Who's Who in South Florida

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers is a community-based worker organization of largely Latino, Haitian, and Mayan Indian immigrants working in low-wage jobs throughout the state of Florida. They fight for a fair wage, more respect from their bosses and the industries where they work, better and cheaper housing, stronger laws and stronger enforcement against those who would violate workers' rights, the right to organize without fear of retaliation, and an end to indentured servitude in the fields. They have won many of their major campaigns such as getting Taco Bell & McDonalds to agree to pay one penny more per pound of tomatoes, which is directly transferred to the tomato picker. Currently they are applying pressure to Burger King for the same agreement. The CIW is closely supported by the Student Farmworker Alliance.

Florida Alliance for a Clean Environment, long-standing grassroots group based in Collier County who has focused on pushing for truly clean renewable energy options

The Miami Workers Center helps working class people build grassroots organizations and develop their leadership capacity through aggressive community organizing campaigns and education programs. The Center has taken on issues around welfare reform, affordable housing, tenants and voter rights, racial justice, gentrification and economic development, and fair trade. We have spoken out against war and empire, greed, racist policies. and discriminatory initiatives against immigrants and gay and lesbian people.

The Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition connects environmental groups in the area, including Sierra Club, Earth First!, Reef Rescue, and others. They work on issues such as the FPL natural gas power plant, water management, coral reef destruction, and overdevelopment.

Project Awareness exists solely as a community of people concerned with the direction our country--and indeed the world at large--is taking. "We believe

it IS possible to make a difference. But first we have to be aware of what's going on and work together to change it." Project Awareness works on a variety of issues, including nuclear power, fossil fuel power, homelessnees, clean water, and prison issues.

Power U Center was an idea that emerged from the vision of people taking it to the streets, speaking out and recognizing their power for CHANGE! for the purpose of building an organizing base around urban issues with low-income, inner city neighborhood residents. PowerU is currently engaged in an environmental justice campaign with a focus on impacts in and around inner-city public schools. The political education arm of Power U is "Power University" which convenes monthly Saturday Schools to deepen the knowledge, skills, and analysis of our core leaders.

Reef Rescue is focused on defending the last living coastal reefs of south Florida from the threats of pollution, sewage outfall and ‘dredge and fill’ projects.

Save It Now Glades! spearheaded local opposition to the FPL coal plant proposal, now focusing on environmental justice issues in rural southwest Florida

Take Back the Land: Liberty City residents and supporters, led by the Center for Pan-African Development, squat on public land, to build housing for our own community. No government permission or money. We are liberating the land for our people. On October 23, 2006 a group of homeless people and local activists took over a vacant lot in central Miami. This grew into the Umoja Village Shantytown, which functioned as a self-sustaining community housing 50 otherwise homeless people, and as a center for community organizing, for six months before burning to the ground in an accidental fire. Take Back The Land also runs CopWatch, which monitors police interactions in the community.