From the Civic Center we marched to the steps of the old capitol building where speakers including FEA’s top leaders, President, Fedrick Ingram, VP, Andrew Spar and Secretary-Treasurer, Carole Gauronskas; plus both national education union presidents, Randi Weingarten with AFT and Lily Eskelsen Garcia from NEA; and even the Rev. Al Sharpton, as well as public advocates for education from around our state, addressed the gathering on the urgency to support the plan for a “Decade of Progress” for public education in Florida.

The day ended with everyone energized and ready for the fight to “FUND OUR FUTURE”. The January 13th “Rally in Tally” is only the beginning!

You can join us in this fight: Text EdActivist to 31996.

Gainesville City Commissioner At-Large (2) Candidate Response: Reina E. Saco

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  1. Do you support paying a living wage for all City workers including part-time, temporary, seasonal, and contracted workers? (The ACLC defines a living wage as 125% of the Federal Poverty Level – currently $15.08 an hour) 

Yes. 

  1. The Gainesville Living Wage Ordinance for contractors has so many loopholes that it applies to almost no contracts the City currently has. To address this issue, the City of Gainesville started to look into updating the Ordinance in December 2015, but no action has been taken until December 2018 when a six-month study was started. What will you do to ensure the timely and effective changes needed to the Gainesville’s Living Wage Ordinance? 

As a commissioner, I would move to remove the loopholes to ensure that those who contract with the City are abiding by the spirit and goals of the City’s promise of a living wage. 

  1. What other ideas do you have to help improve wages and benefits for workers throughout our community? 

I think the City should continue to partner with programs like Project YouthBuild and Career Source to ensure that we support programs that train and prepare our citizens. I think the City should also look to strengthen our partnership with and adherence to apprenticeship programs to provide jobs and skills building for trade jobs. 

  1. What do you envision as the role of large local employers in Gainesville in helping to improve wages, benefit workers, and reduce inequalities? How have/would you encourage these large local employers to address these issues? 

If it were possible to set a city-wide minimum wage, then I would be a strong supporter of such a change. Unfortunately, such ordinances are preempted by the State Legislature. What the City can do at this point is continue to raise the floor for City employees so that the private sector is forced to change their practices and pay a living wage. 

  1. Do you support providing paid administrative leave for part-time, temporary, seasonal, and contracted City workers in the event of emergency work closures (e.g., hours missed due to a natural disaster)? 

Yes. I know that this has been addressed in the past, but a satisfactory policy has not been implemented. I would ensure that such a policy is finalized and enforced. 

  1. If you are an employer: Do you pay all your workers a living wage? If you do not: How are you making an effort to do so? 

I am not an employer. 

  1. Do you support a “Renters Bill of Rights’” which would: a. Offer an alternative to costly courts to settle disputes over security deposits and damages. b. Protect renters from high utility bills by enacting policies that require landlords to make basic investments in energy and water efficiency. c. Require universal licensing and safety/health inspections of all rental property. d. Offer protections against discrimination based on source of income and citizenship status. e. Ensure greater disclosure of renters’ rights and responsibilities. 

Yes. I helped draft and advocated at City Hall for the passage of the Renters’ Bill of Rights. We should have had the ordinances read and approved by now, but City staff has delayed the release of a basic draft despite the current budget having set aside funds to employ new employees and to begin implementation of a policy that received unanimous support from the City Commission. Despite multiple requests for a timeline an estimated time of release for the draft of these policies, we have yet to receive a draft or real timeline on when these measures will be in effect. I am happy to say that the part about anti-discrimiantion passed at the County and is now in effect in the County and applies to all cities within. 

  1. What are some additional policies the City of Gainesville can enact to improve access to quality, safe affordable housing in our community? 

The City could, when making zoning decisions, to require developers to offer a portion of the units at a substantial discount from the other units. I hesitate to say that the rent price should be “affordable” simply because affordable is calculated as costing no more than a third of a person’s income. It’s difficult to calculate or predict a price if that is the model used. But developers who wish to do business in our city must assume some responsibility and be conscientious when constructing in our city. We need homes other than luxury apartments and they should help in the production of affordable housing. 

