Yup. People need to be in jail like Fed jail. They got fined for amputation risks in the past…this is shit me as a grown ass man would be leery of doing and they had a 12 year old do it.
What kind of monsters would put kids through that?
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Hyundai subsidiary has used child labor at Alabama factory [Reuters]
- Thread starter wenis
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Yup. People need to be in jail like Fed jail. They got fined for amputation risks in the past…this is shit me as a grown ass man would be leery of doing and they had a 12 year old do it.
What kind of monsters would put kids through that?
That's silly. My kid is 16 and works at a local amusement park with all of his friends. It's a full time summer job with some nights and weekends in the fall/spring. It's not heavy machinery, so it's a lot of fun for him while also saving up for a car.
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I mean...
...I tell my 14 year old and 10 year old daughters they should wait as long as possible to work, because they'll spend the rest of their life doing it.
It doesn't register. They'd both kill to "work in a flower shop" or in some other easy going job for a few hours a week if they could.
I don't think they should be, but the 14 year old is beyond wanting her own money. She absolutely can't wait to start driving and spending her own cash. (Like many young teens)
The stuff in the OP is hardcore work/labor, so that's extremely messed up.
Because someone posted some tweets about how labor laws stop 14 year olds from working in flower shops.
I did. To afford goalie gear that was about $2,000 at the time for hockey. Haven't stopped working or playing since.
If carefully regulated I think it could be okay. No manuals labor, max hours etc.
The McDonald's around us has some very young people working the drive thru window.
I did a summer job during high school. It's not a bad thing when regulated.
What the actual fuck.
I've had a job since I was pretty much 12? Started with paper route and the went on to service jobs like fast food, retail etc. Not only was it to support my own spending habits but also to help out around the house with bills etc. Please remember that some families aren't privileged with wealth.
I've had a job since I was pretty much 12? Started with paper route and the went on to service jobs like fast food, retail etc. Not only was it to support my own spending habits but also to help out around the house with bills etc. Please remember that some families aren't privileged with wealth.
Honestly I think the easiest solution is to institute a flat "no kids, nowhere" work policy across all industries. We don't need kids working anywhere.
I've seen how squishy the lines get when you have underage workers at places like a grocery store--which sounds fine on paper. I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out similarly in this case too...like there is some legalese quasi-cover available because some jobs are available to some kids.
I said wanted to get one. I had to get a job to pay things too, but I didn't want to straighten items on grocery store shelves over the summer. Didn't intend to imply that it's not a necessity for some folks.
I wanted to work and had a job at 12, working at a pharmacy stocking shelves and doing local deliveries. It was only six hours a week (over three days), but I liked being able to buy myself cards/comics/arcade money/etc.
Granted this is a very different situation that is deplorable, but plenty of teenagers want to work. My 15 year old son has started working this summer as a counselor, and most of his friends have part time jobs as well.
I think there's a huge difference in what's acceptable at what age though?
As far as I remember (this is nearly 30 years ago, UK), I had a paper round at age 14, it took me an hour a couple times a week. It was my main source of income as it was way more than the pocket money my parents gave me. Paper round gigs were hotly contested around my neighbourhood for kids like me who were always skint. If you didn't turn up there was always some other kid wanting the gig.
When I was 16, I had a Saturday job for 4 hours in a shoe shop, I think there was a limit on what 16-17 year olds could do, as a sort of recognition that we could do a bit of light work if we wanted to to get some cash and work experience, but we weren't full adults.
When I was 18, I could do full retail shifts like anyone else.
Neither of the first two was anywhere close to "hiring dozens of kids as young as 12 years old to manufacture parts in a metal shop with numerous health and safety citations including for maimed limbs." The examples in the OP sounds like exploitation of both children and migrants rather than carefully supervised, optional work experience for 14-17 year olds in accordance with regional/national law. I think you can have child labour laws stopping migrant 12-year-olds doing heavy work in industrial plants that don't impact on 14 year olds spending an hour doing a paper round or a 17-year-old doing a bit of light service industry work in the summer for a few quid, if they want to.
