State of Florida Archives: on Jobs
Andrew Gillum:
Supports state $15 minimum wage
Q: Minimum Wage: Increase from $8.25/hour?Ron DeSantis (R): No public statements found.
Andrew Gillum (D): Yes. Supports state $15 minimum wage.
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Florida Governor race
Oct 9, 2018
Al Franken:
2005: Fined $25,000 for failing to insure workers
On Franken's miscues on tax payments, "Franken Faces Penalties for Lack of Workers' Insurance," screamed a Minneapolis Star Tribune headline on March 5. Franken owed a twenty-five thousand dollar penalty to the
New York State Workers' Compensation Board for failing to carry workers' compensation insurance for employees of his corporation from 2002 to 2005.News reports said the Workers' Compensation Board began sending notices to
Franken as early as April 2005 after discovering that the insurance hadn't been paid for nearly three years.
Penalty notices went unanswered and unpaid. The candidate for the working man wasn't paying his worker's comp insurance, the bloggers screeched. This man wants to be a senator?
Source: This Is Not Florida, by Jay Weiner, p. 71
Sep 16, 2010
Andrew Gillum:
Legally require hiring more women & minorities
Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Legally require hiring more women/minorities"?
A: Strongly Support
Source: OnTheIssues interview of 2018 Florida Governor candidate
Jun 15, 2018
Brian Moore:
Legally require hiring more women/minorities
Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Legally require hiring more women/minorities"?A: I strongly support legally hiring all citizens as a right and not favor one group of people over another based on race, gender, color, sexual preference,
ethnicity, etc.ÿ As a socialist, I will guarantee full employment, with a fair wage to assure a quality of life, to all citizens, as a right, not a privilege.ÿ
Source: OnTheIssues.org interview on 2022 Florida Gubernatorial race
Apr 14, 2022
Charlie Crist:
Minimum wage increase good; living wage better
Crist reminds readers that although the state is rebounding economically, the hard times are not quite over yet for everyone. Crist's op-ed is as follows:"Right before Rick Scott was elected in 2010, he was asked about the minimum wage in Florida.
He didn't know what it was. Then, when he found out that the people of our state were receiving a 6-cent increase in 2011, he said he was disappointed.
I'm sure he'll be equally disappointed to read that despite his objections, the minimum wage in Florida will increase to $7.93 an hour on the first of the year.
"This is good news. Higher salaries mean more Floridians can provide for their families,
buy more essentials, and also try to get ahead. And we should do more. Displaced workers and low-wage workers deserve to earn a living wage. Unfortunately, Rick Scott just doesn't seem to get it."
Source: SaintPetersBlog coverage of 2014 Florida gubernatorial race
Dec 31, 2013
Edward Janowski:
No affirmative action; no quotas
Q: Do you support legally requiring hiring more women/minorities?A: I strongly oppose. We should look more into testing applicants and hiring those that are best qualified. Leaving ethnic background and gender out of the equation for hiring. I also be
Source: OnTheIssues interview of 2018 Florida Senate candidate
Mar 30, 2018
Gwen Graham:
Raise the minimum wage; ensure paid sick time
After traveling this district and meeting families who are struggling, I know how tough things still are. A dollar doesn't go as far as it used to, and the reckless politics of those in Washington are
taking money out of the pockets of middle class families. Congress can take commonsense steps now to help strengthen the financial stability of North Florida's middle class families, like:-
Supporting Paycheck Fairness to ensure women receive equal pay for equal work;
- Raising the minimum wage;
-
Ensuring families receive the paid sick time and benefits they've earned;
- Advocating for tax credits for services like child care and assisted living for seniors.
Source: 2014 Florida House campaign website, GwenGraham.com
Nov 4, 2014
Jeb Bush:
Operation Paycheck: stimulus for 33,000 construction jobs
In recent weeks, we have already taken bold steps to help restore our economy, launching programs like Operation Paycheck and passing an economic stimulus package aimed at creating more than 33,000 new construction jobs in this state.
And I am pleased to say that these measures are working. Over the long haul, we must restore the health of the businesses we already have and we must grow new businesses that diversify and strengthen our economic base.