  1. Do you support a local hiring preference that includes the use of certified apprenticeship programs for taxpayer funded projects? 

Yes. I think the City has a duty to give preference to local programs that are building up our future masters of trade skills. If possible, all City projects should include local apprentice labor. 

  1. Do you support offering free RTS bus passes for K-12 students and/or making RTS free for all Gainesville residents at the point of service? How can the City of Gainesville improve public transportation for people who rely on it and don’t work for UF? 

I support a completely fare-free RTS initiative. I would support a plan that expands the first-mile/last-mile pilot program that is currently in effect. I think we should invest more in public transportation to make it more accessible and intuitive for riders. 

  1. What is your position on SB168, which is the law that requires local governments to comply with ICE and detain people without a warrant? 

As an attorney, I believe that this law is both vague and unconstitutional. Its wording is dangerous for victims and survivors of violence. I have spoken out against this law being implemented at the local level and many times asked our current commission to sign on to the lawsuit against this law. 

  1. What would you do to advance healthcare outcomes in black and brown communities as well as racial equity overall in our community? What steps can the City of Gainesville take to address unequal access to quality food? 

I would support continuing the GFR Community Resource Paramedic program that provides holistic services and follow-up after a 911 call. With the lack of adequate healthcare coverage facing the country as a whole, programs like this help identify issues in recurrent cases and help provide solutions. While there isn’t much that can force developers and grocery chains to consider opening new locations, the City can look to Baldwin, FL for a potential solution. I would support the City operating a simple grocery store that provided fresh and affordable food to neighborhoods that are otherwise too far from a grocery store. 

  1. What will you do to ensure UF is a better corporate citizen in Gainesville (e.g., payments in lieu of taxes, moving more services to GRU, etc.)? 

The University of Florida has only started an open dialogue with the city in the last few years as they have continued to expand downtown. With the expanded growth of ‘preeminence,’ UF should look more to the city to help with issues such as transportation and affordable housing. While there is no magic solution to make UF take a greater role in this community, I do feel that at least having open dialogue is progress. 

  1. How will you work with UF to ensure better access to affordable, quality housing in Gainesville? 

I think acknowledging that we are a company town and including the university in future conversations about housing needs would be a good start. Trying to incorporate UF into the City’s vision and attempts to improve 

workforce and affordable housing is a must if we are to create positive change.

Gainesville City Commissioner At-Large (2) Candidate Response: Gabe Kaimowitz

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Introduction

Florida is a right to work state.  Your coalition has no power. I have been here for 27 years and I have never known your coalition to call for a wildcat strike, a slowdown, a sit-in, a march against an offensive body, e.g., UF utility provider Duke Energy, or a campaign—not a Jeremiah performance to plead that the City be nice– to support visibly the oppressed Gainesville Regional Transportation Union, when several members told horror stories about unfair discipline, overtime hours, discriminatory pay practices.  Your mayor Po’ Poe urged them to take individual grievances within the framework of a contract. When the new contract was renewed, the Coalition was silent. It could have cheered or jeered. But Jeremiah is the polite union champion. Far be it for the coalition to clap or cheer when a labor organization gets a good agreement or to boo in the Auditorium when it does not. In short, you guys are a joke.

But you are used effectively by the Democratic Partly Executive Committee of Alachua County to pretend there is a local labor voice. So you will proudly endorse their candidate for the at-large City Commission seat- Harvey Ward’s financially supported darling of the left (yeah right) Reina Saco, ardent activist in Students for Justice in Palestine, Inc., during her salad days at the Levin School of Law, 2015-2017, an organization which does not trouble itself in being clear whether it is anti-Zionist, anti-Jewish, or both.

However, your Mayor Lauren Poe does not include you in his pretense Friendship 7, which includes the Chamber of Commerce.  So it stands to reason that the City Commission is not listening to you whenever there is a conflict with the Chamber of Commerce.

What is disgraceful is your willingness to be a pretend voice, e.g. for any issue which might concern labor—e.g. Charter Review Commission, use of prisoners in the labor force, minimum wage, etc., and to show up in mass (e.g. two or three of you) to protest an inequity.  None of you—Jeremiah, Rosa, or Jayson—shows any inclination to listen to anyone else.

