Pinellas Democratic Socialists of America

Pinellas Democratic Socialists of America is a branch of Tampa Democratic Socialists of America.

Florida for $15

Kofi Hunt, a co-chair of the Pinellas Democratic Socialists of America, says the Florida for $15 campaign was unapologetically pro-worker in its messaging and spoke directly to the struggles of Florida’s working class. Hunt argues that the state’s multiracial working-class base more broadly didn’t get a staunch pro-worker message from either Trump or Biden, but concedes that the latter offered more of a worker-friendly platform. But Hunt and others involved in the Florida for $15 coalition argue Biden’s most pro-worker policies — such as universal pre-Kindergarten and a federal minimum wage boost — didn’t get the kind of limelight that could have benefitted him more on the campaign trail in Florida.

“The presidential election was largely about defeating Trump and not what Joe Biden would do for working people,” says Richie Floyd, a Pinellas DSA organizer and labor activist who contributed to Florida for $15 efforts. “During trips to Florida, Biden played ‘Despacito’ on his phone and pandered to right-wing voters in Miami. This strategy completely failed as we can see from the results out of Miami-Dade.”^[1]