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)