For those in the United States, it may be tempting to think that the problem of child labor is restricted to the Third World. And, indeed, the United States' Fair Labor Standards Act (1938) prohibits those under the age of 14 from working in most industries. Children cannot work for more than three hours on a school day until 16 and cannot do hazardous work until 18. However, these regulations do not apply to agricultural labor. Estimates suggest that there are approximately 500,000 child farmworkers in the United States. Many of these children start working as young as age 8 and 72-hour work weeks (10 hours per day) are not uncommon.

Agricultural work is demanding and dangerous. In the United States, farmworkers are exposed to 1 billion pounds of pesticides per year, greatly increasing their risk for cancer. Moreover, children are three times more susceptible to the pesticides' carcinogenic effects than are adults. Environmental conditions (particularly extreme heat) and dangerous farming tools are even more immediate threats; some estimates suggest that 100,000 child farmworkers are injured on the job every year, and that children account for 20 percent of farming fatalities.

The AFT is interested in addressing the inadequate enforcement of child labor laws, outdated regulations of hazardous occupations and machinery, and continued exposure of young farmworkers to dangerous pesticides. It is working to develop various policy alternatives to the current system of child labor in the United States, including implementation strategies for existing regulations, amendments to current laws and expanded services for child farmworkers. The AFT was a proud supporter of the Youth Worker Protection Act, a comprehensive revision of federal child labor laws sponsored by late Congressman Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) in 2005.

Please visit In Our Own Backyard, the AFT's Web site on the hidden problem of child farmworkers in America.