Near the edge of sprawling farmlands in southern Miami-Dade County, Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su met with hard-pressed farm and construction workers Wednesday who skipped work to recount their experiences of abuse and harsh conditions in their local workplaces.

Su’s meeting with the workers took place during a quick day trip to South Florida with stops in Homestead and Miami Gardens. It was, she said, an effort to convey to low-income workers that there are baseline workplace standards that employers must meet, such as providing relief from extreme weather conditions and ensuring they’re paid for their labor.

The discussion, which took the form of a private roundtable in the Homestead offices of WeCount!, a 17-year-old advocacy group for worker rights, came after the Biden Administration ordered new steps to protect workers from weather-driven elements. They include a heat hazard alert that notifies employers and employees about ways to shield themselves from extreme heat while ensuring they have access to improved weather forecasts and drinking water.

In a recent declaration, President Joe Biden noted that ocean temperatures near Miami topped 100 degrees and that extreme heat is the No. 1 weather-related killer in the United States, according to federal data.

Biden directed the Labor Department to increase inspections of farms and construction sites and called for heightened enforcement of heat safety violations. The administration also plans to spend $7 million to develop more detailed weather predictions of extreme weather like heat waves.

Seeking out worker eyes and ears

“This President has made it very clear that he is the most pro-worker, pro-union president in history,” Su told the South Florida Sun Sentinel in an interview. “And part of that is making sure that workers — no matter where you live, no matter what industry you work in, no matter where you came from — that you are included in the strong economy that he envisions and that you are seen and heard by all of us in the administration. Coming here is a part of that.”

She said the department is also seeing some states take actions “that would undermine federal labor laws” and give workers the impression that they have no safeguards in the workplace.

“The Department of Labor is going to use our full power to make sure all workers know about those protections,” she said.

And Florida?

“One thing I heard in there is there is a climate that workers feel in which they are demeaned and demonized.” she said. “These were the stories that were shared.”

The hourlong dialogue among Su, labor organizers, officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and 10 workers was kept private so they speak freely.

In the interview afterward, Su acknowledged that a “vast majority” of employers around the country “want to do the right thing” for their workers.

“They recognize that when they do right by their workers, it is not just the right thing to do, it’s the smart business decision to make,” she said.

“But we put out a hazard alert because we still see far too many workers working in high heat conditions without basic protections, and we heard about that today in the meeting, too,” she said. “Workers who don’t have clean water to drink, shade to rest in, are punished when they take a moment to avoid fainting or dying of heat. And so our hazard alert was meant to send a very clear message to workers and to employers that heat is not just a discomfort. When it comes to workers, it is a potential occupational hazard. We want to keep all workers safe.”

She also said the department is working on a “first ever” national heat standard. That effort is a long-term goal because of the time it will take to implement it, she said. But there are existing workplace protections under federal law, and Su said she wants to ensure workers know about them.

“At the Department of Labor, we believe that all workers should get all of the wages they are owed at the end of the work day, and they should come home healthy and safe at the end of the day,” she said.

The acting secretary is a Californian who was appointed by Biden in February. But the administration lacks the votes to confirm her because of unanimous opposition from Republicans and objections from two Democrats. Nonetheless, the President intends to keep her in her job indefinitely, according to reports.

When asked whether worker wages are keeping pace with inflation, Su pressed the administration’s case that “Bidenomics,” the President’s $2 trillion wager  to grow the economy through public spending to tame the COVID-19 pandemic, invest in infrastructure, and strengthen the social safety net, is working.

“There have been 13.5 million jobs created since President Biden came into office,” she said. “We have had under 4% unemployment nationwide for a year and a half, the longest stretch since the 1960s. We also reached under 4% years before people predicted we would be coming out of the global pandemic.

“And on top of that we have seen a deceleration in inflation pretty dramatically in exactly the way the President said: If we adopt the right economic policies we don’t have to choose between curbing inflation and advancing worker rights,” she said. “We can do both. And that is what the economy under Bidenomics is demonstrating.”

A local initiative

Su’s visit to South Florida coincided with a local effort by mostly Latino farmworkers led by WeCount! to persuade the Miami-Dade County government to require employers to do more to protect workers from intense heat in the fields.

In an interview in his office, Oscar Londono, co-executive director of WeCount!, said local laws are needed because OSHA lacks the manpower to closely inspect every workplace around the country and the state Legislature has rejected work protection initiatives.

“Employers hear they’re coming, and comply (with the law), and then they go back to their old ways,” he said.

Earlier this week, a county government committee approved a draft bill that would require agriculture and construction employers to provide workers with access to water, 10-minute breaks in the shade, and First Aid training that includes the recognition of heat-related illness. Daily fines could reach up to $3,000 per violation. The bill, which is under industry pressure to be modified, could go to the full commission next month.

Londono said he hopes other counties around the state would emulate it.

Two farmworker deaths have been recorded thus far this year. The first happened in Broward County when a worker in his late 20s from Mexico was found dead on New Year’s Day. The second came in July when a worker of roughly the same age  fell ill and died in Homestead.

Safeguards for foreign workers

Su’s trip came one day after the administration announced a new proposal that “would strengthen protections for foreign farm workers in the H-2A program and “help prevent abuses that undermine wages and standards for all agricultural workers,” the Department of Labor said in a Tuesday announcement.

The proposed rule, which is being published in the Federal Register, would help protect workers against retaliation, make foreign labor recruitment more transparent, and enhance departmental enforcement.

“This proposed rule would strengthen protections for H-2A farm workers who are particularly vulnerable to labor abuses, empower them to advocate for fair treatment and ensure that their employment does not depress labor standards and undercut domestic farm workers,” Su said in a statement. “The administration is committed to protecting all workers, and this proposal would significantly advance that effort.”

The proposed rule includes protections for worker self-advocacy, would make foreign labor recruitment more transparent, make wages more predictable and require employers to better communicate minimum productivity standards, wage rates, overtime opportunities and delayed start dates to workers. It would also improve safety measures for workers being transported to job sites.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.