They came from Tampa Bay to Tallahassee, from Miami to Jacksonville, from Broward County, from Palm Beach, and from Miami all for one cause: to support health insurance reform. From all across Florida, community members, people of faith, retirees, union members and health care workers arrived on buses and cars to spend their Labor Day rallying for reform.

Over 1,100 people came to Orlando on Monday to show their support for legislation that will ensure quality, affordable health insurance for everyone. Also present were state lawmakers Rep. Alan Grayson, and Senator Dan Gelber, who listened to constituents tell their stories and clarified any misconceptions about what health insurance reform means.

Activists came to rally for reform, but German Vivas of Jacksonville and Wanda Ramos of Orlando came to tell their stories. From the Orlando Sentinel:

Germán Vivas of Jacksonville, who received a kidney transplant a few years ago, arrived at the scorching gymrecreation center wearing a face mask. His immune system isn't strong enough to be around so many people, but he said it was necessary to support reform.

"I prefer to die here on the front line," said Vivas, 52. "If I have to die, I will die fighting for health care."

He has struggled with Medicaid coverage for the past few years and already sued the state over coverage denials. Vivas said Obama and Democrats in Congress, who were elected widely for their promises on health-care reform, need to be held accountable....

Wanda Ramos, 44, of Orlando, 44, had to take a second mortgage to cover the costs of her husband's heart surgery after he fell ill four years ago. A year later, her son, who was 9, needed leg surgery. Though they had insurance, she was left with bills for tens of thousands of dollars.

"The rest I had to spread through credit cards," said Ramos, 44. She said she's not alone.

Thanks to the hard work and support of Floridians who came out on Monday, we can make Vivas and Ramos' stories a thing of the past. Let's urge Congress to pass health insurance reform this year, for all the people of Florida.

This weekend, about 100 union service employees, policemen and firefighters in Orlando, FL, met to discuss budget cuts which would force them from their jobs. In a city that Forbes magazine recently ranked as the sixth most dangerous city in America, many are questioning how having fewer police offers on the streets of Orlando might affect the safety of citizens.

"It's not the unions causing the crisis. The unions are the ones putting out your fires, responding to your domestic problems, picking up your garbage and making sure clean water comes to your house," said Joshua Willis, a solid waste worker and chair of a SEIU local union in Florida. Read about the 222 workers Mayor Buddy Dyer proposes to lay off in order to fix the Orlando budget deficit.