Chief among the new industries that will transform Florida are those that create high-tech jobs, from
Florida's globally-recognized strengths such as the simulation, optics, and space technology fields to emerging new sectors such as biotechnology, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence.
Source: State of the State address to 2002 Florida Legislature
Jan 22, 2002
Jeb Bush:
Job growth during Bush terms, but very low wage jobs
In his 2006-2007 Budget Message he said that the "state's economy is one of the strongest in the nation, with rapid job growth and income growth providing its citizens with a wealth of economic opportunities."
He cited the lowest unemployment rate in the nation and an "unprecedented" job creation rate.While there was job growth during the Bush term of office it was smaller than in any gubernatorial administration since 1978.
In addition, much of the job growth was the product of a growing population rather than the tax cuts the governor generated.
Most of the jobs created during the Bush administration were in the low-paying sectors of the economy.
The state's 2004 median hourly wage ($13.10 per hour) was below the national average and the state had an unusually high percentage of very low-wage workers who earned wages at or below the federal minimum wage.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p.109-10
Dec 11, 2009
Jeff Greene:
We have a jobs crisis, not a job problem
The action started with a question about how the candidates would draft legislation to create more jobs. Meek pushed for tax cuts for the middle class and high-speed rail, arguing building a railway will help create jobs in the state. "Transportation
is a problem no matter where you live in Florida," added Meek. "We have a jobs crisis," countered Greene. "It's not a job problem." The billionaire blamed elected officials, including Meek, for the record high unemployment in the state.
Source: 2010 Florida Dem. Primary Debate, in Sunshine State News
Aug 11, 2010
Philip Levine:
For raising minimum wage; let local communities decide rate
To create a state where we all rise together, Philip believes it's time to raise the minimum wage in the state of Florida. It's something he did as Mayor of Miami Beach, as the first city in the state to institute a minimum living wage.
As Governor, Philip will fight to raise the minimum wage past $8.25 and let local communities decide what works best for them.
Source: 2018 Florida Governor campaign website PhilipLevine2018.com
Oct 9, 2018
Rick Scott:
High unemployment compensation deters job creation
Another government program with good intentions and potentially dangerous side-effects is our system of unemployment compensation. In times of high unemployment, the system provides a critical safety net. But its rising costs, which are borne by the very
employers who are struggling to stay in business, threaten to create even more job losses. The costs of unemployment insurance cannot be allowed to deter job creation. By working with the legislature, we will bring those costs down.
Source: 2011 State of the State speech to Florida legislature
Mar 8, 2011
Rick Scott:
FactCheck: Yes, unemployment up; but stimulus has helped
Scott often talks about job growth that happens under his watch and takes credit for it: "The four years before I became governor, the state had lost 825,000 jobs. Unemployment had gone from 3.5% to 11.1%. We incurred another $5.2 billion, I think,
worth of debt," Scott said in December 2012.Scott got his numbers right but missed the mark for implying the state's recession was the result of poor handling by Crist. Experts told us Florida's economy tanked largely as a result of the housing
market crisis, which included a tornado of issues over which Crist had little to no control. We rated his claim Half True.
During his first campaign, Scott stated that the "stimulus has not created one private sector job."
But we found thousands of Floridians employed because of stimulus-funded programs--not to mention jobs for a company in which Scott owns stock. We rate Scott's statement "Pants on Fire!"
Source: Miami Herald FactCheck on 2014 Florida gubernatorial race
Mar 15, 2014
Rick Scott:
Opposed increasing the minimum wage
For the roughly 7 percent of voters who remain undecided there were plenty of clear differences to consider:- Crist wants the state to accept federal funding to expand Medicaid coverage. Scott said he'd only temporarily expand
Medicaid if it were 100 percent federally funded.
- Crist supports increasing the minimum wage. Scott does not.
Source: Miami Herald on 2014 Florida Gubernatorial debate
Oct 15, 2014
Rick Scott:
State should support early-stage businesses to create jobs
Cutting taxes alone will not be enough to diversify our economy and allow Florida to become first for jobs. That is why we are asking for your support to reform our business incentive process at Enterprise Florida to create the new
Florida Enterprise Fund. The creation of this new $250 million dedicated trust fund will help us diversify Florida's economy, support small business, and become the number one place in the world for families to get a good paying job.
