Protest of Florida’s unemployment system planned for Lake Eola
A man joins in a protests against the unemployment system on May 22, 2020 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, Fla. - Protesters will be gathering next week to call for changes regarding Florida’s unemployment system, a system that many people have reported having problems filing claims and getting payments after suddenly losing their jobs.
At one point, Gov. Ron DeSantis described the CONNECT system, which started operating in 2013, as a “jalopy.”
The protest is planned for Wednesday, June 10, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Walt Disney World Amphitheatre at Lake Eola in Orlando.
The event is hosted by Fix It Florida.
“Governor Ron DeSantis why are you letting Florida residents suffer? Timely, consistent benefit payments are not too much to ask for,” the protest organizer wrote on the Facebook event.
“Processing times greater than 4 weeks are unacceptable. Now many Florida workers are at 9 and 10 weeks with $0 income. #CentralFlorida let's stand together and demand change now!”
Unemployment claims for the last week of May totaled 1.9 million with more 40 million people having applied for jobless benefits during the pandemic.