Workplace Democracy
As a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Connell has a unique understanding of the difficulties that working people face every day. Unions have been under attack for decades and public officials have been bought out by billionaires and their corporate donors. We must put power back into the hands of workers because they are the ones who clock in everyday to feed their families while earning less than they deserve. When elected Connell Crooms will wage a long struggle to not only Raise the Minimum Wage in Florida and the United States to at least $15 but also fight to repeal Right to Work (for less) laws and secure good paying jobs for working people who make America run. We must organize more workers into unions when the government fails but we also must expand the rights of every worker to a job that respects them and their contributions to society. We will also sponsor and advocate for legislation like the Protect the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act) and expand Weingarten Rights to non-union employees. We will propose and strengthen legislation that bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression in education, public housing, and employment.
worker co-op
In an era of rampant income inequality where just 26 billionaires can own about as much wealth as half the world’s population and in America the richest 10% hold nearly 200 times more income than the bottom 90% of American households combined. CEOs are on average making 400 times their lowest paid employees. Inequality has reached its highest levels in 50 years and with a booming Florida economy at the expense of taxpayers and workers we will have to get creative in how we are creating jobs and training displaced workers in a new and rapidly changing economy. We will create more worker cooperatives that close the gap in hiring disparities among marginalized groups while also serving a community good by addressing issues like food desserts. We will also work to expand access to STEM education and employment in poor communities where students will enter into labor apprenticeships and businesses that will be better servants to their communities as we begin the work of transforming Jacksonville’s and the rest of District 5 into a model for upward mobility and uplifting people from poverty.
