A vigil was held Wednesday morning for a farm worker who died on the job in Homestead earlier this month, as his family is demanding more protections for workers.
Efraín López García was found dead earlier this month while working on a farm in Homestead.
"He must have been scared," said one of Garcia's family members. "He must have wanted to keep working and unfortunately we lost him because of that."
Co-workers said García told them that he wasn’t feeling well during a lunch break, and he walked off and his body was later discovered.
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The family claims the 30-year-old died from heat stress, but the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner is still working on the autopsy.
South Florida has been experiencing extreme heat in recent weeks, which has been impacting not only workers but anyone venturing outside.
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A heat illness prevention bill was introduced into the Florida legislature’s 2023 legislative session and aimed to protect outdoor workers. Under the bill, employers would be incentivized to educate their workers about heat illness and its prevention.
There was also an item introduced to Miami-Dade Commissioners recently to protect outdoor workers from the extreme heat.
On Tuesday, the Miami-Dade County Commission passed unanimously the first reading of an ordinance to create a heat standard for outdoor workers. It would require certain employers to have an approved mandatory heat exposure safety program, access to drinking water and shaded recovery periods.
"They need to work in better conditions," said Claudia Gonzalez, with the Farmworkers Association of Florida, who attended the vigil.
