Since 2024, Florida law has prohibited municipalities and counties from implementing regulations that would require businesses to provide workers with breaks and access to cool areas during heat waves. Workers sometimes find themselves in dangerous situations, and each year Florida reports approximately one death due to inadequate working conditions related to heat. Two million Florida workers labor outdoors during the summer.
WeCount!
With no legal protections available, the organization WeCount!—a human rights group advocating for heat protections in the nursery industry—is working to get a charter adopted by the region’s largest nurseries, led by Costa Farms, headquartered in Homestead. It is the largest nursery in the country, and if Costa Farms adopts the charter, the others will follow.
Costa Farms has already provided workers with air-conditioned break rooms and cold water, but WeCount! hopes to push them to do more and is ramping up the pressure. A petition signed by more than 2,000 people has already been sent to the company, calling for the implementation of the Plant Justice Program, which is modeled after the Fair Food Program, launched ten years ago by the Immokalee tomato farms.
In addition, WeCount! is engaging in conversations with Costa Farms’ major customers—such as Home Depot, Lowe’s, Costco, and IKEA—to urge them to demand that their primary plant supplier implement the Plant Justice charter.
The Fair Food Program Model
WeCount! draws on the proven model of the Fair Food Program (FFP). In 2001, the struggle of the Immokalee tomato farmworkers began with a sustained advocacy campaign that lasted 10 years before yielding its first results: educating consumers about working conditions at grocery stores and fast food chains to demand that a charter be implemented by their tomato suppliers, as well as protests and boycotts of companies that refused to comply—led by Taco Bell, which eventually gave in.
In 2011, the program was expanded to the entire tomato industry and currently protects 25,000 workers in 27 states. Walmart, Trader Joe’s, and Burger King purchase only tomatoes from FFP-certified suppliers.
Initially, the FFP included protections against violence, wage theft, and sexual assault, but since 2021, provisions regarding mandatory heat protection have been added: access to cool water, shaded areas for breaks, and a 10-minute break every two hours on very hot days.
It is this last point that seems to pose the most problems for nursery operators and construction giants—two sectors particularly affected by the issue. They claim that this would be too disruptive to their operations and would lead to their ruin, or even “kill these industries,” in the words of Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins shortly before a 2023 vote that could have brought about change in Miami-Dade County. It would be laughable if accidents weren’t on the rise and temperatures weren’t rising in Florida. Excessive heat can cause fainting and falls, as well as chronic illnesses such as liver failure.
The vote was ultimately canceled following pressure from lobbyists, led by Costa Farms and the Related Group. And since 2024, the law has prohibited any legislation at the local level.
As Oscar Londoño, co-executive director of WeCount!, explained to the South Florida Sun Sentinel: “By joining the [Planting Justice] program, [Costa Farms] could set a new standard of excellence and transform the rest of the industry.”
Translated with Deepl