For instance on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2019, all three of you showed, and applauded the City’s willingness to consider the tough issues, e.g. minimum wage for all people in all of the businesses run by contractors and subcontractors and vendors.

Y’all didn’t utter a peep when I complained that the City EO Office failed in recent years to report on the few contracts or purchases Gainesville makes with or from minority contractors or vendors.   Were the minimum wage demands imposed across the board, minority contractors and vendors likely would disappear altogether.

Please, please.  Travel outside of Gainesville to, say, California, to see what happens when you have a real union in the vicinity—say, for example a place where teachers strike from time to time—not just go to Tallahassee to bleat that teachers are underpaid.

As organizer of not one—but two successful labor organizations—e.g. Group 4 unfair labor practice success against a magazine publisher, and the local at Latino Justice, chapter of National Organization of Legal Service Workers, UAW-AFL-CIO—I deplore the support you lend to the phony image that Gainesville is a progressive city.  Read on!

  1. I support a minimum wage for most workers but given that there is fixed budget I would prefer that experienced Public Works employees, and older workers get raises rather than have young part-time lifeguards get the increase.  As for contracted workers, see what I have written previously about having more minority businesses paying workers less than minimum wages than having fewer minority businesses, perhaps with no employees at all because they cannot afford minimum wages.
  2. I would join a demand in writing that the 2018 report be published immediately.  I would join the Coalition in asking for the public record trail to reveal the actual City response to this initiative and I would urge the Coalition to hire an attorney to get those records when they are withheld by the City, as they invariably are.
  3. I would suggest that a Coalition delegation go to every mass media in Gainesville—Sun, Guardian (sic), Alligator, Iguana, Fine Print, Sinclair and Fox Communication as well as ABC-TV, WUFT—to publicize the comparative poverty in this area. When those efforts fall on deaf ears, I would call for a mass demonstration at the outlet—hell; it would be unprecedented to have such a protest on the lot and in the outer offices of the Gainesville Sun, Guardian, and Alligator.
  4. To encourage large employers to do right by their employees—e.g., Publix—I would have rotating pickets periodically at each Publix store, for just an hour or so but sooner or later Publix would notice.  I certainly would get UF/SFCC students involved with leaflets to them and by them throughout the community to stress a prepared list of demands which are not being met.
  5. As for paid administrative leave in the event of emergency closures, I would have to know the specific events which have happened before I could answer this question intelligently.
  6. I have been an employer only once—as director of Greater Orlando Area Legal Services, Inc. (GOALS)  I learned that the predominantly white union of lawyers in fact was a company union which separately itself off the predominantly minority support staff, because they feared their salaries would be cut across the board by the Reagan-controlled Legal Services Boar.   I blew the whistle on my employees, forced the leaders flee to Boston Legal Services, and I was justifiably terminated. Either you’re a boss or a worker. You can’t be both.
  7. I would form a Renters’ organization before I did anything and support what its members believed they actually could accomplish—instead of your B.S. goody-two-shoes bullshit.
  8. There is nothing the City can do.  The history of allowing contractors to build wherever and whenever they pleased has prevented any serious attempt to create affordable housing.  The fact that the lone attempt to do so—Heartwood, the vestige of Kennedy Homes—has failed miserably should be a lesson to all of you B.S. artists that affordable housing is not going to happen, short of a nationwide depression.  The one organization which might become more involved in advocating for affordable housing would be the VA, especially for veterans with military service compensation because of injuries suffered while on active duty.
  9. I certainly support any pay/benefits apprenticeship programs in Gainesville including the creation of such at local high schools.

10 I support free RTS bus passes for K-12 students.  You should not be worried about improving transporting but advocating for RTS union employees.  Despite your stupid belief that you can come to a fork in the road and take both, stop advocating for issues which actually hurt workers, e.g. RTS workers.   Add more routes without getting more benefits and protections for drivers will cause them to flee.

