WeCount!’s ¡Qué Calor! campaign is organizing to ensure that outdoor workers in Miami-Dade — those most at-risk of suffering catastrophic heat injury and death — are safeguarded by life-saving labor protections. Outdoor Workers are 35 times more likely to die from extreme heat than the general population. After more than two years of organizing their workplaces, canvassing neighborhoods, and educating co-workers, ¡Qué Calor! is seeking to win a commonsense Heat Standard.

The Miami-Dade Heat Standard for Outdoor Workers aims to protect outdoor workers by employing heat illness prevention measures, educating employees and supervisors, and enforcing established heat hazard protections. The proposed countywide Heat Standard will reduce injuries and deaths, limit hospitalizations, and save lives. Climate scientists and public health experts agree: enforceable heat hazard protections are needed to protect workers from extreme heat.

1. A heat exposure safety program to educate workers and their supervisors about the risks of heat exposure and best practices for minimizing heat-related illness.
2. Access to potable drinking water that is cool, clean, and sanitary, and is frequently replenished throughout the work day on days of extreme heat.
3. On days with a heat index of 90+ degrees, a right to 10 minutes of a paid rest and water break every 2 hours to cool down under shade and avoid heat stroke.
4. A notice of employee rights in multiple languages to inform workers about their rights under this countywide heat standard and the process for filing complaints.
5. A new County Office of Workplace Health and Safety to help enforce labor protections and support employers and workers with implementing heat safety protocols that can prevent heat-related illness and save lives.

Write and CALL your County Commissioner TODAY to call for action on extreme heat and amplify your desire to see a Miami-Dade Heat Standard for Outdoor Workers!