Child labor in agriculture is a persistent problem in the United States and across the globe. This is a health and safety issue, an economic issue, and an education issue.
The CDC reports that in the United States, there are 820,000 children who work agriculture. It is legal for children as young as 12 years old to work in agriculture in this country. Agriculture tops the list of dangerous job categories for children in the United States, as cited in the new Five Most Dangerous Jobs for Teens report. Last year, we saw many tragic farm accidents that ended in death including two 14 year old girls who were electrocuted while detassling corn and a 16 year old boy who lost his life entangled in a manure spreader.
The US Department of Labor, in a shortsighted move this spring, withdrew proposed regulations to protect children working in agriculture, bowing to pressures from agribusiness. While children working on family farms were actually exempted in these proposed regulations, opponents messaged that they intruded on family farms. Young people who work in agriculture in the United States do not have sufficient safety protections to keep them from harm.
The NEA and over 100 national organizations support the CARE Act which will update protections children workers in the United States, including in agriculture.
Globally, there are more than 200 million children who are trapped in child labor, very frequently without time for and access to quality education, according to the International Labor Organization. In developing countries, the struggle to meet basic needs keeps generations of families in the cycle of poverty. NEA, together with Education International, recognizes the Global Day Against Child Labor, June 12. Education International’s resource materials can be used throughout the school year to bring this issue to your students. The US Child Labor Coalition has great materials and information about child labor in the United States and abroad.
We can and must ensure that children are healthy and safe.
– Jill Christianson, NEA International Relations
Jill Christianson is a Senior Professional in International Relations with the National Education Association. Her human rights advocacy at the United Nations, with Education International, has spanned several years addressing education and labor, children’s rights and women’s rights.
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