City Commissioner David Arreola remembers sitting at his college graduation ceremony surrounded by his schoolmates. They were all worried, wondering if the time and money they put into their degrees would get them jobs after.
“Year after year,” said 27-year-old Arreola, who graduated four years ago. “I watched my friends get their diplomas and walk off the other end of that stage headfirst into a recession in this state.”
His friends, along with other Florida residents, struggled to find jobs and had to leave the state, he said Wednesday at a protest.
Six people gathered outside of the closed Gainesville Job Corps Office at 11 a.m. for the Gainesville stop in the Rick’s Recession tour. The events seek to hold Gov. Rick Scott accountable for conditions in Florida following the 2007 recession. Arreola, the City of Gainesville District 3 commissioner, was one of the speakers alongside others including Alachua County Commissioner Ken Cornell.
The protest was organized by For Our Future, a progressive advocacy group that focuses on a number of issues that impact working families.
Blake Williams, communications director for the group, said job numbers are still below what they were before the recession in 36 out of 67 Florida counties. In addition, 45 percent of households are classified as “working poor,” which means their income falls below the poverty line although they’re a part of the labor force.
“One big bill could mean not making ends meet at the end of the month and could mean deciding between a car bill or an electric payment or things like that,” Williams said.
The Rick’s Recession tour website was launched last November at the end of Florida’s legislative session, Williams said. Alachua County was the tour’s third stop, after Volusia County and Tallahassee, where they protested outside Scott’s office.
James Ingle, president of a labor union called Gainesville chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said some jobs have been created during Scott’s terms as governor. However, they have been low-wage, short-hour jobs that don’t provide financial security, health insurance or other benefits.
Ingle said union electricians make “decent” money, but some members still decide to travel across the country — leaving behind their families — to make more money for the same jobs.
“We need better jobs, not just more jobs,” Ingle said.
City Commissioner David Arreola speaks outside of the closed Gainesville Job Corps Office on Wednesday for the Gainesville stop in the Rick’s Recession tour.
