Hi,

Republicans are passing legislation to legalize and expand child labor.

New laws in Arkansas and Iowa allow young children to work long hours without a permit, and similar bills are being proposed in Republican-held state houses in Missouri and elsewhere. These bills all stem from the same shadowy right-wing organization called the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA).1

We cannot allow right-wing dark money groups to take us back to the days of child labor. Right now, the Senate is holding hearings to confirm President Biden’s new pick for Labor Secretary, Julie Su. Su is a longtime advocate for pro-labor, pro-union policies, and would be a vital xxxxxx against the Republican-led return to child labor.2

Sign the petition: Fight child labor - confirm Julie Su as Secretary of Labor!

Child labor violations have been on the rise in the United States for years. Since 2018, the Labor Department reported a 69 percent increase in minors employed in violation of federal law.1 A recent New York Times investigation found children illegally employed in factories, meat processing plants, and farms all over the country, often producing products for huge corporations.3

President Biden has pledged to use federal agencies to crack down on child labor. But Republicans and the FGA have responded by attempting to further legalize and expand the practice. Their new child labor expansion bills would even make it more difficult to enforce existing federal child labor laws.

Julie Su is perfectly suited to fight the rise in child labor. As a lawyer, she successfully represented Thai garment workers in Los Angeles who had been trafficked and were being held in slavery by their employer. The landmark case led to the passage of California laws to reform the garment industry and end sweatshop abuses, and eventually to the United States’ first anti-trafficking laws. And that was just the start of Su’s career–since then, she has remained a powerful and effective champion for workers’ rights.2

Unsurprisingly, conservatives are opposing Su’s nomination. They don’t want to see such a strong advocate for workers at the head of the Labor Department. We need to make sure they know that we have Julie Su’s back.

Add your name: We support labor champion Julie Su for Labor Secretary!

Thanks for taking action,

Joey and the team at Demand Progress

Sources:

  1. Washington Post, "The conservative campaign to rewrite child labor laws,” April 23, 2023.
  2. Guardian, " The landmark sweatshop case that shaped Biden’s labor secretary pick,” April 25, 2023.
  3. New York Times, "As Migrant Children Were Put to Work, U.S. Ignored Warnings,” April 17, 2023.

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