Source: 2016 State of the State speech to Florida legislature
Jan 12, 2016
Rick Scott:
Designed unemployment system with maximum $275/week benefit
Privately, Republicans admit that the $77.9 million system is doing exactly what Scott designed it to do--lower the state's reported number of jobless claims after the great recession. "It's a sh-- sandwich, and it was designed that way by Scott,"
said one DeSantis advisor. "It wasn't about saving money. It was about making it harder for people to get benefits or keep benefits so that the unemployment numbers were low to give the governor something to brag about."
Source: Politico blog on 2022 Florida Gubernatorial race
Apr 3, 2020
Rocky De La Fuente:
Create more jobs, and create higher paying jobs
According the United States Census Bureau, Florida's poverty rate is 16.5% as compared to the national average of 14.8%. The average annual income per capita here is $26,499 as compared to $28,555 nationally and our
$47,212 median income trails the national average of $53,482. We not only need to create more jobs, we need to create higher paying jobs as well.
Source: Ballotpedia.org review of 2016 Florida Senate race
Dec 31, 2019
Ron DeSantis:
No depressed wages for Floridians due to cheap foreign labor
Lower-income workers also shouldn't have their wages depressed by cheap foreign labor. Assuring a legal workforce through E-verify will be good for the rule of law, protect taxpayers, and place an upward pressure on the wages of
Floridians who work in blue collar jobs. We are a state that has an economy, not the other way around. And we need to make sure that our Florida citizens from all walks of life come first.
Source: 2020 Florida State of the State address
Jan 14, 2020
Ron DeSantis:
Oversaw unemployment system with maximum $275/week benefit
The new online [unemployment application] system was part of a series of changes designed to limit benefits. The ultimate goal--which it delivered on--was to lower unemployment taxes paid by Florida businesses. A 2011 analysis done by the
Florida Legislature estimated that the changes pushed by Scott would save businesses more than $2.3 billion between 2011 and 2020.Most of those who do submit applications won't qualify for aid, and the benefits that are paid out are among the most
meager in the country--a maximum of $275 a week. "Everyone we talk to in that office when we ask them what happened tells us, 'the system was designed to fail,'" one
DeSantis adviser said. "That's not a problem when unemployment is 2.8 percent, but it's a problem now. And no system we have can handle 25,000 people a day."
Source: Politico blog on 2022 Florida Gubernatorial race
Apr 3, 2020
Rudy Giuliani:
FactCheck: Cut unemployment substantially, but not in half
Giuliani claimed: "When I became mayor the economy of NYC was in very, very bad shape--tremendous deficits, ten-and-a-half-percent unemployment, 300,000 jobs gone. We turned that around, cut unemployment by more than half, brought in 450,000 new jobs."Any way you look at it, though, Giuliani's being misleading. In December 2001, his last month in office, the unadjusted rate was 7.5%, the same as the adjusted rate. There was just one month, May 2001, when the
unadjusted rate fell to 5.0%, the only one during his tenure when he could claim to have cut unemployment "by more than half." In our judgment, it's deceptive for Giuliani to cherry-pick a month to compare to the rate in the month he was inaugurated.
Source: FactCheck.org on 2008 GOP debate in Boca Raton Florida
Jan 24, 2008
Val Demings:
Retain good-paying jobs offering livable wages
Create Good-Paying Jobs: As the daughter of a maid and a janitor, Val knows how important it is to have jobs offering livable wages in our community.
She is committed to promoting policies designed to create and retain good-paying jobs in our changing global economy, and investing in technology training and STEM education for our workforce.
Source: 2016 Florida House campaign website ValDemings.com
Nov 8, 2016
Val Demings:
Look at hiring standards, police should reflect diversity
[On police hiring]: "We, as lawmakers and as a nation, have an obligation to look at hiring standards, to demand that police departments reflect the diversity of the communities they
serve and that as a nation we must look at developing some national training standards," she said, regardless of how large or small the law enforcement agency is.
Source: Spectrum News Bay News-9 on 2022 Florida Senate race
Sep 22, 2020
Page last updated: Feb 18, 2023