My maternal grandfather was a proud man. He was unable to read or write, but liked to carry a newspaper and pretend. He particularly enjoyed showing off his signature, complete with flourishes. He was illiterate because he never had any education. He was sent off to the mines when he was a little boy, where his job was to pick up pieces of coal that had fallen off the railcars that lunged upwards from the bowels of the earth. That's where he lost two fingers. He was fortunately very mechanically inclined (unlike me) and able to provide for his family until coal dust took its toll on his lungs. I often wonder how far he would have gone and how much longer he would have lived had he been sitting in a classroom, above ground, during his youth. You may think I'm speaking about ancient history, but a federal ban on child labor has existed less than a century. If some right-leaning groups have their way, it will be making a return.
It was not until 1916 that a federal ban on child labor was enacted (over the objection of Pennsylvania's two senators), and that was struck down a mere nine moths later by a Supreme Court who considered interstate commerce far more important than children's lives. A child labor ban that stuck was finally enacted in 1938 under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
According to Governing, a relaxation of child labor laws is being considered or has already been adopted in 10 states. Wisconsin is pondering legislation to lengthen the hours children under 18 may work and to allow 14-year-olds to serve drinks in bars. Laws have been relaxed or are being considered in 10 other states. Iowa is now letting children as young as 14 work in factories. Nebraska is debating a bill to allow 8th graders to drop out of school and go to work, so long as their parents agree. Arkansas legislators are considering allowing 16 and 17 year-olds to work 50 hours per week when not in school. Idaho and Maine are thinking about allowing minors to work in the logging industry,
Children should be earning an education, not money.
When you hear about the children sewing your clothing in India or mining the cobalt for your cell phone batteries in the Congo, that tragic child abuse might soon be here..
38 comments:
Unfathomable! The lengths R law makers will go to secure higher profits at the lowest possible cost is a sin. A curse upon them for even considering these draconian measures as to the present child labor laws. Attacking education is an embedded trait of conservatism taken to the extreme to secure and retain power over the working class people of America and their children's future.
Your plan has failed as you type on a device made from child labor. Our kids are fat and stupid and don't know what sex they are. Your post is stupid, like our kids are.
This is another blatant example of Republican apathy toward children. They don’t care about mass shootings in schools either. Guns and the ability to make money are all they care about.
Most of the kids who will be placed in harm’s way by these laws are unskilled migrants who are afraid to complain lest they be deported. The right wants it both ways. Throw them out or let them stay working jobs where they can be killed or injured and uneducated to boot.
Sometimes you can be a rea drama queen.
Well laws that restrict young workers from operating dangerous machinery or working in mines is appropriate, but lets face it, we no longer have a work force with the same work ethic of the past, the work ethic that created the prosperity of the country.
A work ethic is learned at an early age, starting at 3 , put away your toys, then take out the garbage and feed the dog, then cut the grass etc. etc. etc. today we have well educated 26 year olds with no work experience, no work ethic and they soon end up living in the parents basement playing video games, because they have to employment value.
Today is an era were work ethic is a valued commodity and a responsible and industrious individual has more opportunities than ever before, because it is becoming a rare commodity.
Education is a foundation bot not an end in itself, many today believe if they get a diploma it demands a certain salary, it only entitles one to a opportunity, has no inherent value without work and responsibility. Unless you work for the government.
Working and doing things creates common sense, sorely lacking, because so many and even our elected officials have never done anything except deal in words and theories without the reality of what it takes to produce things of value.
Yes, kids should be working after school, yes they should be allowed to work all summer, yes they should be gaining common sense that comes by being active in producing things, it is the greatest education they will get.
Sadly today many young people are addicted to their cell phone, cannot go 1 minute without checking messages, all their time is spent on worthless pursuits. They would be much better off working, any work, every working opportunity is a learning experience that they will not forget, whether it is positive or negative and it will add common sense that they do not gain by any other way.
