The U.S. backslide on child labor

Once again, children are being exploited by those who put profits ahead of their wellbeing.

By MICHAEL LAZZERI - SPECIAL TO THE WICHITA EAGLE

August 31, 2023 - 3:40 PM

In 1908, a 10-year-old girl takes a moment to glimpse at the outer world. She said she had been working as a spinner for one year at the Rhodes Manufacturing Co., in Lincolnton, N.C. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

Over 100 years ago, the National Child Labor Committee used photos of children doing industrial work to demand change in America.

Several states adopted child labor laws, and after much debate and several setbacks, the Fair Labor Standards Act became federal law in 1938.

In 1910, Salvin Nocito, 5 years old, carries 2 pecks of cranberries for long distance to the “bushel-man,” in Browns Mills, N.J. (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.)

Its protections included the nation’s foundational child labor laws, including restrictions on the age of workers and hours they can toil.

As we reflect on this Labor Day holiday almost a century later, we must not overlook the recent federal investigation conducted by my staff in the Midwest that found children working overnight to clean a Nebraska meatpacking plant with caustic chemicals, amid razor-sharp cutting machines and tools.

It revealed shocking facts that showed the ugly truth, that some businesses are still illegally employing young teens and putting them at risk.

Since 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor has seen a 69% increase in children employed in violation of federal child labor laws.

Hard-fought progress made five generations ago to eliminate child labor exploitation is being undone in cities and communities across the country.

America is better than that.

In 1908, a boy at warping machine at the Catawba Cotton Mill in Newton, N.C. (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.)

In February 2023, the Department of Labor launched the Interagency Task Force to Combat Child Labor Exploitation, bringing together federal agencies to improve information sharing, provide outreach and education to the public, and coordinate efforts to advance the health, education, and well-being of children in the U.S.

The department has also launched a National Strategic Enforcement Initiative on child labor, and is using all of our enforcement and legal tools to stop companies from profiting illegally on the backs of children.

We’re taking violators to court and have invoked the Fair Labor Standards Act “hot goods” provision, to prevent shipment of goods produced using illegal child labor. We are also scrutinizing labor violations at all steps in industry supply chains.

In 1908, Soarbar Seris said he had worked at the Maple Mills textile plant in Dillon, S.C., for five years. “I recon I’m about 14,” he said. (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.)

To strengthen our efforts, our leadership has called on Congress to bolster protections for children and toughen penalties for companies that use child labor, which currently stand at a maximum of just $15,138 per violation.

That’s not high enough to be a deterrent for major profitable companies.

Further, the Labor Department has requested increased funding for its enforcement agencies to investigate child labor cases and to expand outreach to employers, workers’ advocacy groups, schools and other community resources to educate employers and workers on the law.