History

    

The Miami Workers Center was founded in Liberty City in 1999 by former labor organizers Gihan Perera and Tony Romano and residents from the Liberty City neighborhood in Miami. Building on contacts from labor organizing Gihan and Tony decided to investigate how people were dealing with exploitation not just on the job but in the community. 

Liberty City

The first grassroots council started by the Miami Workers Center was Minority Families Fighting Against Wages, Wages was the name given to welfare. MFFAW organized against welfare reform during the Clinton era, built community leaders, and engaged in political eduction.

MFFAW eventually became Low-Income Families Fighting Together, LIFFT. LIFFT was primarily based in Liberty Square aka Pork n' Beans and Scott Carver Homes, two public housing developments in Liberty City. Both developments were threatened with destruction by a federal program called HOPE VI. Hope VI was  a program administered by Housing and Urban Development and the local housing agency.

In 2001 organizers from the Miami Workers Center as well as leaders from LIFFT took two busses of residents to Washington DC and stormed the office of Housing and Urban Development. They shut down the whole building. Residents met with the undersecretary of HUD and secured a promise to not tear down the Pork n' Beans, as a result it still stands today.  

Scott Carver Homes was not saved. The county tore down all 850 units. Over the next 7 years the Miami Workers Center and LIFFT lead a campaign that fought for the replacement of those housing units.  In 2007 the county signed an agreement which met all of the campaign demands. The homes are currently being rebuilt.

Over the course of those seven years LIFFT and MWC engaged in many other campaigns. Together they won compensation for slumlord residents,  funding for in-home childcare workers, and defended the rights of public housing residents.

throughout this time several leaders in LIFFT made a name for themselves as voices for the community: Ms. Yvonne Stratford, Ms. Mary Nesbitt (RIP), Ms. Mary Wadley, and Ms. Erie Bendross. These leaders set an example for future leaders to follow.

Wynwood

In 2005 MWC, with support from LIFFT, expanded its neighborhood organizing into the Wynwood neighborhood. Wynwood was a historically Puerto Rican community which now is home to a sizable Central American population. Over several years MWC organizers, along with community residents built Miami en Accion/Miami in Action (MIA) - a second grassroots council.

MIA's main work for it's first two years was supporting the fight for Justice at Scott Carver Homes. In 2008 leaders in the community took on the fight to rebuild a community center at Roberto Clemente Park. Roberto Clemete Park had fallen into disrepair because of the city's lack of maintenance, eventhough it was a public park.  Early in 2010 MIA celebrated a victory when the new community center was opened as a direct result of their campaign in the  neighborhood.

MIA leaders and members have supported many fights through out the state and nationally. In the beginning of 2010 MIA member Wilfredo Mendoza joined We Count!, a community organization in south Miami, on a hunger strike demanding an end to unfair immigration laws.

Over the last five years several leaders in MIA have made a name for themselves as voices of the community: Ms. Gloria Adkins, Ms. Olga Ramos, Andres Ganzalez, Norma Marguerin, and Amelia Davila.

Onward!

Miami Workers Center continues to build the collective power of low-income African American and Latino communities. Please see our calendar for upcoming events or contact our staff if you have more questions.