Plant nursery workers stage Homestead march to highlight dangers of extreme heat
Dozens of plant nursery workers marched through the streets of Homestead over the weekend carrying crosses bearing names that few outsiders would know.
The names are those of fellow field and nursery workers who have died — fatalities that marchers blame on increasing hot temperatures that have made often difficult working conditions more dangerous.
'We are holding these crosses with much sadness in our hearts because they have the names of human beings who could have been us,' said Alejandro, a member of the worker rights organization WeCount! who declined to provide his last name. 'These were hard-working people who went to work one day, just to provide for their families, and never came back home.'
The weekend march was held to draw attention to how government leaders — in Miami-Dade, Tallahassee and Washington, D.C. — have backed away from setting standards that would call for basic worker protections like water, rest and shade. It also came just days before the start of Miami-Dade's official 'heat season' begins on Thursday as temperatures begin to steadily climb three weeks before summer.
The WeCount! worker campaign that began in 2021 to set new standards to protect workers from extreme heat stalled in Miami-Dade last year under lobbying pressure from the building and agriculture industries, then died in the Florida Legislature, which also preempted any county from trying to enforce its own rules. Now, the Trump administration appears to be putting a federal effort on ice to mandate access to water, shade and scheduled breaks and gutted staff working on the issue.
READ MORE: Miami farm workers' last hope for heat protection regs appears dead under Trump
WeCount! hosted a mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Homestead to commemorate 'Workers Memorial Week' a national remembrance for workers who 'died too soon.' In the priest's Sunday remarks to his congregation, Father Robes Charles, leader of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, connected the death of Pope Francis to his lifelong commitment to calling for workers to be treated with dignity and respect.
'Keep up the fight,' Charles told workers. 'You are human beings and valuable members of this community, and you deserve to live always with dignity and justice.'
The group honored workers like Salvador Garcia Espitia, who died in 2023 due to extreme heat in Florida agriculture and was featured in an Al Jazeera Fault Lines short documentary with WeCount! and Sebastian Perez, a 38-year-old nursery worker who was reported to die from a heatwave in Oregon.
Estimates of the number of worker fatalities associated with extreme heat vary widely.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, for instance, reports there are an average of 34 heat-related worker deaths per year nationally. But other experts say the numbers are predicted to be much higher.
A Tampa Bay Times investigation found that there were 19 deaths in Florida lalone missing from OSHA's count — the youngest being only 20-years-old.
Workers told the Herald every year they work in the heat feels hotter than the last. Climate change is causing the heat and humidity to raise and make us feel hotter.
Marchers also singled out one local nursery included this week by a worker advocacy group called the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health. It's 'Dirty Dozen Report' named Alpha Foliage, Inc., as one of the most dangerous employers in the United States.
'They don't give us any breaks and there's also nowhere to grab shade,' one Alpha nursery worker told The Herald. 'Some workers might try to take five to 10 minutes, but only if the boss isn't looking. If they see us, they might try to fire us.'
After OSHA visited and issued Alpha Foliage a citation for their tracker safety, workers told the Herald the nursery started to provide water, which is a requirement. Alpha nursery workers said most people still bring their own bottles because the water tastes 'like chlorine.' Access to water at Alpha is still under investigation by the Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division (WHD).
Jennifer Robertson, the vice president of the nursery, said she could not talk about overall worker complaints but the company made sure there was access to water.
This climate report is funded by MSC Cruises USA and the Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Family Foundation in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald retains editorial control of all content.
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