[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 103 (Tuesday, June 18, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E646]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HONORING ARMANDO ``CURTIS'' HIERRO AS A DISTINGUISHED LEADER IN CENTRAL 
                  FLORIDA FOR CARIBBEAN HERITAGE MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DARREN SOTO

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 18, 2024

  Mr. SOTO. Mr. Speaker, Armando ``Curtis'' Hierro is a 36-year-old 
Cuban-American. He is the national field director for the 
Communications Workers of America with years of experience organizing 
for workers and human rights in Florida.
  Curtis has a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of 
Central Florida and a certificate in leadership, organizing, and action 
from the Harvard Kennedy School.
  Organizing is a deeply held passion for Curtis. Curtis was born in 
Miami, Florida, into a single-mother household where his family faced 
immense economic challenges, poverty, and homelessness. Through a 
strong work ethic, a belief in the power of community, and a commitment 
to education passed on by his mother and grandmother, he was able to be 
the first person in his family to attend and graduate college. While at 
the University of Central Florida, Curtis organized students to stand 
up for campus custodial staff in contract fights and support immigrant 
workers from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.
  From 2012 to 2016, Curtis was a founding member and the first field 
director for the organization Dream Defenders--a community organization 
in Florida led by young people of color building power and organizing 
local and statewide campaigns to address issues of poverty, for-profit 
prisons, and accountable policing. Moving on to the Central Florida 
AFL-CIO as organizing director, Curtis led the AFL-CIO's efforts to 
directly support the contract fight for fair wages by Disney workers 
represented by Unite Here and helped organize workers forming their 
union for the first time with the Communications Workers of America. 
Additionally, Curtis co-led the fight to make Orlando the first city in 
the southeast United States to adopt a Trust Act to safeguard immigrant 
communities in 2018.
  Curtis now focuses his efforts on supporting CWA members in Florida 
and across the country in developing their leadership and taking action 
to build worker power.

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