We Are Miami! Forum Brings 200+ Together as New Report Highlights Miami’s Affordability Crisis
More than 200 workers, union members and community leaders packed the IBEW Local 349 Union Hall on August 22 for the We Are Miami! SOMOS Miami Community Forum, an upbeat evening of music, food and organizing around the challenges facing Miami’s working families.
With a Latin band, dinner and chants of “¡Sí se puede!”, workers and community leaders spoke out about rising housing and food costs, healthcare, cuts to programs for families and seniors, attacks on immigrant communities, and the need for better wages and stronger workplace protections.
The forum also marked the release of “Buscando El Sueño: Listening to Working-Class Latino Miami,” a new report based on the SOMOS MIAMI Deep Canvass Project led by UNITE HERE Local 355 members and canvassers.
From March through June, canvassers went door to door across Miami to hear directly from working-class Latino voters. The project resulted in 31,789 doors knocked, 2,730 conversations, 2,381 completed surveys and 1,435 residents signing commitment cards to stay involved.
The findings show just how deeply the affordability crisis is affecting Miami families. 77% said economic conditions are getting worse; 78% rated housing and utility costs at the highest level of difficulty; and 88% said the same about transportation and gas costs. The survey also found 98% support for protecting Medicare and Medicaid. Immigration was another major concern. 78% of respondents rated immigration as an issue of the highest importance, while 58% said current immigration developments left them feeling disappointed and 19% angry.
Miami-Dade County Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins, District 8, an endorsed candidate of the South Florida AFL-CIO who won her primary re-election bid, joined workers and residents at the forum.
The event was sponsored by UNITE HERE Local 355, SEIU Local 32BJ, SEIU Local 1991, South Florida AFL-CIO, IBEW Local 349, WeCount, Florida Rising, Miami Workers Center, Miami Freedom Project, PowerU, ENGAGE Miami, Florida Student Power and PACT. The entire program was presented in Spanish with English and Creole translation.
The report calls for action to lower the cost of living and raise wages, expand healthcare access, strengthen programs for children and seniors, and protect immigrant families.
For South Florida’s labor movement, the message coming from Miami’s working families is clear: people are ready to organize for an economy and a community where working people can afford to live and thrive.
¡Sí se puede!
