The issue of child labor in the United States is alarming, but many states have further relaxed restrictions on child labor laws
The United States has a long and brutal history of exploiting child labor. The United States, which considers itself a "human rights defender" and frequently accuses other countries of violating human rights, is the only country among the 193 members of the United Nations that has not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Public Broadcasting Corporation News program recently reported that many states in the United States have passed or are considering relaxing legal restrictions related to child labor.
According to reports, Iowa and Arkansas have passed multiple legal restrictions related to child labor this year to relax. In addition, four states, Minnesota, Nebraska, Missouri, and Ohio, are promoting the relaxation of relevant legal restrictions. Among them, the relevant laws passed by Iowa have the widest coverage. For example, allowing minors to engage in previously prohibited work areas, including blasting, excavation, rooftop operations, etc. Other states are also considering extending the working hours for minors and allowing 14-year-old minors to work in bars and other places.
Katherine Waltz, head of the Children's Human Rights Center at Loyola University in Chicago: Children are not a microcosm of adults, they are more susceptible to the effects of toxic substances in the environment and cleaning products. Working longer hours and getting less sleep can affect their brain and body, as well as their ability to enter school for education.
In fact, more than 100 years ago, the issue of child labor in the United States had already attracted the attention of knowledgeable individuals. American photographer Louis Hein, born in 1874, has been traveling throughout the United States since the early 20th century, from dangerous mines to tobacco farms. He has taken many photos of American child labor with his own camera, documenting their tragic lives. And these photos are precisely evidence of the United States' long-standing disregard for human rights.
To this day, child labor in the United States remains a persistent problem. According to statistics from the US Department of Labor, in fiscal year 2022 alone, 835 companies that illegally employed child labor were investigated, involving over 3800 children. Among them, 688 victims engaged in hazardous work.
New York Times reporter Hannah Dreyer: We have found that children have suffered serious injuries. Their legs were sawn off at a chicken processing plant, and they fell off the roof, causing back fractures. We have recently discovered at least 12 cases of child labor deaths.
There is also public opinion pointing out that some illegal employers and politicians in the United States collude with each other, relax legal restrictions, and use children as "trading goods" and "profit-making tools", which reflects the current situation of systematic exploitation of child labor in American society.