New Action: All children must be protected
From Ellie Finkelstein, Freedom United
| “Protect the children” is a popular rallying cry across many states in the U.S. If only that were true. The Department of Labor recorded that violations of child labor laws in the U.S. rose by 37% in the last year, and the number of minors unlawfully employed in hazardous occupations increased by 26%.[1] In 2022 alone, 130,000 unaccompanied minors entered the U.S. following policies to turn adults away at the border. The exponential increase in violations of child labor laws is not a coincidence. This is a time to double down on child protection. |
| Take Action |
| Instead, ten states [2] have introduced or passed legislation that weakens child labor protections allegedly to “allow young adults to develop their skills in the workforce,” said Governor Kim Reynolds of Iowa as she signed her state’s new child labor laws. Under Iowa’s new laws, 14 and 15-year-olds are permitted to do certain type of works that were previously banned, including work in industrial laundry services, freezers, meat coolers, and operate heavy machinery such as power saws, or join demolition projects. Across all ten states, the new legislation pushes for minors to receive a lower minimum wage, work longer hours, and permit their employment in hazardous occupations. These jobs can be fatal, such as in the case of a 16-year-old boy from Guatemala who died in July in a machinery-related incident at a Mar-Jac poultry plant. The boy, Duvan Tomas Perez, was too young to be legally working at the poultry plant. “Workers are put in these conditions that are truly deplorable,” Immigrant Alliance for Justice and Equity spokesperson Jess Manrriquez said.[3] Packers Sanitation Services Inc. illegally employed over 100 children between the ages of 13 and 17. These children worked overnight shifts cleaning razor-sharp saws and other high-risk equipment on slaughterhouse kill floors.[4] In August of 2022, a 14-year-old student showed up to school with acid burns on her hands and knees from working nights at a local slaughterhouse.[5] The International Labour Organization groups hazardous child labor with child slavery as the worst forms of child labor under Convention 182.[6] Governments, including the U.S. who ratified the standard in 1999,[7] are to undertake immediate and comprehensive action to remove children from such work. So why are they instead making it easier for children to be exploited and putting them at greater risk of modern slavery? These children are a vulnerable group that employers and traffickers can exploit, fully aware that they lack alternative viable opportunities. The system that was meant to protect children is now directly facilitating their exploitation. Stop the erosion of child protection now! |
| Send a message |
Write a message to representatives of the 10 states to tell them to stop rolling back child labor laws. Follow this link, fill in your details, choose any or as many states you wish to write to, then forward the email we will send to your inbox to the selected representative(s). |
| Thank you for your time, your voice, and your commitment. In solidarity, Ellie and the team supporting the Freedom United community. |
llie Finkelstein
Campaigner, Freedom United
