Why Child Labor in America is Skyrocketing | Robert Reich

Corporations are now using the “labor shortage” as an excuse to bring back child labor. It’s part of a horrifying trend: Since 2015, child labor violations have risen nearly 300%.

Major companies like General Mills, Walmart, and McDonald’s have all been implicated.

Are corporate profits really more important than the safety of children?

[michaelgillespie]

There's not a labor shortage, businesses just don't want to pay a decent living wage.

[SenatiaA]

This is why corporations were screaming that people didn't want to work while adults were looking for work but not getting the work. How did I miss that? 🤦🏿‍♀️

[faemomofdragons]

Two weeks ago, I had my junior English class research labor laws and make flyers to educate teenagers on what they need to know. I did this because 3 of my students slept through my class and apologized because their bosses made them close the night before.

[kiraward]

One of the most serious problems with the new child labor laws is that corporations are not required to give compensation to minors that are injured on the job. Either Arkansas or one of the Dakotas literally wrote that into their law. Meaning if your child gets maimed, suffers chemical burns or even gets a minor scrape the company is not forced to give your child workers compensation. One of them went so far as to write in that the corporation will not suffer legal consequences of any type if a child is injured on the job. Not sure if either of those made it into final bills, however it will not surprise me if they did.

[babiesandbuddies]

Child workers have been around for years. I'm in Minnesota and since the early 1990s, my county has an "educational program" for low-income families (however, it's now for at-risk youth rather than targeting only low-income) In this program, 12-15 year old kids are allowed to work full time in this program during the summer months working below minimum wage. My husband spent his summers working for the county doing office work, bike repairs, cooking pizza and hotdogs at the pool, and working in the city garden. Its promoted as this wonderful humanitarian program, but it's used as a way to exploit low-income or kids from abusive homes.

[tiptonbrett]

5. Make C-level executives liable for severe criminal penalties if the corporation breaks child labor laws.

[michaelsoltesz]

I started working at 15. The idea was character building and learning the value of money.
What I learned is how grotesque and corrupt workplaces are. The horrible people in charge and what they truly value. Enjoy your childhood if you can. Losing it leaves a massive hole in your life, which many people fill with drugs or consumerism.

[elsf]

"haven't we learned?" When one entire half of the country is obsessed with stopping schools from teaching anything remotely factual (ESPECIALLY about history, race and labor) no, no we will not be learning a whole lot from the past😒

[tzisorey]

"Are corporate profits more important than child safety"
See, the problem is that there are people who will unironically answer "Yes" to that question. And those people, are the people in charge.

[tarkov]

Sadly, lot of these companies already were supported by child labor overseas. Sometimes unknowingly sometimes not.

[mazer]

Child labor, kidnapping and forced labor, sexual slavery…all very serious issues in many countries today. Absolutely sickening

[krokodyl]

The existing fines per child working that are currently levied against corporations ARE A F’KING JOKE!! 👎😡 These fines need to be increased exponentially!! Furthermore, these corporations should be taxed much much more than the existing tax they pay!! This situation is very upsetting. 😦

[metacapitalism]

I am sad to say this Robert but I have no faith left in America. I only want to get my children out of this country.

[mdempsey]

My first job was for a family owned bakery. I was hired the summer before I began high school. In the summers they gave me all the shifts I could handle but once school started it was weekend shifts only and my boss insisted on shorter shifts to accommodate schoolwork and extra curricular things. I ended up working for them through college. That’s honestly the way it should be. I’m lucky to have had that experience.

[isthattrue]

I'm seriously good friends with the current director of the DOL. Yes, he has told me repeatedly that they keep getting defunded and their power stripped away. That's why they are so slow to investigate companies, etc. He's literally doing the jobs of 9 people by himself because they don't even get the funding for a full staff.

[nicollaney]

I disagree with fines we need to hold corporate executives and CEOs liable instead of just depending on fines to make this bad practice stop.

[blackmage]

As FDR once said, "no business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country. By 'business' I mean the whole of commerce as well as the whole of industry; by 'workers' I mean all workers, the white collar class as well as the men in overalls; and by 'living wages' I mean more than a bare subsistence level - I mean the wages of decent living."

[supercommie]

During the Industrial Revolution we have seen what wage suppression by means of child labour can do for an Economy. Do Republicans just avoid studying history?

[dawnshimmer]

"Labor shortages" Meanwhile I'm an able adult capable of performing almost all physical job activities and yet I haven't been able to get a job for nearly a month. And I'm literally saying "anything, minimum wage or more" when asked how much I expect to be paid.

[phatchick]

This is sickening. Kids deserve to be kids, not underpaid labor for greedy companies that don't want to pay adults living wages. The main reason for the "labor shortage" is that we're finally waking up to the fact that we're selling hours of our lives tp employers and all to often selling them at bargain prices.