Martina Velasquez, Extinction Rebellion, speaks at Our Revolution’s Organize To Win 2020 Summit in Orlando, FL on February 1, 2020.

ORLANDO, FL — Our Revolution, the grassroots political group founded by Bernie Sanders, held an Organize to Win 2020 Summit here today, drawing hundreds of progressive activists from around the state.

At the summit, Our Revolution Jacksonville, Our Revolution Orlando, Our Revolution Puerto Rico, Our Revolution Miami, Our Revolution Sarasota, Our Revolution Tampa, OR Sun Coast, PDA Broward, Our Revolution Palm Bay and Brevard County and others came together to form a statewide network that represents over 39,000 progressive Florida voters.

“We’re building local political powerhouses to elect progressive candidates and advance a political agenda that includes Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and Good Jobs for All. In Florida, we’re fighting for voting rights for returning citizens, witnessing at refugee and immigrant concentration camps, and protesting for climate justice. Several Florida cities have passed resolutions supporting Medicare for All, and we’re just getting started,” said national field director Mike Oles.

A slate of local speakers offered moving accounts of how they’ve been affected by challenges such as exorbitant medical costs, the climate crisis, and low wages.

Mitchell Stollberg from Broward County, who supports Medicare for All, said he is “one of those people you hear about who has to decide between paying for medical care and putting food on the table.” He was forced to rely on Go Fund Me to help cover medical costs he couldn’t afford. “That’s just wrong,” he said.

Martina Velasquez, a 16-year-old climate activist from South Florida, spoke passionately about the urgent need for a Green New Deal. “Down here in South Florida, we’re going to be the first to feel the effects of climate change. We’ve seen the science, and we’re going to be underwater.”

Leslie Rodriguez Acevedo, a housekeeper at Walt Disney World, described the hard work and low pay of her job compared to the rising cost of living in Central Florida. “I was making $10 an hour, and my coworkers with children were paying $150 a week just for healthcare,” she said.

She became a leader in her union’s fight for better pay, and after months of activism, they won.

Our Revolution, which has 600 local groups nationwide, has been hosting Organize to Win 2020 summits in cities from coast to coast as part of an unprecedented campaign to mobilize voters, advance progressive issues, and elect progressive champions at all levels of government.