John,

One hundred years ago, children used to work in dangerous jobs from mining to meat packing. But in 1938 that changed with the passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act―one of the last achievements of the New Deal, which outlawed child labor by setting the general age to enter the workforce at 16 years old, limiting the number of hours children can work, limiting how late they can work on school nights, and protecting children from working in unsafe occupations.¹

But now, states such as Iowa are rolling back child labor protections. Who’s behind this effort?

A lobbyist for the Iowa Grocery Industry Association said, “The bill was really spearheaded by the Restaurant Association.”²

Restaurants are particularly eager to hire kids because they will work for lower wages and are less likely to question unsafe working conditions. But they’re not alone.

Twenty-seven major corporations including PepsiCo, General Mills, Frito Lay, and Cargill have all already been accused of exploiting child workers.³ Groups such as the National Restaurant Association, National Federation of Independent Business, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity have all spent millions of dollars in support of rolling back child labor laws.⁴

After the Iowa state legislature acted, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds recently signed her state’s child labor rollback into law. And other states such as Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin have all introduced similar legislation.

Some―but not all―of the children working are migrants. It is appalling that businesses are taking advantage of their extreme vulnerability and desperation. It is shameful that legislatures and governors are trying to let those corporations get away with it.⁵

We cannot allow corporate-owned extremist lawmakers to roll back critical child labor protections that blatantly violate federal law. Sign now to urge the Biden administration to do everything in its power to protect kids from greedy, reckless corporations that seek to put profits ahead of children’s safety.

What can the Biden administration do? The Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of Justice can all take action, suing corporations and even states that violate federal child labor laws. And they’ve already begun to act. But they need to know the public strongly backs their vigorous enforcement of child labor laws that are just as important today as they were 85 years ago.

The DOL and HHS have begun cracking down on child labor violations, discovering children as young as 13 working in ultra-dangerous meatpacking facilities, high-volume Pepsi bottling plants, and building demolition and construction sites where more than 5,000 workers died last year.⁶

Add your name and urge the Biden administration to use its executive power to protect our kids from exploitative corporations and corporate-bought politicians who are rolling back child labor laws in the pursuit of profits.

Thank you for taking action today to protect our kids and our future.

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs

¹ Celebrating 75 Years of the Fair Labor Standards Act
² We Uncovered the Corporations Bringing Back Child Labor in America
³ Senators ask 27 CEOs to make sure their companies comply with child labor laws
⁴ Child labor laws are under attack in states across the country
⁵ Alone and Exploited, Migrant Children Work Brutal Jobs Across the U.S.
⁶ CHILD LABOR IS BACK