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Even with that distinction, your anecdote still rings false to me. Plenty of teenagers enjoy having responsibilities like a job, to say nothing of earning money, even if the individual duties of said job are not always enjoyable. Many teenagers, like myself when I was that age, are excited for independence and adulthood, even if, like me, they come from a relatively privileged background. I don't know, maybe it's an American thing.
No shit. The person I was responding to said they didn't know anyone who wanted a job as a teen and I find that odd as me and my friends as teens wanted a job to make some money to go out on weekends or to pay for a car and so on.
Just watch Zoolander. "The age old right of kids to work is under attack!"
It probably is tbh. Especially when many examples are about buying cars, in my country that's impossible with a summer job
Saw insane people defending that crap. Absolutely insanity and of course some of these children were migrant children. Smh
I had a job as a child delivering news papers, or doing odd stuff like shoveling a driveway when it snowed but this is like hardcore industrial shit no child should be doing.
They just had to use children as labor over here where I can't ignore the shit out of it as well as I usually do.
All corporations should be fed to the wolves for this activity. Fucking disgusting putting kids in a job where they could very quickly get sucked into a death machine.
All corporations should be fed to the wolves for this activity. Fucking disgusting putting kids in a job where they could very quickly get sucked into a death machine.
Here in the US, if children are able to work at a "flower shop", expect employers to replace workers with children with sub-minimum wage
Makes sense. A car is a big motivator here for a 16yo and in my youth the used car market was less supply strained than it is now and you could get a POS for only a few hundred dollars.
I remember last year I was getting drive through at Popeyes. The kid at the window was really nice and while I was waiting we were making small talk. He seemed very young. He said he was about to get off work and had to get the bus-because he couldn't drive yet. I asked him "Wait how old are you?"
he said he was 14. That completely fucking depressed me.
I've told my daughter the same thing that Landy828 told theirs. Don't be in a hurry to work. Enjoy the time you have now because it will be gone before you know it.
he said he was 14. That completely fucking depressed me.
I've told my daughter the same thing that Landy828 told theirs. Don't be in a hurry to work. Enjoy the time you have now because it will be gone before you know it.
Wasn't expecting to get dog-piled by a bunch of people who apparently loved going to work as a teenager, but every day brings its own set of challenges.
"Enterprise, Alabama"
Police refer the case to the state attorney general five months ago but the office does nothing.
SMART preys habitually upon newcomers, regardless of their ages, via temp work agencies that are themselves helped by (someone?) who steers refugees into exploitative labor.
Police refer the case to the state attorney general five months ago but the office does nothing.
SMART preys habitually upon newcomers, regardless of their ages, via temp work agencies that are themselves helped by (someone?) who steers refugees into exploitative labor.
I definitely wanted a job at 16. How the fuck was I going to get anything I wanted without one? My parents weren't going to buy me shit.
It's curious that Alabama poultry industries offer a $1500 hiring bonus to workers, and that an unidentified group also charges $1500 for a social security number.
Anyway, I don't see the usefulness of the comparisons being made in this thread between wanting a job as a young teenager and being trapped in a job to pay off multiple debts that include the groups who bring newcomers to the border, acquire documentation, and provide staffing to corporations, as well as landlords and medical expenses incurred from the workplace, plus whatever amount can be sent to one's family.
Vehicle manufacturing and poultry industries in Alabama have been exploiting newcomers for labor for years. Only, now that Title 42 is apparently here to stay, and as a consequence of the current administration's exception to unaccompanied children, there are fewer adults to exploit.
Anyway, I don't see the usefulness of the comparisons being made in this thread between wanting a job as a young teenager and being trapped in a job to pay off multiple debts that include the groups who bring newcomers to the border, acquire documentation, and provide staffing to corporations, as well as landlords and medical expenses incurred from the workplace, plus whatever amount can be sent to one's family.
Vehicle manufacturing and poultry industries in Alabama have been exploiting newcomers for labor for years. Only, now that Title 42 is apparently here to stay, and as a consequence of the current administration's exception to unaccompanied children, there are fewer adults to exploit.
My 15 year old makes minimum wage, so I believe that is currently $14.10 per hour.
Our minimum wage in PA is 7.25, yet my 16 year old is getting 14.00 at his first job. Good to know that some places aren't exploiting kids.