  1. Gainesville should be a sanctuary city and take the punishment meted out to those communities by the Trump Administration.
  2. Oh, go babble with Commissioners Johnson and Simmons and Mayor Poe’s endless workshops, book clubs, and meetings on these issues. These are NOT labor concerns.  You are not all things to all people. Poor people and poor workers’ interests often clash, especially when you are dealing with public agencies with comparatively fixed budgets.   My father, a radical beyond your imagination, was a racist, because he believed based on facts, which the poor, often minorities, scabbed because they needed the dough, in the garment industry factories when those employers faced union action.  There are contradictions that you simpletons refuse to acknowledge as you come down on the “right side” with someone else’s money.
  3. I will support any leafleting campaign on the campus to let the students know about the abuses by University of Florida.
  4. This is the stupidest question of the lot—how will you work with UF to ensure better access to affordable, quality housing in Gainesville?  UF is the employer, the large employer. They are your alleged adversary.

Finally, the Coalition used to hold a forum before it endorsed the candidates of the Democratic Party of Alachua County.  I suspect that you could not must a real crowd to attend. Regardless, I would urge you to set up a debate between you all and me on these issues (Of course, that is the same “never going to happen” action as those you preposterously invent.   Gabe Kaimowitz, J.D. 1967, M.A. 1988, B.S., B.A., 1952, 2013.

Gainesville City Commissioner At-Large (2) Candidate Response: Scherwin L. Henry

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1.Do you support paying a living wage for all City workers including part-time, temporary, seasonal, and contracted workers? (The ACLC defines a living wage as 125% of the Federal Poverty Level – currently $15.08 an hour).

 

Yes.  I do support paying a living wage for all City workers including part-time, temporary, seasonal, and contracted workers.

 

2. The Gainesville Living Wage Ordinance for contractors has so many loopholes that it applies to almost no contracts the City currently has. To address this issue, the City of Gainesville started to look into updating the Ordinance in December 2015, but no action has been taken until December 2018 when a six-month study was started. What will you do to ensure the timely and effective changes needed to the Gainesville’s Living Wage Ordinance?

 

I would support modifying the bid process.  You could modify the bid process by setting certain percentages of hires from certain underrepresented groups.  I would like to see chances given to ex-felons, apprenticeships, and even hiring residents from the neighborhood or the community in which the project or development will be built.  

 

 

3. What other ideas do you have to help improve wages and benefits for workers throughout our community?

 

There must be a concentrated effort to invest in our human capital i.e. job training for the under skilled workers, better education for our children, and expanding our economy to help the under employed.  Employers in Gainesville have to change their mentality when it comes to hiring.  For decades because of UF and the pool of students from which employers can hire, Gainesville has experienced a wage suppression.  Somehow, there has to be a change in the hiring practices and wage scale. We must make a concentrated effort to bring the level of jobs to our city that will have an impact on wages.  The Airport industrial Park is an example of missed opportunity to do that. 

 

 

4. What do you envision as the role of large local employers in Gainesville in helping to improve wages, benefit workers, and reduce inequalities?How have/would you encourage these large local employers to address these issues?

 

I envision as the role of large local employers in Gainesville in helping to improve wages, benefit workers, and reduce inequalities paying a livable wage, becoming a community partner which will support he organizations advocating for these changes. These large local employers to address these issues would have to see the benefit it would make for their companies.  The benefit would be a better trained workforce, a more educated workforce, and a more diverse workforce.

 

 

5. Do you support providing paid administrative leave for part-time, temporary, seasonal, and contracted City workers in the event of emergency work closures (e.g., hours missed due to a natural disaster)?

 

Of course I do, that is the best case scenario but it’s not that simple.  We have to realize the fact that some businesses just can’t afford to do that.  In this instance, I will give the business owner the benefit of the doubt. I truly believe you will have some business owners that will take care of their workers.  Others desire to compensate their workers but can’t pay them full compensation, and then there are some who will pay them nothing. Unfortunately, all we can do is be a voice for the workers and set the atmosphere to make it happen.  Now I do support this if workers for city government are affected in this manner.

    

 

6. If you are an employer: Do you pay all your workers a living wage? If you do not: How are you making an effort to do so?

 

No.  I am not an employer.

