During your weekly grocery run, you may grab tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables. Fresh produce like this is in stores because of farmworkers who work long days in the heat.
Those workers say their health and lives are at risk because Florida state lawmakers have not provided them any protections.
Commemorating International Workers Day on Wednesday, the Florida Farmworkers Association celebrated the dedication of local farmworkers while also advocating for these protections.
“I think that they view our communities as expendable labor force because there’s so many of us here looking for work that American citizens or residents will not do,” said Ernesto with the association.
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He says they’re calling on state and federal legislators to do the right thing, emphasizing the need for humane immigration reform and heat protections for outdoor workers statewide.
Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed House Bill 433, which prohibits local governments from implementing rules requiring firms to protect workers from extreme heat. The Farmworkers Association and several other organizations sent a letter to the governor beforehand asking him to veto it.
Ernesto said he didn’t have hope Gov. DeSantis would sign it though.
“I’ve seen Gov. DeSantis display cruelty, I don’t think it can be characterized as anything other than cruelty for communities of color, immigrants of color,” Ernesto said.
The group marched and chanted from Apopka Kitland Nelson Park to City Hall to make their voices heard.
Maria Pineda, who worked in agriculture for nearly 18 years, highlighted the conditions.
“We (are) just asking for some water, clean water, shade and breaks,” Pineda said.
She said when people go to the grocery stores, they don’t think about how hard someone had to work to provide that produce.
Without adequate water breaks and other heat protections, Pineda believes some workers may die.
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