01/20/14
Sun-Sentinel, William Gibson
WASHINGTON — Can you get by in Florida on earnings of $7.93 an hour?
Florida’s minimum wage rose by 14 cents on Jan. 1, which makes it 68 cents higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 but still leaves hundreds of thousands of workers in the state hovering near the poverty line.
Now President Barack Obama wants to give them and millions of others across the country a raise to $10.10 an hour by 2016 through a gradual increase in the federal minimum wage. More than a million Florida workers would benefit because they now make less than $10.10 an hour, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
“I would be so, so happy,” said Wilna Destin, 39, who makes $9.02 an hour as a housekeeper at a Walt Disney World hotel. She and her husband, a kitchen worker who also makes $9.02, say the extra dollar would improve their lot as they raise two children.
“If I got, like, $10 an hour, I would be able to live in a better neighborhood,” she said. “And my children could go to a better school.”
The impact would be especially significant in Florida, which has the second-largest number of people making minimum wage after Texas, mostly because of the large numbers of workers in hotels, restaurants and other service industries.
Tia Mitchell, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Increasing Florida’s minimum wage would not only help families rise out of poverty but boost the overall economy, Democratic lawmakers said today.
It is unlikely their proposal to boost the minimum hourly wage about 27 percent will get much traction in the Republican-controlled Legislature, especially over objections from the business community. But Florida Democrats are aligning with a progressive cause that has become a national conversation.
Noting that today is the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon Johnson’s declaration of a “war on poverty,” Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, said raising the minimum wage was imperative to “closing what has been a growing income inequality gap.”
The proposals — Senate Bill 456 and House Bill 385 — would increase Florida’s minimum wage to $10.10 an hour for all workers. Congressional Democrats, with the backing of President Barack Obama, are pushing for the federal minimum wage to be increased to the same amount.
The minimum wage in Florida is currently $7.93 an hour and $4.91 for employees who are tipped. That includes a 14-cent increase that went into effect on Jan. 1, the result of a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2004 that tied required automatic cost-of-living adjustments.
Count Gov. Rick Scott among those who are dubious about the Democrats’ proposal.
“When I hear a politician say that we have to raise the minimum wage so working families can make ends meet, I cringe…
By Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel
Democrats launched a blistering attack Thursday on Gov. Rick Scott, heaping blame on him for deaths of 40 children who “were killed after being placed under your protection.”
The first salvo was a letter to the Republican governor from state Rep. Perry Thurston, a Broward Democrat and his party’s leader in the Florida House of Representatives.
Thurston combined emotional language — referring to “innocent children” whose “deaths were unimaginable and shocking to the conscience” — with an attack on Scott for “missteps,” “a mistake,” and “your ideological agenda.”
He faulted Scott for his “abject failure to protect these vulnerable children.” The 40 children in question were known to the Department of Children & Families when they died of abuse or neglect.
Broward County Democrats are proud to announce the “arrival” of Ed Schultz as the keynote speaker for their 2014 Unity Dinner. Schultz, host of the popular “The Ed Show” on MSNBC, has long been a voice for working families. “We as a nation are fortunate to have such a great advocate for the middle class and common sense,” said Democratic Chairman Mitch Ceasar.
Ed is also the host of his daily national radio show on SIRUS radio. The dinner will occur on Saturday evening, March 15, 2014. For further information please contact Chairman Mitch Ceasar at 954-475-2500.
The Broward Democrats have new website thanks to the teamwork from many of our Party members. The new website is a first step in a more robust media and communications offering from the Broward Democratic Party. Democratic Executive Committee leadership thoughtfully established a Technology Committee months ago to provide better outreach tools to help elect Democrats in Broward County. Through collaboration and hard work, the Party developed a communications plan which will continue to unfold over the coming months in anticipation for the important 2014 elections. We hope you find the information and resources provided useful in navigating the local, State, and national political landscape.
If you would like to be a part of our new communications efforts or receive updates on how you can help out the Broward Democratic Party please fill out the contact form on the home page.
Please feel free to provide any feedback or suggestions on how you think we can continue to improve our communication efforts. We value your input and look forward to working with our great members, electeds, and volunteers over the next year to help spread the Democratic message.
Thank you. Have a Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year.
Special thanks to Michael Worley of MDWComm, Mitch Ceasar and the DEC Management, members of the Technology Committee, and all our other great contributors.
By Mary Ellen Klas and Kathleen McGrory Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau
Sunday, December 8, 2013 3:16pm
For nearly three decades, this rural community in north central Florida was home to a bustling mill that was the principal employer for its 1,400
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residents.
Then, in November 2011, the recession-induced collapse of the housing market forced Georgia-Pacific to close its plywood plant.
All 400 employees were sent scrambling to find work — weeks before the holidays. And the mill that once produced the sawdust-covered staples of the state’s housing market stood idle, cutting off the lifeblood of the local economy.
“The mill was a boost to the entire town — the schools, churches, local businesses,” said Pastor Joe Williams. “All of a sudden, all that disappeared.”
Now, after two years the mill stands shuttered. Many of its employees have found other jobs but at lower wages, and local community leaders, who had hoped to get help from the state, say they are on their own.
“We’ve tried to sell ourselves to [the state Department of Economic Opportunity],” said Hawthorne Mayor Matthew Surrency, but the effort has yielded little return.
The story of Hawthorne is not one Gov. Rick Scott talks about on his public relations roadshow as the state’s “jobs” governor. It is a tale of the tens of thousands of private sector jobs lost in Florida since Scott took office in January 2011. It is about once robust manufacturing jobs that were replaced by lower-wage service sector employment. And it is about the thousands of companies already here that received little help with tax breaks or other incentives.
By Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel
8:08 p.m. EST, December 4, 2013
WEST PALM BEACH—
Even as Gov. Rick Scott’s top elections official suddenly backed away from a plan to restrict the way voters can return completed absentee ballots, Florida’s top Democrat accused the Scott administration of attempting to suppress voter turnout.
“It’s patently obvious. It’s an attempt to suppress the vote by people who otherwise might have difficulty getting to the polls on Election Day,” said U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., at a news conference Wednesday at the Palm Beach County Elections Office headquarters.
November 30, 2013|By Mark S. Pafford
As the Legislature begins the 2014 lawmaking session, it is critical to understand that this will be the 16th consecutive year that Florida has been under single-party control in the House, Senate and governor’s office.
Since 1996, the Republican Party has dictated tone and achievements that have, for good or bad, identified how Republican leaders think Florida needs to be run. I believe we need a change in Florida.
Floridians deserve to understand the truth about Republican domination and the consequences of single-party control in Tallahassee.
John Romano
Tampa Bay Times
November 30, 2013
They have called for his head, his job, his political future.
From the governor to the state Republican Party chairman to Democrats in every direction, the chorus has been predictably harmonious.
They say U.S. Rep. Trey Radel, a Republican from Fort Myers, should resign at midterm following his recent guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge of buying cocaine.
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In case you haven’t noticed, Ken Detzner keeps offering solutions to voting problems that seemingly do not exist. Making matters worse is that his solutions often have a chilling effect on the ability of regular folks to be able to vote, and they seem suspiciously directed toward groups that tend to vote for Democratic candidates.