201 Organizations Endorse Legislation (CARE Act) to Close Child Labor Loopholes that Endanger the Health, Safety and Educational Development of Farmworker Children
The Child Labor Coalition is reaching out for organizational endorsements of the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety, which would end exploitative child labor in U.S. agriculture. [The bill was introduced on Cesar Chavez Day, 3/31/2022 in the 117th Congress. We will post a bill number as soon as it is available.]
201 great national, regional, and state-based groups have endorsed this much-needed legislation.
We ask organizations to help us advance this vital legislation which would remove the exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act that allow children to work unlimited hours in agriculture at the age of 12; these exemptions also allow child farmworkers to perform hazardous work at the age of 16. A text of the bill can be found here.
The educational impact of child labor on U.S. farmworker children has been devastating. We estimate that two out of three children who work in the fields drop out of school.
The CLC’s press release explains why there is an urgent need to protect farmworker children and how the bill accomplishes this. Child farmworkers perform back-breaking work for long hours in excessive heat while they are exposed to pesticides and other dangerous agro-chemicals.
Organizations that wish to add their names to the list of endorsers, please email reidm@nclnet.org .
The 201 groups below have endorsed the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety between 2019 and 2022:
| Action for Children North Carolina |
| AFL-CIO |
| Alianza Nacional de Campesinas |
| Alliance for Justice |
| American Academy of Pediatrics |
| American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) |
| American Federation of Teachers |
| American Medical Women’s Association |
| Amnesty International USA |
| Arkansas Human Development Corporation |
| Asian Americans Advancing Justice — AAJC |
| Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance |
| Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs |
| Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers (AWPPW) |
| Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, & Grain Millers International Union |
| Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, & Grain Millers International Union, Local 351 (NM) |
| Bank Information Center |
| Be Slavery Free |
| Beyond Borders |
| Beyond Pesticides |
| Bon Appétit Management Company |
| California Human Development |
| California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation |
| Casa de Esperanza: National Latin@ Network for Healthy Families and Communities |
| CATA – Farmworkers’ Support Committee (NJ, PA, MD) |
| Causa (OR) |
| Center for Childhood & Youth Studies, Salem State University (MA) |
| Center for Human Rights of Children, Loyola University |
| Center for Progressive Reform |
| Central Valley Opportunity Center (California) |
| Centro de los Derechos del Migrante |
| Child Labor Coalition |
| Child Welfare League of America |
| Children’s Advocacy Institute, Univ. of San Diego School of Law (CA) |
| Children’s Alliance (Washington State) |
| CLASP |
| Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking̶̶—CAST |
| Coalition of Immokalee Workers |
| Coalition on Human Needs |
| Communications Workers of America |
| Community Council of Idaho |
| Community Farm Alliance |
| Corporate Accountability Lab |
| CREA: Center for Reflection, Education and Action |
| Delaware Ecumenical Council on Children and Families |
| Dialogue on Diversity |
| Earth Ethics |
| Earth Justice |
| East Coast Migrant Head Start Project |
| Episcopal Farmworker Ministry (NC) |
| Fairtrade America |
| Fair World Project |
| Families USA |
| Farm Labor Organizing Committee |
| Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project (IL) |
| Farmworker Association of Florida |
| Farmworker Justice |
| Feminist Majority Foundation |
| First Focus Campaign for Children |
| Food and Water Action |
| Food Chain Workers Alliance |
| Food Empowerment Project |
| Food Policy Action Education Fund |
| Food Tank |
| Friends of the Earth |
| Futures Without Violence |
| General Federation of Women’s Clubs |
| Girls Inc. |
| Global Campaign for Education–US |
| Global Fairness Initiative |
| Global March Against Child Labour |
| GoodWeave |
| Green America |
| Hispanic Affairs Project (Colorado) |
| Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) |
| Hispanic Federation |
| Human Agenda |
| Human Rights Watch |
| Human Trafficking Legal Center |
| Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility |
| International Bar Association’s Institute of Human Rights |
