Immigrant Public Service Workers Never Quit on the Sunshine State

AFSCME Florida is proud to represent the hard-working men and women who make our country and our state the great melting pot of cultures, ideas and people that it has been and will continue to be. Members are disgusted by President Donald Trump’s comments describing Haiti, El Salvador and African countries as “shithole countries” and saying the Haitian immigrants must be left out of any immigration deal.

“There can be no doubt that instead of trying to make all our country stronger, President Trump sees his job as to represent only those that he feels are worthy enough,” said AFSCME International Vice President and AFSCME Local 199 President Se'Adoreia Brown. “AFSCME members and our leadership condemn this continued divisive rhetoric and the policies it supports. We never quit serving our communities no matter who lives there, what language they speak, the color of their skin, who they choose to love or any other difference. We make America happen, all of America. That is what we stand for. That is who we are today and who we will proudly continue to be.”

“President Trump doesn't know the first think about my life, my family or the country I come from,” said Gregory Adebaworin, an AFSCME Local 1363 member. “I came to this country to escape conditions that he couldn't begin to comprehend. But since I've been here I work hard every day to make America great by supporting our nation's health care safety net as a mental health technician at Jackson Memorial Hospital. I love the country I came from, I'm proud to be Haitian but given the chance I will do more to make this country strong than he ever will.”

Florida has long been a destination for immigrant workers thanks to our size and diversity. From Little Havana and Little Haiti in South Florida to the growing Puerto Rican population in central Florida, our neighbors are proud to be Floridians while still honoring their own history and culture.

“America is not just a country but an ideal of freedom and justice and our members will not let that vision end on our watch,” said IVP Brown. “Hard work defines who we are, not your family pedigree. Support your neighbor is what we ask of you, not where are your papers. Do your piece to make our world better for tomorrow’s generation and AFSCME members will call you our brother and our sister and welcome you.”