Labor struggles and the scourge of COVID-19 were the two issues that sparked Orlando Weekly news junkies' interest the most in 2021. While the rest of the nation was fretting about the same, nowhere did these subjects intertwine more knottily than in Orlando, where labor usually means face-to-face customer service and the coronavirus meant workers had to choose, quite literally, between their money and their life. (Our most popular slideshow featured a whole private island for sale in Key West, which could probably be filed under "pandemic anxiety" as well.)
Here, then, were our most-read news stories of 2021.
No. 1: "'Overworked and underpaid': Orlando International Airport workers walk out on the cusp of MCO's busiest travel season," Nov. 24.
Reporter McKenna Schueler spoke to local members of the SEIU about their symbolic one-day walkout, meant to remind airport and airline bigwigs how crucial they are to the bottom line, despite being paid bottom-of-the-barrel wages. The awareness action brought to light the fact that as tipped employees, MCO wheelchair assistants are paid less than $8 per hour — despite the fact that tips from passengers are unreliable and the people who utilize wheelchair services often have disabilities and live on a fixed income. This reliance on tips places the responsibility for workers receiving a living wage on the passengers, rather than the employers.
No. 2: "Surprising absolutely no one, police are already selectively enforcing Florida...
IBM reached a settlement with the federal government on Friday, agreeing to pay roughly $17 million to resolve allegations of illegal diversity, equity and inclusion practices. Acting Attorney Gen...