‘You feel as if your skin is cooking:’ May 1 march to focus on plight of workers toiling in extreme Florida heat

May 1 is recognized as International Workers’ Day around the globe. But for the people who pick Florida’s fruit and flowers, every day is a day of toil and sweat.

That might seem like the norm for people who work on farms and in nurseries, but there’s one outlier: climate change. Florida is getting hotter every year. Moreover, efforts to legislate mandatory hours of rest and shade for workers during the height of summer – in one of the hottest parts of the country – have thus far been blocked.

The plight of those workers is the subject of a powerful new documentary called “Without Shade, Without Rest,” which will be shown on Friday May 1 at the Coral Gables Art Cinema as part of an event marking May Day with the South Florida AFL-CIO. The event will be followed by a rally and march through Coral Gables organized by WeCount!, in its first-ever “March for Planting Justice” event.

During a screening at the University of Miami’s Cosford Cinema earlier this month, the two documentary filmmakers for Six Eye Films told students that their film was about raising awareness on an issue most people rarely consider while doing their grocery shopping: the people harvesting their food or picking their flowers. 

The film is directed by Max Maldonado and José Jesús Zaragoza and follows the back-breaking labor of farmworkers in extreme temperatures with no shade, no water and no mandatory breaks.

“We are entering into the summer time and we are already seeing extreme heat,” said Maldonado as he was welcoming viewers into the cinema at the April 6 screening. 

Each year, the Sunshine State’s high temperatures and humidity put nearly 2 million outdoors workers at risk of heat related illness and death. Not only is there no statewide policy, but counties are powerless to make their own decisions on the matter. Two years ago, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law preventing cities of counties from enacting local protections for laborers working outdoors in even the most searing summer temperatures.

The documentary process took nearly two years.

“We wanted to let the workers tell and show how these conditions affected them and how dangerous heat illnesses are and how they are lasting on the body,” said Maldonado. “There is no narrator telling you what to feel.” Rather, the workers, activists and even some of the employers tell the story.

Throughout the film, the audience sees the harsh daily realities as they unfold: The early morning bus rides and long days of labor under the burning sun. 

Viewers meet José Delgado, a farmworker who spent years harvesting crops before suffering a heat stroke in the fields. As he was driving to the field, he explained how he never thought he would end up in another country working alongside his parents.

“It was in 1985 when the idea first crossed my mind,” he said. “You’d hear stories: There’s plenty of work, the dollar was worth more.” But for him, “the American dream was nothing but lies.”

The workers describe the brutal reality of working under extreme temperatures during Florida’s hottest months as if “your skin is cooking.”

The film highlights a broader issue that extends to millions of agricultural workers around the United States and beyond. Florida’s climate presents particular challenges. The high humidity in the air prevents the body from cooling itself through sweating. This condition increases the risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. 

“The heat index, which combines air temperature and humidity, shows how hot it actually feels to the human body,” explained Maldonado. 

Dr. Rhonda Trust, a University of Miami professor who co-sponsored the event, explained that when the heat index exceeds 90°F it can lead to “dehydration, sweating, sunburn and sickness as your body shuts down.”

For many students, the film raised a new awareness of human effort behind everyday food purchases. During a discussion after the film, Maldonado shared his favorite moment of the film: talking about buying tomatoes at a grocery store. Behind that ordinary transaction, he said, are workers who have spent hours harvesting crops under extreme heat, sometimes without adequate protection.

“Nobody understands how much pain goes with picking up a piece of fruit,” he said. 

The film traces the history of farmworker organizing efforts, including protests and campaigns calling for basic safeguards: water, shade and rest. One major initiative highlighted in the documentary is the Fair Food Program developed in 2011 by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW). 

This program, part of the Worker-driven Social Responsibility model, prevents abuse in the tomato industry through legally binding agreements with some of the world’s largest fast food and grocery companies. Large corporations including McDonald’s, Walmart and Taco Bell have joined the initiative, agreeing to monitor suppliers and enforce labor standards throughout their supply chains.

Founded in 2006, WeCount! is an organization that advocates for improving the living and working conditions of immigrant workers and their families in Florida. In 2021, the organization launched the “Que Calor” campaign, which introduced the nation’s first municipal heat standard for outdoor workers in Miami-Dade and drew national attention to the issue of extreme heat and outdoor work for the 36 million outdoor and indoor workers in the United States.

Advocates say these efforts have brought improvements in some areas but challenges remain. But in 2024, lawmakers passed Florida House Bill 433, which restricts local governments from regulating private-employer scheduling, heat exposure for workers and minimum wages.

The documentary also captures the voices of farmworkers who say they will continue fighting to own their rights. “Without our labor, they are nothing,” protestors chanted. “We are the engine of the nation.”

One worker reflected on the physical burden of harvesting crops day after day under the sun. Each season, he said in the documentary, workers simply hope their bodies will hold up long enough to keep providing for their families. “This year I made it,” he said quietly. “Next year, who knows?”

For students, the film sparked both empathy and uncertainty. Annalie Cohen, a 22-year-old communications senior who attended the event as part of a nutrition class, said she had little prior knowledge of the issue before watching the film.

“I definitely think it changed how I think about buying produce,” she said. “It’s true we magically think that fruits and vegetables appear every single day. This film presents a different perspective. I just wish I knew what we could do, honestly.”

Maldonado hopes the film’s impact comes through conversations within communities and being involved in organizations. Instead of focusing on large streaming platforms, the team has prioritized community screenings where audiences can discuss the topic directly with organizers and activists. The film has already been shown at New York University, Yale, Brown and Berkeley.

Organizers say those conversations will continue with Friday’s screening and a march in Coral Gables.

“We're hitting the streets with labor unions, community and faith leaders, students, and our South Florida community, to show our support for the Planting Justice campaign,” organizers said on their Mobilize page. “We're calling on the country's largest retail stores to respect the labor and human rights of these workers and join the Planting Justice Program!”

As summer approaches, the message of “Without Shade, Without Rest” becomes harder to ignore. Extreme heat is no longer an abstract concept in Florida. And while most consumers experience the season from air-conditioned homes and grocery stores, the people who fill those shelves remain among the most exposed to rising temperatures.