1165
Third Teen Worker Killed In Industrial Accident As States Try To Loosen Child Labor Laws
(www.huffpost.com)
this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2023
1165 points (99.3% liked)
politics
19247 readers
2283 users here now
Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!
Rules:
- Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.
Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.
Example:
- Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
- Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
- No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
- Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
- No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning
We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.
All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.
That's all the rules!
Civic Links
• Congressional Awards Program
• Library of Congress Legislative Resources
• U.S. House of Representatives
Partnered Communities:
• News
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Thank you for sharing. Unfortunately, a child's prefrontal cortex (the rational, decision-making center of the brain) isn't fully developed until around age 25. Therefore, they physically lack the ability to fully comprehend the consequences of their actions — hence labor laws. Again, I appreciate you sharing this information; however, it works counter to the science and may perpetuate a potentially dangerous culture of "why didn't they just call OSHA" instead of a "why are they hiring children."
I entirely agree with you, but a part of safety culture is to protect yourself and others. To be clear, no child should ever be hired or near these kinds of environments. Child labor, period, is a travesty and doubly so in an industrial or hazardous environment. These environments are barely suitable for adults, especially in the protein industry. If you are working in a place like this where children are hired, don't be a bystander and let it happen. Speak up and hang these assholes out to dry. Complacency and indifference needs to stop, naive a goal as it is.
Based on the teams I have worked with in the past, people in their twenties are definitely just as bad as teenagers. Even people who are far old enough to know better still play stupid games and win stupid prizes.
More safety PSA:
The one thing I at least try and make sure those under and around me understand is they don't have to say yes. It doesn't even occur to them that they can refuse. Workers are told to shut up and take it enough at it is, no matter the job. Workers are told to work 12-16 hour shifts and be glad they have a job at all. We live in a shitty world and if this comment prevents even one person getting hurt, no matter their age, that is enough for me.
Final point is there are plenty of tasks that can be done with appropriate safety measures, but if you are still not comfortable, just don't do it. Nobody can force you to get in a lift or climb that high ladder. Can you potentially lose your job? Maybe, but better than you getting hurt or hurting someone else.