In recent months, US authorities have uncovered illegal child labor in several companies. The US government wants to tighten controls, but has done the calculation without the Republicans: some conservatives want to relax the rules – for the benefit of the economy.
Last July, Hyundai experienced a PR disaster: A subsidiary of the South Korean carmaker employed children in the United States. Police arrested a 13-year-old girl and her two brothers, ages 12 and 15, at a metal stamping plant in Alabama. You worked instead of going to school.
One adheres to the federal, state and local laws, explains the Hyundai subsidiary Smart Alabama. Blame a temp agency. The South Korean automaker itself says that “no illegal employment practices will be tolerated in any Hyundai unit.”
But soon this type of work may no longer have to be “tolerated” at all. Because a number of US states under Republican leadership do not want to tighten the rules and controls with a view to child labor, but rather relax them.
“The state has to stay out”
For example, the governor of conservative Arkansas, former Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders, signed legislation in March that would change the law governing underage workers. This will make it easier for companies to hire children under the age of 16. Until now, a special permit was required for this, in which it was recorded how old the children are, in which department they are to be employed for how long and, of course, that their legal guardians agree.
The new law eliminates this documentation requirement in Arkansas. Put an end to this paternalism, explains Philipp Adorf in the ntv podcast “Learned again” the republican way of thinking. “If the parents don’t have a problem with their child going to work, the state should stay out of it,” says the political scientist, who researches the Republican Party at the University of Bonn.
Children as caretakers?
Republicans in Arkansas are not alone in making this argument. Even in the conservative Iowa they are working to deregulate labor laws. In particular, the job opportunities for 14 and 15 year olds are to be expanded – to workplaces that were previously considered too dangerous, such as slaughterhouses, construction sites, mines or demolition companies.
In the future, the next generation should be able to “get a taste” of these sectors and gain valuable experience as a kind of “apprentice” or “trainee”. This is an “incredible opportunity for everyone involved,” explains Jason Schultz in the local newspaper “The Gazette” the plan. The politician represents the Republicans in the Iowa Senate and introduced the bill in January.
This explanation isn’t new to political scientist Adorf either: hard work is a school for life – that’s what Newt Gingrich, one of the best-known Republicans of the last 20 to 30 years, argued more than a decade ago. “He specifically wanted to make it easier for children from poor areas to earn money so that they could learn a certain work ethic,” says the party researcher. “Gingrich was also against janitors in schools. He wanted children to do this work and earn some extra money with it.”
Travel to work up to 80 kilometers
But whether it’s Arkansas or Iowa, there may be a price to pay for this school for eager young workers. If something happens to them at work, if they get injured or oversleep at school, it’s no longer the companies’ fault, but the children themselves, according to Republican ideas. Employers are largely released from responsibility in the new regulations, even if there are fatal accidents should come: You are only liable in the case of “gross violations” of the supervisory duties or in the case of “deliberate misconduct”.
The law in Iowa stipulates that the assignment to work must not impair the health of young people and their school obligations. However, it is unclear how exactly this is to be ensured in everyday life. On the other hand, it is not only the potential workplaces that are clearly regulated, but also the working hours: In future, 14 and 15-year-olds should also be able to work on school days until 9 p.m. and be able to travel up to 80 kilometers to work independently.
“It’s crazy”
“It’s crazy. We’re negotiating things here that were abolished 100 or 140 years ago,” quoted the local newspaper “The Gazette” from Iowa, a union representative who cannot imagine that the new rules will not be abused.
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But the Republicans are convinced: There is provision for everyone, party researcher Adorf explains another argument: The law that prevents abuse among 40-year-olds also works for 14-year-olds, the political scientist summarizes the conservative approach. Young people therefore do not need any special protection, and also: “Why shouldn’t a teenager have the right to work in the same way as a 40-year-old?”
102 children employed
A naive or cynical argument, because the current laws are clearly not enough to protect children from illegal employment. Because like them “New York Times” reported, the applicable rules are regularly disregarded. During its research, the newspaper repeatedly found children, some as young as twelve, who were employed on construction sites, in car and meat factories.
US government figures suggest these are not isolated cases. Only in February was a cleaning company fined that cleans slaughterhouses – and had employed 102 children between the ages of 13 and 17 for this work. According to the US Department of Labor young people have used dangerous chemicals to clean even the sharpest cutting tools that were previously used to dissect animals.
A win-win situation
In fact, child labor violations have been increasing for several years: last year, 835 US companies were fined for illegally employing more than 3,800 children. That was 69 percent more violations than five years ago. In addition to Hyundai, well-known fast-food outlets such as McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts were also caught.
Not on purpose, companies often say afterwards. The responsible temporary work agency made a mistake, a service provider was to blame. In the meantime, however, many are also orienting themselves towards the Republicans and blame the population. Philipp Adorf sums up the allegation: If young people are allowed to earn something extra in these areas, it would be a win-win situation for everyone involved.
130,000 unaccompanied children
In fact, the desire for more young workers has relatively little to do with the school for life and work ethic, but with many vacancies that cannot be filled, especially in the low-wage sector. And it is precisely for this type of work, which requires little previous knowledge, that children and young people are the ideal people.
Especially if they don’t have American citizenship and are traveling alone in the United States: According to the “New York Times”, there were 2022 alone 130,000 Unaccompanied children in the USA, almost three times as many as in 2017. After school, they don’t go to the playground or to friends, but to work: They clean slaughterhouses and hotel rooms, roof roofs or even stand up at the age of 12 at Hyundai on the assembly line. It may soon be completely legal. Because Republicans like Sarah Huckabee Sanders, mother of three young children, want them to learn something.
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