SEIU-FPSU President Alphonso Mayfield has been named Vice Chair of the Florida Democratic Party.

Politics in Florida have long been brutal for working families, especially people of color. For too long our voices have been drowned out by the wealth of corporate interests and the silence of those who are supposed to be representing us. With the selection of SEIU Florida Public Services Union President Alphonso Mayfield as Vice Chair of the Florida Democratic Party, we are emboldened to reaffirm our commitment to the struggle for racial and economic justice at the highest levels of elected office in our state. 

President Mayfield has a proven track record of building power where it matters, in our workplaces and communities. He takes with him the experience of a union organizer, a community leader, and above all, a working father. With this appointment, working people will truly have a seat at the table in Florida politics like never before, and as Mayfield has demonstrated over more than 10 years as President of SEIU-FPSU, leadership in our movement comes with the expectation of getting the job done for working families.

Right now the stakes couldn’t be higher in our state. As we face historic budget shortfalls in our schools and cities and perpetually fight legislation designed to strip our fundamental liberties, this time demands political representation that responds to the needs of everyday people like never before. We need candidates for elected office who don’t shy away from our demands for living wages, real democracy and an end to Jim Crow in our communities. We have to take this fight to our neighborhoods, our workplaces, and the ballot box if we are going to be successful. 

With President Mayfield as Vice Chair of the Florida Democratic Party, our sights are setting higher for transformative change in our state, and not a moment too soon. We have real work to do for millions of residents and their families who are struggling through the pandemic, and we hear these voices growing louder by the day. We are responding by building the influence of everyday people in every corner of Florida so that this movement cannot be denied, and our voices will finally be heard by those in power.