Child labor is inherently exploitative, pure and simple. I don't care about how well X pays children. It's a dynamic that's far too problematic. Kids don't understand what is and hasn't reasonable, what they're worth, what's exploitative, even what's legal.
The loudest proponents of child labor also being the loudest proponents of legalizing sex with a minor should be a fucking massive red flag.
The loudest proponents of child labor also being the loudest proponents of legalizing sex with a minor should be a fucking massive red flag.
I did, because I wanted spending money and money to keep up my car. I loved my first job which was at a pet store, I got to talk to people about animals, play with animals and care for animals. I would have been there many years if it were not for the awful store manager.
Most probably don't want to work, but most adults don't want to either so that's not really a good distinction. My son does like his camp counselor job though as he wants to be an elementary school teacher/coach and he enjoys the kids. He still has plenty of free time outside of camp hours.
So as I understand it:
- These children are hired (illegally) by temp agencies, who arranged for them to work at SMART Alabama, a Hyundai subsidiary that does metal stamping to supply domestic Hyundai auto plants.
- Despite what dumbass libertarian Twitter would have us believe, Alabama state law allows minors as young as 14 (not 12 though) to work, but has specific rules about the type and hours of work allowed, as well as requirements that they be enrolled in school, have proof of age on file, employer must be properly licensed to employ minors, etc. It's obvious the type and hours of work uncovered in this report violate Alabama law, and likely that the temp agencies were not properly licensed to employ minors at all.
- This would have required, at minimum, people at the temp agencies breaking the law and people at the Hyundai subsidiary looking the other way (while probably also breaking the law), and other employees keeping their mouths shut for fear of retaliation/putting their job at risk.
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There's a difference between 12yo migrants working in factories and 14yo+ internships at mcdonalds or side hustles like lawn mowing because a kid wants to have some money.
Having laws and restrictions against child labor are good and I don't think they prevent summer jobs so the tweet about the 14yo florist is weird but I'm not aware of us laws. In Europe, if you don't go to highschool, you're definitely going to start working in some capacity at 14.
Edit:took me time to write and some post above me clarified
Having laws and restrictions against child labor are good and I don't think they prevent summer jobs so the tweet about the 14yo florist is weird but I'm not aware of us laws. In Europe, if you don't go to highschool, you're definitely going to start working in some capacity at 14.
Edit:took me time to write and some post above me clarified
I cannot imagine this happening in the auto industry in a state with a heavy UAW presence. Cannot imagine the uphill fight organizers would face in Alabama.
I was UAW at 16 (but not in a plant or for an automaker) and our protections were significantly higher (…generally) than kids the same age who were just non-union summer temps.
i don't get the arguments in this thread against legitimate work for kids that want to with properly applied regulations. I started working at 16 and later from 18--20 worked at a place that hired as young as 14. This was 25-30 years ago in Massachusetts but you needed a work permit (and you had to have a guaranteed job to get one) age not just on file but hiring managers doing background checks so they didn't make age mistakes. 16 to 18 could do light work and no machinery or tools of any kind in any job, and 14 was so limited that that's why you see those kids handing out food through a window, it's about all they are allowed to do. They were also limited on hours, both what hours they could work and how many. As long as law is being followed there is nothing wrong with a kid working, especially those of us that were dirt poor.
Whats described in the article is just evil, and people should be jailed.
Whats described in the article is just evil, and people should be jailed.
that's why the hardon for ending education for immigrants or just simple education for everyone, abortion bans and the other fuckery, there's never enough children working at their factories
Hurray! Now I can get those horrid little urchins to change the bobbins in my factory! I also plan on opening a new factory that specializes in shirtwaists should anyone like to finance that venture. We're skimping on emergency exits though.
Terrible jokes aside, I was already considering abandoning Hyundai for their easy-break-in problems, but this seals it.
Terrible jokes aside, I was already considering abandoning Hyundai for their easy-break-in problems, but this seals it.
Having a single doorway be the only way in or out is the best way to protect them, after all…
Except inhumane child labor on American soil is common. It just usually happens in agriculture, which is largely exempt from child labor laws (at least, on the federal level).
Oh I don't doubt the migrant children are forced into agricultural labor; that shit still happens in poor rural areas with American children. Parts of my family were subject to it.