Fogbow

A year later, Florida businesses say the state's immigration law dealt a huge blow

It's early morning in this small agricultural town in Central Florida and the pickers are already hunched over the bushes, plucking strawberries, the main crop out here.

Fidel Sanchez instructs his workers to get rid of the fruit that fell and rotted on the ground.

There's a lot of it.

Like other farmers out here, Sanchez is worried about how long he will be able to keep his business going.

About a year ago, Florida Governor- and then presidential candidate- Ron DeSantis passed one of the toughest crackdowns on immigration in the country.

SB1718 punishes employers who use undocumented labor and forbids undocumented people from having a driver's license.

Many local Florida businesses say the new law has led to workers leaving the state that's hurt their bottom line. "A lot of people are scared," says Sanchez. "A lot of people went north and never came back."

MN-Skeptic wrote: ↑Sat Apr 27, 2024 3:34 am And yet how many of these business owners, how many Florida residents, will continue to vote for DeSantis and a Republican legislature?

Slim Cognito wrote: ↑Sat Apr 27, 2024 1:12 pm Yup. And I am so damn tired of people around here complaining “nobody wants to work anymore.” And when you ask them, if they know anybody who refuses to work, they can’t name a soul.

Rolodex wrote: ↑Sat Apr 27, 2024 3:42 pm

Slim Cognito wrote: ↑Sat Apr 27, 2024 1:12 pm Yup. And I am so damn tired of people around here complaining “nobody wants to work anymore.” And when you ask them, if they know anybody who refuses to work, they can’t name a soul.

I hear that all the time around here. Our unemployment rate is hovering around 3%; we've been below the national rate for some time. They see all the help wanted signs and assume it's because no one is working, completely misunderstanding how employment works. OTOH I do see people on local FB talking about sending applications everywhere and not getting anything back. And the openings all seem to be the low paying kind (retail, fast food, etc).

Florida ‘callously’ strips healthcare from thousands of children despite new law
Governor Ron DeSantis’s challenging of a ‘continuous eligibility’ rule has booted over 22,000 children off insurance since January

Richard Luscombe in Miami
Mon 29 Apr 2024 13.00 CEST

Florida is continuing to “callously” strip healthcare coverage from thousands of children in lower-income households in defiance of a new federal law intended to protect them.

Since 1 January, more than 22,500 children have been disenrolled from Florida KidCare, its version of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (Chip) that is jointly subsidized by states and the US government for families with earnings just above the threshold for Medicaid.

Florida healthcare officials admit at least some were removed for non-payment of premiums, an action prohibited by the “continuous eligibility” clause of the 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act that took effect at the beginning of this year. The clause secures 12 months of cover if at least one premium payment is made.




https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... n-desantis

Biden-Harris HQ @BidenHQ wrote: Left: Ron DeSantis saying “you can be the most worthless Republican in America, but if you kiss [Trump’s] ring, he'll say you're wonderful”

Right: Donald Trump saying Ron DeSantis is wonderful after he kissed the ring

Florida workers brace for summer with no protections: ‘My body would tremble’
Effects of heat are expected to worsen after bill prohibiting municipalities from enacting shade and water protection is passed

Michael Sainato
Sat 4 May 2024 15.00 CEST

For Javier Torres and other workers whose jobs are conducted outdoors in south Florida, the heat is unavoidable. A new law recently signed by Ron DeSantis, Florida’s Republican governor, that prohibits any municipalities in the state from passing heat protections for workers ensures that it is likely to stay that way.

Torres has seen a co-worker die from heatstroke and another rushed to the emergency room in his years of working in construction in south Florida. He has also fallen and injured himself due to heat exhaustion.

“I work outdoors and have no choice but to work in the heat. I work often in painting and, in the majority of cases, we’re exposed to direct sun and we don’t have shade. Sometimes I feel dizzy and get headaches,” said Torres.

He said employers rarely provide workers with water, leaving workers to ensure they bring enough water to work or find a hose to drink from.

The effects of extreme heat on workers are only expected to worsen due to the climate crisis. Many parts of Florida experienced record heat last year. Orlando hit 100F (37.7C) in August breaking a record set in 1938. The National Weather Service recently issued its outlook for summer 2024, predicting Florida summer temperatures will be warmer than normal.

“The heat can be very intense, especially as we get closer to summer,” added Torres. “What we want as workers who labor outdoors is to have water, shade and rest breaks to protect ourselves.”

At the behest of agricultural industry lobbyists, DeSantis signed HB433 into law on 11 April, a bill scaling back child labor protections that also included an amendment prohibiting all local municipalities in Florida from enacting heat protections for workers.

The exemption came in response to efforts by farm workers in Miami-Dade county to pass heat protections, including proper rest breaks, access to water and shade, as increasingly warming temperatures have expanded the days farm workers are exposed to heat.



https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... protection

Slim Cognito wrote: ↑Sun May 05, 2024 1:49 pm Not many. Everyone is desperate for workers down here. Since they run all the immigrants out of the state, they're now loosening child labor laws so they can work in factories and on farms full-time hours while, allegedly, still getting their studies in. They're going to make sure the future voters in Florida are dumber than dirt.

And if I hear one more neighbor complain "nobody wants to work anymore" I'm going to punch them in the throat.

Andrew Fleischman @ASFleischman wrote: "it's the summer of freedom! The following colors are now forbidden."