Tyler Crawford graduated from USF St. Petersburg in spring 2011 with his bachelor’s degree in English and history. He celebrated his 23rd birthday on Monday, Nov. 7. Monday was also the day he received his first student loan bill for $80. Now he is a state organizer for the local chapter of Fight Back Florida, an organization that seeks to help students and recent grads lobby against tuition hikes and strengthen labor unions.
The Crow’s Nest: How did Fight Back Florida start?
Tyler Crawford: In Wisconsin last year, there was a deal against collective bargaining. People occupied the state capital. In Florida, activists decided to create a coalition in the state. The first chapter began in Tallahassee. The AFL-CIO [American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations] is starting a young worker program, raising them in the labor movement and teaching them why it’s important. We are students and recent grads so we hope we can take a shot at doing that. We want to be the young worker program in Florida.
CN: What inspired you to get involved with Fight Back Florida?
TC: My zero-point was graduation. The economic issues really hit me in their most concrete form. I had a bunch of debt and no solid job opportunities other than part-time work at minimum wage. I started to realize it was not just a personal problem; that lots of people around me were going through the same thing.
CN: Who does Fight Back Florida represent? What are your goals?
TC: First, we want to introduce non-activists to activism. We want to help student activists transition to community activism. Second, we want to offer resources, education and infrastructure to non-unions who want to learn how to unionize. Third, we want to post jobs for unemployed students coming out of school. Specifically, we want to post jobs that would lead to a unionized position. Finally, we want to help young people get into jobs organizing for labor unions.
CN: Was Fight Back Florida inspired by the Occupy movement?
TC: Fight Back Florida started before the Occupy Wall Street movement began. Our first official day was March 25, 2011. But the presence of the Occupy movement affected the praxis or practical approach to organization. Whereas the Occupy movement has no leaders, we are an organization of leaders.
CN: Tuesday, Nov. 8 was the first meeting of St. Pete’s Chapter. How did it go?
TC: It was wildly successful; we had 22 people attend. It was made up of about half students (many from USFSP) and the other half was young workers.
CN: Have you gotten any support from other organizations?
TC: We’ve gotten a lot of support from the Central Labor Council in the state. They helped raise funds for our conference in Orlando last week. We had 50 of the state’s most promising labor activists together. We talked about how to organize for the next six months and went down to march with Occupy Orlando. It was incredible.
CN: Why should students or recent grads get involved?
TC: It is rough being a student in Florida right now. Bright Futures is being cut back and may be cut completely. Tuition increases are on the rise. This year tuition went up 15 percent.
CN: How many Fight Back Florida chapters are there right now?
TC: There are five active chapters and three chapters that are starting up: Tampa, St. Petersburg, Gainesville, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Sarasota, Orlando and Pensacola.
CN: What’s next for FBFL?
TC: January we will really hit the road running. November and December we are concentrating on focusing and refining our organization. For our local chapter, we are working on identifying local issues. We are gearing up for the Republican National Convention. We have 30 to 40 organizations that plan on marching at the RNC.
Fight Back Florida’s St. Petersburg chapter meets every Tuesday at 9 p.m. at Café Bohemia, 937 Central Avenue. For more information visit www.fightbackfl.com.