 

7. Do you support a “Renters Bill of Rights’” which would:

 

  • Offer an alternative to costly courts to settle disputes over security deposits and damages.
  • Protect renters from high utility bills by enacting policies that require landlords to make basic investments in energy and water efficiency.
  • Require universal licensing and safety/health inspections of all rental property.
  • Offer protections against discrimination based on source of income and citizenship status.
  • Ensure greater disclosure of renters’ rights and responsibilities.

 

 

     I support a “Renters Bill of Rights”.

 

8. What are some additional policies the City of Gainesville can enact to improve access to quality, safe affordable housing in our community?

 

Affordable housing should not be located in one area or community of our city.

For families that are below the poverty line, there might be a need to subsidize the cost to rent. I would like to pursue developing a consistent and perpetual funding source for affordable housing such as a housing trust. 

 

 

9. Do you support a local hiring preference that includes the use of certified apprenticeship programs for taxpayer funded projects?

 

Yes. I do.  This relates to the answer in question 3.

 

10. Do you support offering free RTS bus passes for K-12 students and/or making RTS free for all Gainesville residents at the point of service? How can the City of Gainesville improve public transportation for people who rely on it and don’t work for UF?

 

I support offering free RTS bus passes for K-12 students.  If I’m not mistaken, that’s something RTS has already implemented.  At this point, I can’t agree to make RTS free for all Gainesville residents at the point of service.  For people who rely public transportation and don’t work for UF we must increase the frequency of the bus routes so residents who live for instance, in east Gainesville will have more frequent and better access to public transportation.  Gainesville is a car city. It is a car city because the residents want to travel in a timely manner. Bus route frequency must be improved to increase ridership. 

 

11.  What is your position on SB168, which is the law that requires local governments to comply with ICE and detain people without a warrant?

 

First of all, we have to obey the law.  Should the City of Gainesville devote resources specifically to seek out and detain people without a warrant?  I don’t think so. We have more important things for our law enforcement people to do. There are more pressing needs for which our members of law enforcement should be involved.

 

12. What would you do to advance healthcare outcomes in black and brown communities as well as racial equity overall in our community? What steps can the City of Gainesville take to address unequal access to quality food?

 

When it comes to advancing healthcare outcomes, I would reach out to our healthcare partners.  The City of Gainesville does not possess the expertise in healthcare. It would be important to develop a vision with our partners to educate, treat, and institute preventative measures to improve health outcomes in the black and brown communities.  An important step that should be taken is to insure access by locating urgent care centers in the communities to service these residents. We need to address the food desert issue.  Communities such as east Gainesville suffers greatly from unequal access to quality food.  Not one grocery store exists in east Gainesville. Maybe a food co-op might be a solution. There might also be an opportunity to bring an up and coming grocer or entice a local grocer that would serve our underserved communities like east Gainesville.

 

13. What will you do to ensure UF is a better corporate citizen in Gainesville (e.g., payments in lieu of taxes, moving more services to GRU, etc.)?

 

What I will do to ensure UF is a better corporate citizen in Gainesville is to impress upon the University of Florida the benefit of being a better corporate partner.  One way UF can be a better corporate partner is to support the City of Gainesville by purchasing more energy from GRU. Secondly, as UF buys land near and around campus, UF should somehow find a way to compensate the city monetarily for the lost ad valorem taxes that will not be collected.  Thirdly, UF should be very cognizant and respectful to how change impacts neighborhood character when they expand into city. 

 

14. How will you work with UF to ensure better access to affordable, quality housing in Gainesville?

 

The University of Florida is one of many community partners I will work with to ensure better access to affordable, quality housing in Gainesville.  Specifically, it will be important to make the case with the University that their role as a partner to ensure better access to affordable, quality housing would benefit their workforce.

Gainesville City Commissioner District 3 Candidate Response: David I. Arreola

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  1. Do you support paying a living wage for all City workers including part-time, temporary, seasonal, and contracted workers? (The ACLC defines a living wage as 125% of the Federal Poverty Level – currently $15.08 an hour) 

Yes. 

