Jacksonville, FL – On Saturday, August 30, workers came out in full force to demonstrate outside of Senator Rick Scott’s office in downtown Jacksonville. This rally, organized by the North Florida Central Labor Council and the North Florida Future Labor Leaders, was in protest to the onslaught on US workers by the current administration.

This protest was sparked by the AFL-CIO’s call for a “Workers' Labor Day.”

Union teachers, plumbers, longshoremen, electricians, logistics workers and city employees showed out and demonstrated the power of union solidarity. LJ Holloway, a rank-and-file member of the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA), led the chant: “United we bargain! Divided we beg!” Anyone in downtown Jacksonville could hear the echoes of the workers chanting, “Who’s got the power? We got the power! What kind of power? Worker power!”

Monica Gold, a middle school teacher and proud union member, told the crowd, “Within our building we have teachers, paraprofessionals and office personnel. We have maintenance workers, school bus drivers, cafeteria workers and custodians. And I think about how their victories are my victories, and how their losses are my losses, and that we’re so much stronger when we work together. I think it’s high time that we stop asking for things, but that we demand things.”

Many at the rally spoke on the Trump administration’s shameful attacks on unions and the working class as a whole, including the recent ruling on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Michael Sampson, an organizer and union rep for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) stated, “What we are seeing is the agenda of Donald Trump to starve us, to get rid of our unions, to get rid of the solidarity that we have with each other. Because he knows that having a union means having an organization, and having an organization of workers means having the ability to fight back against the agenda of corporate America.”

Shayne Tremblay, a union electrician and president of the North Florida Future Labor Leaders spoke on the need for solidarity, stating, “I believe that we need to take the winning strategy of solidarity that got us our unions, and we need to aim higher. We need to stand in solidarity, not just with our coworkers, but with every working person in this country. We need to organize all working people to turn this into a country that is for workers, by workers.”

The rally took place in one the most traffic-heavy parts of the city, and the workers got a plethora of honks and expressions of support from folks driving by.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #Labor #LaborDay #NFFLL #AFLCIO #ILA #AFSCME

Jacksonville, FL – On August 29, the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance (JIRA) held a protest against Governor DeSantis's planned concentration camp within the Baker County Correctional Facility. The protest took place within the center of Jacksonville, at the city's own Friendship Fountain.

After JIRA mobilized over 700 people to Camp Blanding on July 19, Governor Ron DeSantis changed the location of the planned detention camp from Camp Blanding to the Baker County Correctional Facility. The site was previously shut down in 2021, with inhumane conditions being one of the cited reasons.

A JIRA speaker called the project the “Baker Cruelty Camp” rather than the “Deportation Depot” as Ron DeSantis has dubbed it, stating, “Let's be clear: people were tortured in this building. Guillermo Serrabi was held in solitary for 88 days – he was assaulted by a guard who ruptured his eardrum, and he was denied medical care. Ana Doe, a survivor of trafficking, was placed in solitary, stripped, restrained and sexually mocked by guards! This is this facility's legacy. This is what DeSantis is reopening!”

The Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance organized the event which drew support from Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network, Jacksonville Community Action Committee, Students for a Democratic Society, the UPS Teamsters Union, FloridaRising, 50501 Veterans, the Malaya Movement, and the Democratic Socialists of America.

As dozens of protesters gathered atop the hill at Friendship Fountain, Monica Martinez with JIRA said, “This cruelty doesn't just affect those who end up inside its walls. This puts a target on the back of every immigrant in northeast Florida. Right now, ICE is operating indiscriminately – kidnapping and attempting to deport community members regardless of their status, tearing families apart and terrorizing our communities.”

Martinez then talked about a person recently detained within Duval County: Diana Marcela Mieja, owner of a small business within the Springfield area of Jacksonville.

“This is not abstract!” Martinez said. “She was detained by ICE after a mental health crisis. She is a legal resident, a business owner, a beloved member of our community. This is who they are targeting! This is why we fight!”

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #ICE #JIRA #JPSN #JCAC #SDS #FloridaRising #50501 #Teamsters #MalayaMovement

Jacksonville, FL – On Wednesday, August 27, students at the University of North Florida rallied in protest against their university police department joining ICE’s 287(g) task force, a program that gives officers training and authorization to carry out immigration arrests.

The rally, organized by Jacksonville Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), mobilized over a dozen students. Protesters held signs reading, “We say: No UPD/ICE collaboration” and “No human is illegal,” while chanting, “Say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here!” Protesters raised demands including declaring UNF a sanctuary campus and pulling university police from the 287(g) task force.

“Let’s call this what it is – an attack on students,” said Angi Alva, a UNF student and member of SDS.

Alva continued, “We do not need university police acting as ICE on campus. This does not make students safer; it only presents a new danger.”

The rally started small but drew a crowd as it progressed. Several students walking by stopped to grab a sign and participate, saying they were glad to see people fighting back against the threat of deportations on campus. Around half a dozen students joined SDS on the spot.

The UNF Police Department submitted a request to join the ICE task force in April but didn’t receive confirmation until late in the summer. UNF administration has tried to keep quiet about the change, with UNF President Moez Limayem claiming university police are carrying out “business as usual” and saying student protesters are overreacting to the news.

However, recent events show the administration is hiding the severity of the threat to students. On the same day as the protest, UNF confirmed two officers were receiving ICE training, but only four days before, Limayem claimed no such training had been scheduled.

SDS Vice President Lorelai Dodge called out university administration on its lack of transparency, saying, “People need to realize admin is not on our side. The only ones we [students] can count on are ourselves.”

In addition to demanding a sanctuary campus, protesters also raised demands including protections for majors and DEI programs amid state budget cuts, as well as demanding divestment from Israel.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #StudentMovement #Trump #SDS