Target: Ron DeSantis, Governor of Florida
Goal: Do not support lifting of minimum welfare standards for young workers.
The tens of thousands of immigrants deported left large holes in state workforces. Florida’s elected officials have a controversial solution. Governor Ron DeSantis said, “Yes, we had people that left because of those rules, but you’ve also been able to hire other people.” The “other people” DeSantis is referencing are kids as young as 13. If a Florida Senate bill becomes law, the state’s children may soon be transported back to the early 20th century and prior, when child labor – and exploitation – was rampant.
The proposed bill, which has already passed through committees, would lower the minimum work age to 13 in some cases. In addition, numerous restrictions meant to protect the well-being of teen workers would be lifted. Teens would be permitted to work more than eight hours a day and more than thirty hours a week. Teens could work late into the night as well, even on school nights. Mandatory breaks would also be eliminated.
The ramifications of this proposal are plentiful. Academic work could suffer, children could become more sleep-deprived and stressed, and the chance for work-related accidents would increase. While supporters of the bill tout it as a validation of parental rights, the lessened restrictions could also become a form of parental abuse if parents force their young children to work all hours of the day for their own financial gain. And employers could also use the lack of safeguards to exploit and overwork young and vulnerable employees.
This bill appears in every regard to be a means for the state to extract the cheap labor once provided by undocumented immigrants from its most vulnerable populations. Sign the petition below to demand leaders reject this return to an archaic and inhumane era.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Governor DeSantis,
“When young people work, the work is safe and does not jeopardize their health, well-being or educational opportunities.” So says the Fair Labor Standards Act first implemented in 1938. A state that has catalogued hundreds of known child labor violations in the past four decades has little room to challenge and refute this long-standing affirmation of children’s rights.
The sudden loss of tens of thousands of low-wage workers is a problem of your own making. You cannot fill these gaps with the sweat and blood of children. Permitting kids (who may not even have agency to make the decision) to work longer, harder, and with more stress and less rest will jeopardize their education, their health, and their overall well-being.
Stop thinking short-term and think about the long-term. If the proposed lifting of child labor restrictions passes, you will not be nurturing the next generation of highly skilled contributors. You will only succeed in fostering a generation with less wealth and with less rights than their parents. Do better for Florida’s future and do not sign off on rampant exploitation.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: US National Archives and Records Administration
