Florice Orea Hoffman: A Lifetime of Fighting for Workers’ Rights and Social Justice

Florice Orea Hoffman is a dedicated workers’ rights attorney and a lifelong advocate for social justice. Her passion for fighting inequality and uplifting communities was shaped by a childhood immersed in activism. Born into a family committed to civil rights, Florice grew up in Pennsylvania, where her father advocated for civil rights and was a proud member of the Ladies Garment Workers Union. Her immigrant mother instilled in her the values of compassion and action by organizing efforts to deliver winter coats to migrant farmworkers, assisting workers in accessing healthcare, and ensuring their children’s education.

Florice’s mother was also a trailblazer, protesting the construction of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant long before its catastrophic accident and working tirelessly to desegregate schools in Harrisburg and Middletown, Pennsylvania. These experiences laid the foundation for Florice’s lifelong commitment to justice and equity.

Immigration has deeply shaped Florice’s personal and professional life. Her father’s family fled religious persecution in Russia (The Pale of Settlement) and the former Soviet Union. Her late husband, who immigrated from Mexico at 16, worked in Los Angeles’ garment industry and later became a union organizer in LA and worked tirelessly to represent healthcare workers. Florice and her husband raised two openly gay children, Daniel and Gabriel, who proudly carry on their family’s legacy of activism and social justice. Daniel is a Spanish Immersion elementary school teacher, and Gabriel is an attorney dedicated to serving California public employees. 

Florice’s career as a worker’s rights attorney is a testament to her dedication to improving the lives of working people. She has championed the rights of undocumented workers, healthcare workers, public sector employees, hospitality workers, warehouse employees, transportation workers, and construction employees. Her contributions include developing training materials for labor lawyers to improve their representation of workers and advocating for single-payer healthcare, a living wage, and LGBTQ+ rights.

Florice’s political activism began in 1995 when she campaigned for Loretta Sanchez, Orange County’s only Democratic Congressional candidate. In 2001, she moved to Orange and joined the Democratic Party of Orange County (DPOC) Central Committee. Over the past two decades, Florice has played a pivotal role in transforming Orange County’s political landscape, which now boasts a Democratic majority in its congressional delegation and Board of Supervisors.

Florice has served in various leadership roles within the DPOC, including Treasurer, Secretary, Vice Chair, and Regional Vice Chair. At the state level, she has been a fierce advocate for Orange County campaigns, serving on the California Democratic Party Executive Board, Credentials Committee, and Voter Services Committee, and as an elected Regional Director from 2015 to 2023. She has a BA from Brandeis University and a JD from Rutgers School of Law.