We have seen an ALARMING 88% increase in the number of children employed in violation of child labor laws in the United States.

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Dear Green American,

Last week, the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee passed Senator Cory Booker's (D-N.J.) and Josh Hawley’s (R-Mo.) bipartisan Preventing Child Labor Exploitation in Federal Contracting Act to prohibit companies that engage in illegal child labor practices from securing coveted federal government contracts.

This is a first significant move towards the direction of addressing the dangerous rise of child labor since the United State Government is the largest consumer in the world, spending more than $690 billion on products and services each year. Now, Congress needs to make this bill law, and take further action.

Tell Your Representatives: It’s time to end child labor in the US NOW.

Since 2019, we have seen an alarming 88% increase in the number of children employed in violation of child labor laws in the United States. In 2023 alone, the Department of Labor cited companies for illegal child labor in 955 cases, involving close to 5,800 children. Unaccompanied migrant children are a particularly vulnerable population.

Rather than closing legal loopholes in our existing labor law and increasing fines, twenty states have introduced roll-back legislation aimed at weakening child labor protections. A recent Economic Policy Institute report found that The Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA), a shadowy Florida-based group powered by billionaire dark money, is aggressively driving a national crisis by pushing for the dismantling of child labor protections.

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“More than 85 years ago, our country passed the Fair Labor Standards Act, which in part declared that the exploitation of children in the workplace is unacceptable. Nearly a century later, our country is plagued by a scourge of child exploitation in factory floors, dangerous meat processing plants, restaurants, and other workplaces across the country. The flagrant, ongoing violations of federal law are unacceptable, and we must do more to ensure our federal labor laws hold employers accountable when they put children in dangerous situations that jeopardize their well-being, safety, and potentially their lives…. – at a bare minimum – employers exploiting children should not be rewarded with federal contracts,” said Senator Booker.

As members of Green America, we have long stood against the exploitation of children in the chocolate sector, defining and advocating for a sustainable and equitable green economy. In February, Green America joined the Child Labor Coalition, the Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation, and others to launch the Campaign to End US Child Labor. As a nation, we need comprehensive legislation to eradicate child labor in both agricultural and non-agricultural sectors once and for all.

Join us to send members of congress a strong message that we applaud the committee’s vote on Preventing Child Labor Exploitation in Federal Contracting Act. However, Congress must do more to prevent child labor exploitation in the United States, protect unaccompanied migrant children, close loopholes, and increase enforcement and penalties.

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Jean Tong
Labor Justice Campaigns Director
Green America

1612 K St NW #1000, Washington, DC 20006

(800)-58-GREEN    www.greenamerica.org

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