  1. The Gainesville Living Wage Ordinance for contractors has so many loopholes that it applies to almost no contracts the City currently has. To address this issue, the City of Gainesville started to look into updating the Ordinance in December 2015, but no action has been taken until December 2018 when a six-month study was started. What will you do to ensure the timely and effective changes needed to the Gainesville’s Living Wage Ordinance? 

I will continue to push my colleagues and our staff to close loopholes by writing more stringent language. I want to make sure we write an ordinance that provides for adequate reporting of the wages each contractor pays to their employees to guarantee they are following our ordinance. 

  1. What other ideas do you have to help improve wages and benefits for workers throughout our community? 

I supported budgeting $3MM for wage increases for all city employees. We are exploring restructuring our employer healthcare benefits, we are in the process of adding paid family leave for all city positions, and we will continue to increase our minimum wage until we get to $15. We will continue to set the example for other governments and institutions. In my personal capacity as Commissioner I will continue to support unionization (i.e. I supported the SF Adjuncts vote), the fight for $15 campaign, and ending prison labor (I also was the Commissioner to move that). 

  1. What do you envision as the role of large local employers in Gainesville in helping to improve wages, benefit workers, and reduce inequalities? How have/would you encourage these large local employers to address these issues? 

In my personal capacity as Commissioner I will continue to advocate for the major employers in Gainesville increase their minimum wage, increase other wages to reach midpoint averages, and address disparities such as: gender wage gaps, issues in diversity, etc. 

  1. Do you support providing paid administrative leave for part-time, temporary, seasonal, and contracted City workers in the event of emergency work closures (e.g., hours missed due to a natural disaster)? 

Yes. 

  1. If you are an employer: Do you pay all your workers a living wage? If you do not: How are you making an effort to do so? 

N/A 

  1. Do you support a “Renters Bill of Rights’” which would: Offer an alternative to costly courts to settle disputes over security deposits and damages. Protect renters from high utility bills by enacting policies that require landlords to make basic investments in energy and water efficiency. Require universal licensing and safety/health inspections of all rental property. Offer protections against discrimination based on source of income and citizenship status. Ensure greater disclosure of renters’ rights and responsibilities. 

Yes, and I have the voting record to prove it. 

  1. What are some additional policies the City of Gainesville can enact to improve access to quality, safe affordable housing in our community? 

Incentivize affordable housing by requiring certain allocations of affordable housing within major housing projects. Also increasing code enforcement to go after property owners who do not upkeep their rental homes. 

  1. Do you support a local hiring preference that includes the use of certified apprenticeship programs for taxpayer funded projects? 

Yes. 

  1. Do you support offering free RTS bus passes for K-12 students and/or making RTS free for all Gainesville residents at the point of service? How can the City of Gainesville improve public transportation for people who rely on it and don’t work for UF? 

Yes, if this is what the people want. 

  1. What is your position on SB168, which is the law that requires local governments to comply with ICE and detain people without a warrant? 

This law represents the continued erosion of the American Republic and should be challenged. I continue to hope the Commission will join my lead in wanting to challenge this law as a City. 

  1. What would you do to advance healthcare outcomes in black and brown communities as well as racial equity overall in our community? What steps can the City of Gainesville take to address unequal access to quality food? 

I will continue to support projects like the Community Resource Paramedics to focus on inequality. I am also interested in exploring ideas for additional municipal health care options through partnerships with hospitals and providers. 

I will continue to advocate for more sustainable food grocers in East Gainesville in partnership with UF and Working Food. 

  1. What will you do to ensure UF is a better corporate citizen in Gainesville (e.g., payments in lieu of taxes, moving more services to GRU, etc.)? 

I will continue to advocate for a health UF-Gainesville partnership by focusing our policy goals on reducing inequities. So far we have seen progress in the areas of health, transit, public safety. I want us to follow these up with more investment from UF-Gainesville including additional funding for Food Security. I have always advocated for UF using more GRU services but the PSC has not expressed interest in changing UF’s jurisdiction from Duke Energy. 

  1. How will you work with UF to ensure better access to affordable, quality housing in Gainesville? 

I will advocate for affordable housing commitments (i.e. certain % of units are affordable) from developers in their major projects. If UF brings forward housing projects I will advocate for similar commitments from UF.