Inbox: Aircraft fuelers employed by Orlando International Airport contractor Menzies Aviation successfully unionized w/ @transportworker via voluntary union recognition, expanding TWU’s presence at MCO.

US Rep Maxwell Frost has endorsed Angie Nixon for US Senate, to flip the Florida seat currently held by GOP Sen. Ashley Moody Nixon is a progressive state rep who supports Medicare for All, the PRO Act, taxing billionaires, and protecting communities from energy-hungry data centers

Today, the U.S. House Ed & Workforce Committee is discussing HR 6213, a bill that seeks to block OSHA from finalizing a Biden-era rule intended to protect workers against extreme heat. It has 60 co-sponsors (all GOP), including Florida gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds.

Florida's largest teachers union, the United Teachers of Dade, appears to have prevailed in its latest recertification election conducted by the state. It's a win for the state's labor movement against anti-union policies—targeting teachers unions—championed by Gov. DeSantis.

Oddly, Planned Parenthood locations in Florida are still searchable through the state Department of Health website, where they are listed as a "pharmacy."

FYI: Unions still exist at Florida’s New College @afscme.bsky.social in spite of efforts by the state to eliminate them (A faculty union, United Faculty of Florida, is still certified on campus, too, despite the exodus of professors since DeSantis’s hostile takeover of the liberal arts college)

Starbucks workers at a store in Florida’s Panhandle have filed a petition to unionize with @sbworkersunited.org

A prominent figure in Orlando’s punk community has made the difficult decision to self-deport to Jamaica after being arrested & detained by ICE last month. Several benefits shows have been organized by bands since to help cover his business and legal costs www.orlandoweekly.com/news/orlando...

Amazon alone reported more than $26 million in spending on union avoidance consultants in 2025, including consultants who are based in or subcontracted through firms based in Florida.

According to an annual financial disclosure report filed with the U.S. Department of Labor, Amazon reportedly spent $26.6M last year on 'union avoidance' services. Two of the seven 'union avoidance' firms Amazon contracted are based in Florida. Source: olmsapps.dol.gov/query/orgRep...

In light of the latest targeted effort to undermine if not eliminate Florida’s public sector unions via SB 1296, am currently reading Joe Burns’ “Strike Back” (2018 edition)

Records filed with the U.S. Department of Labor show the Forth Worth Report hired LRI Consulting, the most active union-busting firm in the country, at a rate of $425/hour in mid-February to persuade journalists not to unionize with the @newsguild.org They voted to unionize anyway.

In addition to talking points for HB 743, emails I obtained through a records request show a lobbyist for Do No Harm also wrote an op-ed in support of the bill. It was later published word-for-word by FloridaPolitics under both the Senate and House bill sponsors' names.

The sign for Orlando’s Pulse nightclub, the site of a deadly 2016 mass shooting that killed 49, was formally taken down by the city today to make way for a permanent memorial. Construction is expected to begin this summer, w/ an estimated completion of Sept 2027 @orlandoweekly.bsky.social

Rusty Brown, a lobbyist for the Freedom Foundation — a primary backer of anti-union legislation (SB 1296) rapidly advancing thru the FL Legislature — openly admits his group’s goal is to reduce or eliminate public sector unions, not just boost “accountability”

Florida union members plan to rally this Monday to protest Wisconsin-style anti-union legislation that would effectively make it harder for most public employees to form or retain their existing unions. The Senate bill's final committee stop is Monday at 12pm.

One of Florida's pettier and underappreciated union-busting strategies (justified as a change in budget priorities) implemented over the last year is the state's refusal to provide return postage for public employees who are only allowed to vote in a union election by mail.

Bummed that general admission is closed/sold out for the 2026 @labornotes.bsky.social conference but glad it’s popular and already feeling the FOMO

Florida GOP Sen. Massullo forgets what his anti-union bill does, claims it would require employers to sign neutrality agreements w/ unions in order to receive state economic incentives when in fact (after being pressed by Sen. Smith) he is forced to admit he was “incorrect” and it does the opposite

“If this bill passes … there is absolutely no reason that a McDonald’s franchisee owner can’t declare all of the jobs in his restaurant as work study, and then compel people in the community to sign away their minimum wage rights” — Dr. Rich Templin of the Florida AFL-CIO on Florida’s HB 221

Tomorrow, a FL Senate committee will hear a bill (SB 1236) that would incentivize employers to make it harder for workers in the private sector to form unions & discourage neutrality. It's similar to model legislation drafted by ALEC that's been passed (in some form) in AL, GA, & TN 🧵

Two anti-worker bills in Florida have just been scheduled for committee hearings this week. One (HB 221) would allow employers to pay certain workers less than the minimum wage. Another (HB 995) would make it easier for the state to dissolve local and state government unions.

Made it over to St Pete, FL to cover the launch of democratic socialist city councilman Richie Floyd’s reelection campaign for St Pete City Council (pictured here with his wife Miranda, who is also a DSA member) @cltampabay.bsky.social

Workers at an Ace Hardware distribution warehouse in Plant City, FL (near Tampa) have filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to unionize with the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) www.nlrb.gov/case/12-RC-3...

Florida Republican state senator Ralph Massullo has filed a bill (SB 1236) that would disincentivize private employers from granting voluntary union recognition or signing neutrality agreements with unions during organizing drives, if passed www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill...

Florida Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka has refiled a bill that, if passed, would: 1) make it easier for the the state to decertify public sector unions 2) increase fines for public sector strikes 3) eliminate the option of seeking voluntary union recognition from a public employer

Florida Democrat Angie Nixon has, once again, refiled a bill for 2026 to create a state department of labor in Florida. Florida has lacked a state labor dept since former Gov Jeb Bush abolished the state department of Labor and Economic Security in the early 2000s www.flhouse.gov/sections/bil...

The Florida Education Association, a state affiliate of the NEA and AFT representing more than 123,000 public school teachers and school staff, has released a resolution in solidarity with striking Starbucks workers organized with Starbucks Workers United: feaweb.org/release/reso...

Sizable turnout for a picket line organized by Allegiant pilots represented by the Teamsters Local 2118 @ Orlando-Sanford Airport They’re joining pilots at 21 other airports today for a picket (not a strike) to raise awareness of their fight for a fair union contract @orlandoweekly.bsky.social

Lively cover for @cltampabay.bsky.social this week feat. a story I wrote on Central Florida pols’ reactions to the victory of @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social in NYC, including democratic socialist St. Pete city council member @richiejfloyd.bsky.social