Today is World Day Against Child Labor. In 2007, the focus of the international day of activism against exploitation of child workers is the use of child labor in agriculture. In Geneva, Switzerland, a group of labor organizations and industrial associations will sign an initial agreement that will focus efforts on curbing child labor. Elsewhere, around the world, there will be activist and educational sessions about the problem of the use of child workers in agriculture.
Here in the United States, there is specific action that you can take to confront child labor: Call the congressional switchboard at (202) 224-3121, ask to be connected to the office of your representative in the U.S. House, and then request that your representative co-sponsor H.R. 2637, the Child Labor Protection Act of 2007. The legislation will, if passed, establish new penalties to be paid by employers who engage in the illegal exploitation of child workers.
Actually, if one of the following six members of the House of Representatives represents your district, then you’ve got a nice phone call ahead of you. These are the six members of the House who have already sponsored H.R. 2637. If one of these is your representative, then you can just call up to say thank you:
Two of these representatives, Howard McKeon and Joseph Wilson, are Republicans. They usually end up on the right wing side of an issue, but they deserve thanks for supporting this legislation. Protecting children from exploitation as workers isn’t something that should be exclusively supported by Democrats or Republicans. Most Americans, regardless of partisan loyalties, ought to be able to come together to agree that the abuse of child labor is something we will not tolerate.
