AFOP and Youth Coalition Member Help Raise Awareness of Child Labor in the U.S.
Washington, D.C.—June 22, 2010, Today the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP) collaborated with fellow Child Labor Coalition members, including Human Rights Watch, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and First Focus to discuss child labor around the world and at home. The congressional briefing focused on new findings concerning global child labor trends, the continuing problem of hazardous child labor in the United States, and what can be done to better protect these children.
Panelists at the briefing included Nancy Donaldson, International Labor Organization, Washington Office; Zama Coursen-Neff, Human Rights Watch, author, ‘Fields of Peril: Child Labor in US Agriculture’; Brian Campbell, International Labor Rights Forum; and Samantha Guillen, an 18-year-old farmworker from South Texas and member of AFOP’s Children in the Fields Texas Youth Coalition.
During the briefing, panelists discussed the dangerous conditions farmworker children labor under due to gaps in the U.S. child labor law. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938, which regulates child labor in the U.S., establishes a minimum age of 16 for all non-agricultural industries. However, an exemption in the FLSA allows children to legally perform farm work at the age of 12 for an unlimited number of hours outside of school. Children performing agricultural work deemed to be particularly hazardous can also be as young as 16, while hazardous work in every other industries is strictly reserved for adults.
Samantha told stories of the many dangers she has experienced and that many children continue to be exposed to by working in the fields at such young ages. She began to the briefing audience saying, “I have been migrating from Texas to Washington since I was born and when I was 6 years old, I began working in the fields.”
She spoke to the audience about the risks associated with heat exhaustion and pesticide exposure, saying that the field continues to be a dangerous place for children and it often has a devastating effect on their educations. Going to work at 4:30 am until 3:00 pm six days a week with no sick days and few breaks if any at all, she earns only about $200 per week. This summer, she has again migrated with her family from her home in Texas to the state of Washington. She said that she will attend college this fall where she plans to study Criminal Justice, hoping that her career in fields for the last 12 years will soon be over.
Panelists noted that Samantha is the exception; only one out of three farmworker youth graduate from high school and even fewer go on to college. Together, they urged attendees to ask Congress to support the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment (CARE Act, HR 3564), which addresses the double-standard in U.S. labor law that allows child farmworkers to work at younger ages, for longer hours, and under more dangerous conditions than any other working youth.
About the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs
AFOP is the national federation of non-profit and public agencies that provide job training and services for America’s farmworkers. For additional comment or interview, please contact Ayrianne Parks at (202) 828-6006 x140 or Parks@AFOP.org
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