Our Neighborhoods
WeCount! Homestead
WeCount! Miami
Our Campaigns
¡Que Calor!
In Miami-Dade County, residents experience an average of 154 days a year with a heat index above 90 degrees, and by mid-century, this number will rise to 181. As the planet continues to warm, Florida’s outdoor workers in agriculture and construction will increasingly be at high risk of experiencing the “silent killer” of heat-related illness. In fact, outdoor workers are up to 35 times more likely to die of heat illness than the general population. Our campaign, called Que Calor!, is fighting to win a countywide heat standard for outdoor workers in Miami-Dade County, including access to water, shade, and rest breaks. Visit our Que Calor! page for more information on this campaign.
Stop Wage Theft
In 2010, WeCount! and members of the South Florida Wage Theft Taskforce won the first countywide wage theft ordinance in the country. Since then, WeCount! has led efforts to combat the epidemic of wage theft in South Florida. We have educated workers on wage theft, filed administrative claims, organized direct actions against employers, recovered hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid wages, and advocated for stronger policies. Unfortunately, Florida continues to lead the country in wage theft violations, due to the lack of effective protections and enforcement. WeCount! is leading campaigns to stop wage theft in South Florida through strategic enforcement.
DALE / Alto SB1718
Florida has become one of the most anti-immigrant states in the country with laws like SB168, SB1808, and SB1718. A membership organization of immigrant workers, WeCount! is on the front lines of local, state, and national movements in the fight for an inclusive and humane immigration system. As part of this work, WeCount! has been leading campaigns to end ICE detainer policies in Miami-Dade, disentangle ICE from local governments, and win pro-immigrant protections at the local, state, and federal level. More recently, we have mobilized thousands in opposition to anti-immigrant laws like SB1718. Our work combines grassroots organizing, legal and policy advocacy, and community defense.
Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights
In 2023, WeCount! launched a joint campaign with Miami Workers Center to win a municipal Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in Miami-Dade, the first one of its kind in Florida and the South. South Florida has the largest population of nannies, housecleaners, and home health aides in Florida, yet this workforce – composed mostly of immigrant women of color – remains excluded from many federal, state, and local labor protections. Through our Domestic Workers Bill of Rights campaign, we are fighting to win a right to a written contract, protections from sexual harassment and discrimination, a guaranteed rest break, privacy rights, and fair notice of termination for more than 60,000 workers.
Planting Justice
Miami-Dade County is home to over 1,500 plant nurseries that supply big box stores, independent retailers, landscapers, and government bodies nationwide. Thousands of workers, primarily immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala and other Central American countries, are employed in this industry. Our latest report, The Human Landscape: Wages and Working Conditions of Plant Nursery Workers in South Miami-Dade County, can be found below in the “Our Research” section. WeCount!’s Sembrando Justicia (Planting Justice) campaign aims to raise labor standards in the industry through worker organizing, industry-setting standards, and strategic enforcement.
COVID-19 Recovery for All
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, low-wage immigrant and undocumented workers have faced significant barriers and exclusions from local, state, and federal relief programs., including stimulus checks and state unemployment insurance. WeCount! has organized to address these barriers by creating the first COVID-19 mutual aid fund for undocumented workers in South Florida, advocating for immigrant-inclusive policies, expanding COVID-19 vaccine access, and helping immigrant workers access municipal relief. You can read more about this work in our COVID-19 page.
Our Education
Our Immigrant Worker Education & Advocacy Project combines know-your-rights education, health and safety trainings, popular and political education, and workforce development to help low-wage immigrant workers in South Dade understand, defend, and expand their rights. Our education program is co-facilitated by workers.
“No pedagogy which is truly liberating can remain distant from the oppressed by treating them as unfortunates and by presenting for their emulation models from among the oppressors. The oppressed must be their own example in the struggle for their redemption.” - Paulo Freire
