Florida farmworkers protest new law banning local water, heat break requirements for outdoor workers
TAMPA, Fla. - Florida's farmworkers are expressing concern over the recent approval of a law banning local jurisdictions from requiring mandatory heat and water breaks for outdoor workers.
HB 433 prohibits Florida cities and counties from establishing any protections for outdoor workers. That includes mandatory water breaks.
It's no secret that outdoor workers, particularly farmworkers, are important to the Sunshine State, especially with so much of the state's economy hinging on agriculture.
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That's why many of those workers and their supporters took to the streets in Homestead on Sunday to march against House Bill 433.
One of the groups leading the charge was WeCount!, an organization in South Florida made up of farm, plant nursery, and construction workers.
"For counties and cities to basically be handcuffed and be unable to implement basic protections is incredibly cruel," said Esteban Wood, policy director of WeCount! "And it's incredibly dangerous as a public policy issue."
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"With this law HB 433, our hands are completely tied; our community already has many rights violations in this type of work, [and] there are already many fears, and because of this law passed - the anti-immigrant law - people are afraid to speak," said Yesica Ramirez, of the Farmworker Association of Florida.
Miami-Dade County was set to be the first in Florida to pass these types of protections. Their ordinance would have required employers to establish things like mandatory shade requirements, water accessibility, and - depending on the heat - ten-minute breaks for every two hours of work.
But that ordinance is now abandoned because all of those protections would have been in direct violation of HB 33. Governor DeSantis signed the bill earlier this month, and it is set to take effect on July 1.