| International Brotherhood of Teamsters |
| International Initiative to End Child Labor |
| International Justice Mission |
| International Labor Rights Forum |
| International Rights Advocates |
| Jobs with Justice |
| Justice for Migrant Women |
| Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation |
| Kentucky Equal Justice Center |
| Kentucky Youth Advocates |
| Labor Council for Latin American Advancement–LACLAA |
| La Semilla Food Center (NM & TX) |
| Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund – LALDEF (NJ) |
| Lawyers for Good Government |
| League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) |
| Learning Disabilities Association of America |
| Learning Disabilities Association of Maine |
| Legal Aid Justice Center (VA) |
| Lideres Campesinas |
| MANA, A National Latina Organization |
| Marshfield Clinic Health System |
| Maryland Pesticide Network |
| Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (Mass COSH) |
| Media Voices for Children |
| MEO (HI) |
| Michigan Migrant Legal Assistance Project |
| Mighty Earth |
| Migrant Clinician’s Network |
| Migrant Justice // Justicia Migrante |
| Migrant Legal Action Program |
| Motivation, Education, and Training, Inc. (LA, MN, ND, NM, TX, WY) |
| NAACP |
| National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) |
| National Association of State Directors of Migrant Education |
| National Center for Farmworker Health |
| National Consumers League |
| National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) |
| National Council of Jewish Women |
| National Domestic Workers Alliance |
| National Education Association |
| National Employment Law Project (NELP) |
| National Farm Medicine Center |
| National Farm Worker Ministry |
| National Immigration Law Center |
| National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association |
| National Organization for Women |
| National Partnership for Women and Families |
| National Women’s Law Center |
| NC Field (NC) |
| New Labor (NJ) |
| New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty |
| New Mexico Voices for Children |
| North Carolina Council of Churches (NC) |
| North Carolina Justice Center (NC) |
| Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP) |
| Northwest Workers’ Justice Project (OR) |
| NYS American Academy of Pediatrics, Chapters 1, 2 & 3 (NY) |
| NYSUT — A Union of Professionals (NY) |
| Oregon Human Development Corporation |
| PathStone (IN, NJ, NY, OH, PA, PR, VT, VA) |
| Pax Christi USA |
| PCUN—Pineros y Campesinos del Noroeste (Northwest Treeplanters and Farmworkers) |
| Pesticide Action Network |
| PhilaPOSH |
| Phoenix Zones Initiative |
| Physicians for Social Responsibility, New Mexico Chapter |
| Polaris |
| Pride at Work |
| Progressive Democrats of America |
| Project Protect Food Systems (CO) |
| Promise Institute for Human Rights, UCLA School of Law (CA) |
| Proteus Inc. (CA) |
| Public Citizen |
| Rainforest Action Network |
| Responsible Sourcing Network |
| Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC) |
| Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights |
| Rukmini Foundation |
| Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA |
| Rural and Migrant Ministry (NY) |
| Rural Coalition |
| SafeJobs Oregon |
| SafeWork Washington |
| SER Jobs for Progress National, Inc. |
| Service Employees International Union (SEIU) |
| Shine Global |
| Shriver Center on Law and Poverty |
| Sierra Club |
| Social Accountability International |
| Society for the Advancement of Violence and Injury Research (SAVIR) |
| SPLC Action Fund |
| Student Action with Farmworkers (NC) |
| Telamon Corp./Transition Resources Corp. (AL, DE, GA, IN, MD, MI, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV) |
| Texas AFL-CIO |
| Tony’s Chocolonely |
| Toxic Free NC (NC) |
| Trinity Human Rights Group |
| UFW Foundation |
| UnidosUS |
| Union of Concerned Scientists |
| United Farm Workers of America (UFW) |
| United Food & Commercial Workers International Union |
| United Methodist Church – General Board of Church and Society |
| United Methodist Women |
| United Migrant Opportunity Services (WI, FL, MN, MO, TX) |
| United Nations Association of the National Capital Area (DC) |
| United Steel Workers |
| United States Hispanic Leadership Institute |
| Vecinos Farmworker Health Program (North Carolina) |
| Verité |
| Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy |
| Voices for Utah Children |
| Wasatch Clean Air Coalition (UT) |
| Washington Lawyers Committee |
| Wayne Action for Racial Equality (NY) |
| Western New York Council on Occupational Safety and Health (NY) |
| Western North Carolina Workers’ Center (NC) |
| Winrock International |
| Worker Justice Center of New York (NY) |
| Worksafe (CA) |
