Diane Dimperio laughed while describing how she’s managed to keep going throughout her 10-year career in advocacy work.
“It’s really hard to discourage me,” she said. “I guess that’s a good thing.”
The spry 78-year-old volunteers for the Alachua County Labor Coalition, an alliance of individuals, labor unions and worker-friendly organizations that relies on the efforts of volunteers to achieve its goals.
As of 2024, about 569,000 employed workers in Florida are either members of labor unions or have jobs covered by one, according to a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Those workers recently faced a sizeable challenge posed by Florida’s state government.
In 2023, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 256 into law, allowing public employers or employees eligible for representation to challenge a union’s application for registration renewal.
The law also requires unions to apply for recertification if the number of employees paying dues to the organization is less than 60% of the number of employees eligible for representation.
Since the law was passed, 55 unions of the 355 that applied for recertification from Feb. 7, 2023, to June 5, 2024, were decertified, according to data compiled by WLRN Public Radio and Television. Some have regained their certifications or have reapplied for them since then.
Notably, Gainesville Local 1205 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers lost the certification for its only public sector unit in 2024.
That unit represents employees in the electrical industry who work for the city of Ocala and is a member of the Alachua County Labor Coalition.
At the time of its decertification, 465 members were potentially impacted, according to WLRN’s data compilation.
Ultimately, more members are required to pay dues to ensure unions remained certified, and employers or individuals can prevent a union from becoming certified.
Certification authorizes labor unions to bargain on behalf of a group of employees, according to the Federal Service Labor Management Relations Statute.
Consequently, labor unions that consistently retain their members are better equipped to prevent the loss of their certification and continue to provide their services.
Since January, the Alachua County Labor Coalition has searched for members to repopulate its four standing committees.
The effort resulted from losing members who redirected their efforts to campaign work before the 2024 general election, according to a post published by the labor coalition on Facebook.
It has yet to find volunteers to fill its vacant positions.
The four standing committees address criminal justice reform, fair housing, healthcare accessibility and livable wages, respectively.
In May 2024, committee members alongside University of Florida student organizations pressured the institution into abandoning its plan to cut its contribution to RTS in half, according to the Alachua County Labor Coalition’s digital newsletter.
After dozens of emails and phone calls sent over the course of several weeks, university decision makers capitulated.
In July 2024, committee members successfully dissuaded Gainesville’s City Commission from adopting a controversial inclusionary zoning plan.
The proposal would’ve decreased the likelihood of affordable housing units being built in residential developments. New developments wouldn’t have been required to account for affordable housing if they had less than 50 units.
The original plan supported by the labor coalition set the threshold to just 10 units. The City Commission approved it.
When its committees are without members, the labor coalition usually turns to task forces. These makeshift working groups dedicate themselves to addressing issues that don’t fall within the jurisdiction of the standing committees.
Dimperio, who is also a member of the League of Women Voters, was most recently a member of a task force that partly focused on increasing voter registration in Florida’s third congressional district.
The endeavor was part of a larger plan named the “Tallahassee Counterstrike Campaign.”
Encouraging unregistered voters to exercise their right to vote is one of Dimperio’s fiercest passions.
“My interests are for people to have a voice,” she said.
The desire to put those interests to work is what led Dimperio to work with the Alachua County Labor Coalition. Nonetheless, convincing people to register to vote was a tall order.
“You have to make a plan, put the plan together and get it working,” she said. “That’s the easy part — the hard part is making it happen.”
To do so, Dimperio acknowledged that her efforts alone wouldn’t be enough to accomplish what she wanted to.
“You have to be open minded,” she said. “One person isn’t really gonna make a difference.”
Consequently, task forces are essential to the Alachua County Labor Coalition, especially when its much larger standing committees are in disarray.
Alex Hood, assistant coordinator of the labor coalition, is well aware of that. Still, he emphasized that relying on task forces isn’t what the organization aims to do, either.
“That’s not how we want to approach solutions,” he said. “We want to have as many people and as many voices involved as possible.”
Recruiting volunteers for committees is nonetheless a difficult task. Hood, 23, understands that better than most.
“It feels like an uphill battle,” he said. “I’m hopeful, but it’s definitely a climb.”
While the labor coalition continues its search for committee members, task force volunteers like Dimperio are committed to fighting the uphill battle of advocacy work.
Dimperio’s hope is that her endeavors show others that their efforts are capable of enacting change.
“It’s important for people to feel like they can make a difference,” she said. “If you don’t feel like you can make a difference, then you won’t make a difference.”