This is really of no concern. The kids won't be mining coal or digging for cobalt or working in a textile factory that locks its doors and blocks exits. I see this as an opportunity for the real go-getters who want to work to do so. I know someone whose son could probably run a whole dept. at Home Depot but they don't hire under 18. There are teenagers out there, believe it or not, who can work and still do well in school. Give them a chance.
I delivered the morning call at 5am when I was 11.....I've worked since then. Do I think they should be mining coal or lithium, no. However pouring a drink, delivering a newspaper,cleaning up Dorney Park and mowing lawns even this dumbass can condone.
Dumbass
6:37, There are exceptions in the law for paper delivery or work in a family business. But serving drinks? Absolutely not. I doubt you'd want your underage daughter groped. Also, logging? Are you folks out of your minds?
A 3 year old taking out the garbage, feeding the dog and mowing the lawn, eh? Sweet Jesus.
Without researching the WI law, I highly doubt it would allow someone as young as 14 to work behind a bar serving drinks. More likely it allows young people of working age to bring alcoholic drinks to tables with food orders, presumably in response to the shortage of wait staff at restaurants. The creepy gray area is how this could play out in practice. It's one thing for a teenager to serve an alcoholic drink with a food order at a place like Red Robin, it's another for a 14 year old to be a waitress at Hooters.
I wish I didn't read this. School should at the forefront in a child's life. Summer jobs and limited hours outside school hours are acceptable so long as they don't interfere with a child's health, safety, socialization, recreation, and yes, play. Yes, work hours and types of work must be limited until adulthood. Unscrupulous employers will take advantage of cheap child labor at every turn and we all know that. There is a reason for our current child labor laws and they aren't being enforced strongly enough. Affluent parents don't have to worry about this, Their children don't have to work. As Thomas Jefferson said "An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people. Thus, it is up to all Americans to see all children are educated to their highest potential and not let work interfere with that. That is why we have child labor laws.
60 Minutes this past summer had video appear without introduction showcasing thousands upon thousands of adults and children standing in a huge pit gathering cobalt particles all the while being watched by armed guards.
"A work ethic is learned at an early age, starting at 3 , put away your toys, then take out the garbage and feed the dog, then cut the grass etc."
A three-year-old cutting the grass. Really.
Maybe your kids are stupid , and I'm sorry to read that, however my kids are smart and successful.
I had more of like restaurant serving in mind. Agreed I wouldn't want my kids in a bar.
Dumbass
6.24
"Today is an era were work ethic is a valued commodity and a responsible and industrious individual has more opportunities than ever before, because it is becoming a rare commodity."
Yet those talents mean nothing when corporate decides to cut the workforce 30 percent so your particular site gets shuttered.
Corporate say (Hostess) declares bankruptcy to restart at lower wages and all new people except management who got a bonus during the bankruptcy.
today's youth realizes that loyalty is a one sided deal and they are expendable at any time.
They watched their parent's struggle and realized that self interest is the best path.
Employers do not want to pay what those with skills demand.
Why would anyone want to give their all to a corporation who's CEO spends his days scheming ways to cut your pay so he can get a better bonus.
BO has always been a drama queen. The idea of younger workers, 14+, is not that bad. It is better than bike gangs of kids taking over streets. ATV's and bicycle gangs on the roads daring legal drivers to get close. We have more and more social anarchy today. Authorities are reluctant to go after bad actors due to ultra-liberal laws and Policys. Kids often worked off the books for decades. No boozer jobs but plenty of other jobs could be done. And as opposed to our current schools they may learn something.
"You may think I'm speaking about ancient history, but a federal ban on child labor has existed less than a century. If some right-leaning groups have their way, it will be making a return."
Quite the sensational statement. Its stupid statements like this that don't get us anywhere and turn people away from actual dialog.
Part of the problem is, the pool of workers to do actual labor is dwindling. Try to find an employee who will work for a company for 15-20 years. They don't. You spend months training people, and they leave.
