This summer marked the hottest recorded temperatures in the US, with most workers in agricultural and unconditioned indoor settings lacking adequate heat protections despite escalating climate risks. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers, founded in the early 1990s, has developed what academics call a “market-based enforcement” model through its Fair Food Program, which now protects farmworkers across dozens of crop types by targeting the reputations of major brand-name retailers rather than smaller supply chain entities. Under this approach, retailers agree to pay premiums for compliant farms, and operations that violate worker-protection codes lose preferred purchasing status.
Other labor organizations are now adopting this model across various industries. WeCount, a Miami-based human rights group, has applied similar strategies to the indoor plant industry in Florida, which produces approximately 70% of all indoor plants sold in the US. This summer, workers in that sector experienced temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit and reported heat-related symptoms and dehydration. Similar worker initiatives have emerged in dairy production in Vermont, construction in Minnesota, sugarcane production in India, and banana production in Ecuador.
Federal and state-level regulatory approaches have largely stalled. WeCount’s efforts to pass state-level heat protection legislation repeatedly failed despite years of advocacy. After the organization shifted focus to a local ordinance in Miami-Dade County that included enforcement mechanisms and monetary penalties, the Florida state legislature preempted the effort with a law banning local heat protection requirements for outdoor workers throughout the state. Meanwhile, proposed federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards for heat protections developed under the Biden administration remain stalled, with additional legislation introduced to block their implementation.
Without comprehensive federal standards, many workers remain vulnerable. Heat-related workplace deaths have occurred, including in Mississippi and at tomato farms in Florida. Workers in meatpacking facilities, warehouses, and grocery store receiving areas often operate in hot, poorly ventilated conditions. The absence of enforcement mechanisms has prompted worker organizations to view market-based approaches as their most viable option for securing meaningful protections in an increasingly dangerous climate environment.
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