Workers march to Miami Beach City Hall to oppose 2 a.m. referendum as election nears
Bouncing to the rhythm of a musical troupe from Mango’s Tropical Cafe, an organized group of hospitality workers marched from Lincoln Road to Miami Beach City Hall on Wednesday to make yet another push to oppose a Nov. 2 voter referendum that proposes to limit early-morning alcohol sales.
The demonstrators, who wore matching t-shirts from the political committee Citizens for a Safe Miami Beach, carried signs and banners and chanted slogans opposing a proposed citywide 2 a.m. last call for drinking at late-night businesses.
“Service is Our Industry. Save our Jobs,” the group chanted as a trumpeter, percussionists and megaphone-wielding emcee led the demonstration.
The referendum is on the ballot Tuesday. Early voting began last week. The non-binding ballot question asks voters whether the City Commission should restrict the sales and consumption of alcohol citywide at 2 a.m., with still-undetermined exceptions commissioners can propose.
The gathered workers read a letter in front of TV cameras expressing their “serious concerns” with the 2 a.m. booze ban. Proponents of the referendum, like Mayor Dan Gelber, want to eliminate South Beach’s entertainment district, which Gelber says attracts crime and misbehavior.
His critics argue that the 2 a.m. ban would not curb crime and put people out of work.
“We all want a safer Miami Beach, but this attempt to take away our jobs, destroy our livelihoods, and threaten how we provide for our families is not the answer,” the letter reads.
Upstairs, the Miami Beach City Commission was in session during a scheduled meeting. Commissioner Michael Góngora said the workers presented him with the letter, signed by several of them.
The rally marked the second time in two weeks hospitality workers gathered outside City Hall to protest the referendum. The anti-2 a.m. campaign is bankrolled by South Beach bar owners, who have so far paid $675,000 toward efforts to reject the referendum.
