{
"type": "rich",
"version": "1.0",
"provider_name": "Action Network",
"provider_url": "https://actionnetwork.org",
"html": "",
"author_name": "Patriotic Millionaires",
"author_url": "https://actionnetwork.org/groups/patriotic-millionaires",
"title": "Children Must Be Protected, Not Exploited",
"thumbnail_url": "https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/groups/default_facebook_images/000/254/238/original/PatMillz.jpg?1657828704",
"description": "There was a 37% increase in child labor violations in the United States in 2022. Last August, the Labor Department sued a Hyundai subsidiary in Alabama after discovering the facility had hired workers as young as 12. In December, the Department settled with a Nebraska labor contractor for JBS Foods after it was alleged that the contractor used “oppressive child labor.” The Federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) -- one of the last legislative achievements of the New Deal -- gave us the standard workweek, established a minimum wage, and outlawed child labor by setting the general age to enter the workforce at 16. The FLSA will celebrate its 85th anniversary on June 25, but -- if right-wing state lawmakers have their way -- the outlawing of child labor and the protections of minors 16+ will be gone. Let’s be clear; This is not just Alabama and Nebraska either. For example, Blackstone, valued at $112 billion, is the largest private equity firm in the world. It owns Packers Sanitation Services, one of the country’s largest food sanitation service providers, and was recently forced to pay $1.5 million in penalties for illegally employing 102 children to clean 13 different meatpacking plants on overnight shifts. In January, lawmakers in Iowa introduced a bill that would allow 14- to 17-year-olds to work in dangerous jobs like meatpacking, construction, and mining. It would also expand teens’ working hours and shield businesses from liability if the minors they employ are injured or killed on the job. Minnesota lawmakers introduced a similar bill last month that would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to work in construction. From Texas to Ohio, Wisconsin, and even New Jersey, child labor laws are under assault in states nationwide. Instead of paying a living wage and increasing benefits to workers, employers are willing to underpay and put children into dangerous situations if it means increased profits and higher CEO pay. We cannot continue to allow corporations -- and the lawmakers they own -- to roll back child labor laws and exploit children. Children must be protected from greedy corporations that don’t care about their safety and well-being, and Governors are the last line of defense. Click “Start Writing” to sign and send a message demanding your governor reject any and all efforts to roll back child labor laws now.",
"url": "https://actionnetwork.org/letters/children-must-be-protected-not-exploited"
}