Workers’ Memorial Day Brings Together a Labor Rights Coalition:
The South Florida Justice and Equality in the Workplace Program
For immediate release: April 26th 2016
MIAMI, Fla.- To celebrate Workers’ Memorial Day, April 28, 2016, Mexico´s Consulate General in Miami will be joining the South Florida Justice and Equality in the Workplace Program. This is a collaborative effort among U.S. government agencies, consulates, and several U.S. community organizations to work together to assist vulnerable workers about their rights and responsibilities in the workplace. It seeks to achieve this goal through educating employers and employees in South Florida communities.
To highlight their partnership the coalition will host a signing ceremony on Workers’ Memorial Day, at the Consulate General of Mexico. This Labor Rights Coalition comes at a time when the number of deaths in Florida from exposure to harmful substances or environments nearly doubled in 2014, underscoring the need to protect the most vulnerable and marginalized workforce.
In addition to the signing ceremony recognizing the newly established South Florida Justice and Equality in the Workplace Program, the coalition will be releasing a report on Florida’s work related fatality rates. Jeanette Smith, Executive Director of South Florida Interfaith Worker Justice, one of the coalition’s members, and author of the report, states—“Unfortunately, the number of workplace deaths across the country has increased since 2013. And while the recent increase in construction and development may be positive for the economy, it has also resulted in an increase in the number of construction related deaths both nationally and locally. There was an increase from 828 to 874 on the national level and from 55 to 57 on the state level with construction in Florida ranking as the industry with the highest number of deaths in the state.”
The coalition will focus on key industries that employ a large share of vulnerable and marginalized workforce, starting with the construction industry in their first quarter, before moving on to healthcare, service, and agriculture sectors in the upcoming months.
Labor Rights Efforts from the Consulate General of Mexico
Being part of this coalition strengthens the capacities of the Consulate General of Mexico in Miami to address Labor Rights issues among the Mexican community in South Florida. Since 2009, the Mexican Consular Network in the U.S. organizes the Labor Rights Week to inform employees about their rights and about the mechanisms available to contact the appropriate authorities in case of abuse. The Consulate General of Mexico in Miami has defined Labor Rights awareness as one of its priorities. Its collaboration with government agencies, Consulates and community organizations during previous Labor Rights Weeks has been the cornerstone for the formation of this broad coalition of diverse institutions that share a common cause.
WHEN: Thursday, April 28, 2016 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm
WHAT: Signing Ceremony of the South Florida Justice and Equality in the Workplace Program and Workers’ Memorial Day report release.
WHERE: Consulate General of Mexico in Miami
1399 SW 1st Avenue, third floor, Miami FL, 33130
WHO: The U.S. Department of Labor through the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA); Equal Employment and Opportunity Commission (EEOC); the Consulate General of Mexico in Miami, Florida; Consulate General of Guatemala in Miami, Florida; Consulate General of Uruguay in Miami, Florida; Consulate General of El Salvador in Miami, Florida; the South Florida AFL-CIO; WeCount!; the American Friends Service Committee; UNITE HERE Local 355; the South Florida Chapter of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement; South Florida Interfaith Worker Justice; LiUNA Local 1652; the Farmworkers Association of Florida; and Catholic Legal Services of the Archdiocese of Miami.