But specific to "kids". They are happy to work. My own included. They see the value in a dollar. They don't get freebies and handouts that skew their reality. They work, they get paid.
Fast-forward to their late-twenties... Sit on your ass and collect from the state.
There's a difference.
4.59
" Try to find an employee who will work for a company for 15-20 years. They don't. You spend months training people, and they leave."
They leave because they feel they are not being treated well or they find a higher paying job.
That is the way America works remember the bootstrap claim.
Employers forget that they are renting your judgement and skills not buying your soul.
I delivered the Morning Call from middle school through high school, as did friends.
Delivering the Call is no longer an option for kids, there are so few subscribers that houses are too far apart to cover a route on foot or bicycle. Now the routes are 400 subscribers each and delivered by an adult with a car at 3am.
He's talking about a progression. Don't be a dingbat.
Keep supporting capitalism and greedy big business by voting Republican, and you’ll get more of this.
They don’t care who or how they exploit labor, as long as they can exploit it and make a profit, they’re all for it.
More and more working class people are waking up and are striking against corporate greed, but if you continue to put republicans in office, they’ll receive money to lobby for these outrageous child labor practices.
Resist now or forever be slaves of corporate greed.
@2:06, several different people in this conversation mentioned delivering newspapers as work kids might do. I added information about that.
I’m sorry this was so offensive to you that you responded with an insult.
Have a great day.
Ha! They can't even get an adult to deliver in our area. Will never sign up for one of their bargain deals again.
I want to give a big shout out to the individuals who support the union strikes but vote Republican. YOU are the problem.
haha, republicans who support unions are the problem. the unions want a 40% pay raise for the assembly line worker, while the companies are hemoraging millions of dollars through the electrification of the fleet. its the mandate by the federal government (dems) that the union should be pissed at. where do the automakers get the money when they are reporting losses like that?
I don't get it. Democrats are rich too. How did they get rich?
Just a thought. Has anyone bought a new car lately. The costs are already outrageous.
Today. What's outrageous. The sticker or the finance.
You’re a bootlicker. Buying into capitalist propaganda and just like everyone else, blaming the working class instead of the wealthy shareholders that do NOTHING and get the labor surplus in dividends.
You’re on the wrong side of history.
EAT THE RICH
This is what the media does and what corporate giants like car manufacturers are banking on. They’ll blame future high prices on these strikes but at the same time, produce record profits. How does that makes sense? All of you are being swindled because it’s always in their best interest to turn unrest like “inflation” or in this case, union strikes, as an excuse to RAISE prices. It’s all bullshit and we need to understand what’s happening people.
There hasn't been a strike and prices are outrageous. Asking for a46 percent raise won't make the prices go down
Once again, you’re falling for the propaganda and blaming the worker. The only reason why corporations raise prices is to satisfy greedy shareholders that absolutely contribute nothing to the business.
You wanna know how to prevent prices from going up?
Cut CEO salaries and the amount corporations spend on lobbyist AND limit shareholder dividends.
Share profits with laborers NOT lazy shareholders.
Seems like a bunch of laborers don't like the idea of capitalism and shareholders. Without shares being bought and sold, investments in these giant corporations and the explosion of jobs wouldn't happen. Then what? Unemployment? Lower paying laborer jobs? What makes joe average assembly line worker better than the immigrant coming over the southern border? The american spirit? c'mon. 40%+ demand on wage increases is ludicrous. Name one other laborer group that ever got a 40%+ raise.
Your pro-capitalist, bootlicking rhetoric no longer applies here and you’ve been wholeheartedly indoctrinated into a system that exploits you for your labor and uses your surplus to pay greedy shareholders. A 40 percent raise is the minimum needed to live in this economy. It’s mere peanuts in comparison to the 20 million dollar salaries these CEOs get for doing nothing.
And again we see why this country is so divided.
I have no interest in “uniting” with conservative bootlickers who support politicians who hurt the working class.
Grow a pair and start understanding that you have more in common with a homeless man than you do with millionaire politicians
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