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About SFJWJ
Yvonne Hislop is a disabled mother of two, an immigrant from Nicaragua and a resident of Palm Lakes Mobile Home Park. “I cannot understand why they want to close our park—this is the only home I have. With the cooperation of park residents and Jobs with Justice we have been able to stop the evictions and are now forming Homeowner’s Associations,” says Yvonne. This year alone, seven parks have been closed in Miami-Dade County, as park owners are lured by the huge profits made from the redevelopment of mobile home land.
In the past twelve months, South Florida Jobs with Justice (SFJwJ) has forced the passage of a countywide moratorium on the redevelopment of mobile home parks, affecting 47 neighborhoods in Miami-Dade County (approximately 21,000 low income Latin@ residents). We have partnered with the Florida Housing Coalition to find resources to create a resident-owned cooperative at the second largest park in the County. At five of the parks, we have organized residents to create Homeowner’s Associations which offer some legal protection from rapacious landowners.
SFJwJ protects working families—in the neighborhood and in the workplace. This year, we won a class action suit involving violations of the Miami Living Wage law at the Orange Bowl stadium in which 200 workers received over $100,000 in unpaid back wages. At the core of our mission is making sure that public money benefits the community. SFJwJ secured union participation and local hiring on the demolition phase of the new Marlin’s stadium project and led negotiations with the Marlins franchise and Major League Baseball resulting in a draft Cooperation Agreement with the goal of securing good paying jobs, the hiring of local minority contractors and the inclusion of residents’ feedback in the planning phase of the project.
These victories add up. It’s not just money, but dignity at home and on the job. If you are like us, then you want to make sure that working families get more of their share!