CHILD LABOR                               

An estimated 246 million children are engaged in child labor. Unfortunately  almost three-quarters (171 million) of those work in extremely dangerous conditions, such as working in mines, working with chemicals and pesticides in agriculture or working with dangerous machinery. They are everywhere but invisible, toiling as domestic servants in homes, laboring behind the walls of workshops, hidden from view in plantations.

Millions of girls work as domestic servants and unpaid household help and are especially vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Millions of others work under horrific circumstances. They may be trafficked (1.2 million), forced into debt bondage or other forms of slavery (5.7 million), into prostitution and pornography (1.8 million), into participating in armed conflict (0.3 million) or other illicit activities (0.6 million).  However, the vast majority of child laborers – 70 per cent or more – work in agriculture.

Latin America and the Caribbean have approximately 17.4 million child workers. (16 per cent of children work in the region).

            Get involved to stop child labor           

The Child Labor Project is a joint effort of the Cleveland Teachers Union (CTU), the Cleveland AFLCIO, UNITE! (Union of Needle and Industrial Textile Trades), Cleveland United Labor Agency, Cleveland Jobs  with Justice, and the InterReligious Task Force on Central America (IRTF). Locally, we are working with  national and international organizations to eliminate child labor around the world.

Goals of the Child Labor Project:

• Promote a curriculum on child labor

• Increase awareness of child labor among local unions, faith congregations, students, parents and teachers

• Gain support for “child labor free” purchasing policies

• Provide consumer education on products made by child labor

 links:

Lost Futures: The Problem of Child Labor

by Loren Kramer

Through a 15 minute video, the participant gets a child's-eye view of sweatshop labor, and the empowerment experienced by kids who take an active role combating oppressive child labor. The curriculum, created for upper-elementary children or secondary school-aged youth, can also provide a basis for adult study of sweatshops. Many resources on child labor are included: organizational and website contacts, lesson plans, plays, stories & poems, a glossary, a series of US and UN documents on human rights.

Order your copy of Lost Futures by sending $10 ($15 to non-AFT members) to: Child Labor Video, American Federation of Teachers, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001-2079; or call: (202) 879-4400.  See  http://www.aft.org/pubs-reports/american_teacher/feb01/lost.html