These oral histories were conducted by FIU students in collaboration with We Count! — a membership organization of immigrant workers and families fighting for better living and working conditions.
The collection documents the experiences of women working outdoors in South Florida's extreme heat and their advocacy to pass historic life saving protections on the job against heat illness and heat stress. The narrators share stories of enduring heat strokes, and other long-term health consequences resulting from working in record high temperatures. Many narratives unravel unsafe working conditions, often without guaranteed access to clean cold water and shaded breaks.
As a result, the video interviews offer a rare glimpse into the day-to-day struggles faced by women working in fields and nurseries. But the collection also highlights the workers' leadership in the landmark ¡Qué Calor! Campaign aiming to establish the first county-level workplace heat protections in the United States.
Credits: A heartfelt gratitude to our narrators for their time and courage. This collection would not have been possible without the support from WeCount!, FIU’s Digital Collections Center and the Digital Scholar Studio. Special thanks go to the digital librarians Rebecca Bakker and Molly Castro.
Finally, we recognize students in the ENC4331 course Writing, Rhetoric, and Community, taught by Dr. Marta Gierczyk in Fall 2023 for their time and effort preparing, recording, and editing the oral histories. These students include: Annabella Baboun, Catherine Casanola, Ashley Coll, Juana Duque, Frederick Finnerty, Ryan Flynn, Sofia Fuentes, Luisa Giancristofaro, Isabella Gonzalez, Ruth Gonzalez, Lauren Lascano, Katherine Lopez, Isabella Menendez, Leanna Monem, Frank Munoz, Cristina Oropesa, Karla Ravelero, Demir Sanal, Christian Tellez, Jeremiah Thony, Ashley Velazquez, William Wood.