Costa Farms Workers Demand Heat Protections — SkimNews
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- WeCount organized a multi-state day of action targeting all five Costa Farms nurseries in the U.S., with co-executive director Oscar Londoño calling it "a very historic day of action" and "only the beginning"
- Costa Farms pushed back in a statement to Grist, citing an on-site nurse, a medical clinic, and a heat policy "aligned with the proposed OSHA heat safety rules," plus daily five-minute safety huddles introduced after Hurricane Helene
- Nursery worker Alejandro Gonzalez, originally from Guatemala, told a Florida rally that summer days have topped 110°F and that workers receive no cold or clean water, no breaks, and no shade
- A WeCount survey of houseplant workers industry-wide found 86% reported dangerous incidents from heat illness, pesticide exposure, and workplace accidents, while over two-thirds said they were entirely denied breaks and days off
- Organizers are also pressuring major retailers like Home Depot and IKEA to source only from growers that adopt the code of conduct, modeled on the Coalition of Immokalee Workers' Fair Food Program
- Agricultural workers, a category that includes nursery employees, are excluded from federal collective bargaining under the National Labor Relations Act and are more than 35 times more likely to die from heat-related complaints than workers in other industries
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a 2024 law preempting local heat standards after industry groups challenged Miami-Dade County's proposed heat ordinance, where heat-exposure deaths are estimated to spike by 600 during extremely hot periods
Why it matters: Costa Farms is the world's largest indoor houseplant grower, so its labor practices affect a supply chain that ends in millions of U.S. homes — yet agricultural workers, who are 35 times more likely to die from heat-related causes, are excluded from federal collective bargaining protections and often tethered to employers via H2-A visas or undocumented status, leaving them with little recourse.
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