Labor Shortage

Arizona changed how it sells prisoners to companies. The state raked in millions, but workers were neglected
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Arizona changed how it sells prisoners to companies. The state raked in millions, but workers were neglected

Clothed in orange with elbow-high rubber gloves and large black masks, a line of workers along a conveyor belt pull lead from cathode-ray tubes. At a construction warehouse, more workers in orange jumpsuits piece together wall frames for single-family homes until one shoots a nail into his knee with a nail gun. At a canning…

How Baltimore-based groups fight human trafficking in Maryland and across the U.S.
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How Baltimore-based groups fight human trafficking in Maryland and across the U.S.

A young Colombian woman was told being an au pair was a “wonderful opportunity” in the United States — she could take classes and improve her English skills while working as a live-in nanny for an American family. However, after being matched with a family in Prince George’s County, the couple forced her to work…

Child Labor Is on the Rise as Republicans See an Answer to Labor Shortages
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Child Labor Is on the Rise as Republicans See an Answer to Labor Shortages

A grim truth underlies U.S. industry: the appalling practice of child labor, widely perceived as an anachronism, is far from a thing of the sooty industrial past. U.S. consumers may have a hazy sense that children labor somewhere in foreign sweatshops to manufacture their goods — but such faraway tragedies are too easily forgotten at…

Feds Crack Down on Illegal Child Labor: What You Need to Know – JD Supra
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Feds Crack Down on Illegal Child Labor: What You Need to Know – JD Supra

The Biden Administration recently announced a new initiative to investigate and enforce violations of child labor laws. Significantly, the crackdown will include more aggressive investigations of and accountability for companies benefiting from illegal child labor, even if those companies do not employ the children directly. The federal child labor laws, which were authorized by the…

Child labor law reductions might become Iowa's solution to labor shortages
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Child labor law reductions might become Iowa's solution to labor shortages

Child labor bills in Iowa might grease the skids for human trafficking but that’s not apparently a concern for sponsors. The approach for changes in child labor in Iowa is to allow employment by those who are underage in prohibited jobs so long as the employment is part of a training program. Children under the…

Editorial: Child labor scandal is a work of shame – San Antonio Express-News
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Editorial: Child labor scandal is a work of shame – San Antonio Express-News

Throughout the country, venal and heartless employers are robbing migrant children of their most important quality — their youth. From Minnesota to Florida, from Michigan to Alabama, the United States is trapped in a horrific time warp, with conditions that evoke a Dickensian London where kids were viewed as fodder for the labor market. Spurred…

The U.S. Is Choosing Child Labor Over More Immigration
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The U.S. Is Choosing Child Labor Over More Immigration

On storefronts throughout the U.S., “Help Wanted” signs have become about as ubiquitous as the stars and stripes. Today, there are roughly two job openings for every unemployed American. This historic labor shortage is propping up inflation as desperate employers raise wages to attract scarce workers, then boost prices to compensate for higher costs. Or…

US is slow to mandate fair conditions for prison labor
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US is slow to mandate fair conditions for prison labor

Jamal Andress February 15, 2023, 5:43 PM From uniforms to bed sheets to state flags, U.S. prisons have a long history of profiting from prison labor. The Bureau of Prisons, which houses federal inmates, sells products through its company Unicor. Unicor brought in $528 million in 2021 alone. Similarly, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice sells products…

US depends on prison labor, but is slow to mandate fair conditions
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US depends on prison labor, but is slow to mandate fair conditions

From uniforms to bed sheets to state flags, U.S. prisons have a long history of profiting from prison labor. The Bureau of Prisons, which houses federal inmates, sells products through its company Unicor. Unicor brought in $528 million in 2021 alone. Similarly, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice sells products through Texas Correctional Industries. TCI brought in roughly $82…

Exclusive: Hyundai in talks with U.S. Labor Department over Alabama child labor | Reuters
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Exclusive: Hyundai in talks with U.S. Labor Department over Alabama child labor | Reuters

NEW YORK, Feb 8 (Reuters) – Hyundai Motor Co said it is in talks with the U.S. Department of Labor to resolve concerns about child workers in its U.S. supply chain, and the company is taking corrective actions after a Reuters investigation found children as young as 12 working in hazard-laden Alabama factories linked to…