Begin forwarded message:
> From: Paul D'Amato <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: November 23, 2008 10:44:22 PM CST > To: Bridget Broderick <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Fwd: Child Labor in the US > > > > Begin forwarded message: > >> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Date: November 23, 2008 10:00:10 PM CST >> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Subject: Child Labor in the US >> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> >> Hard Labor At A Tender Age >> Part one of two >> Raid at poultry plant reveals problem beyond illegal >> immigration. Workers as young as 15 were found on the >> line. >> By Franco Ordoñez and Ames Alexander >> Charlotte Observer >> November 09, 2008 >> http://www.charlotteobserver.com/258/story/314001.html >> >> GREENVILLE, S.C. Four months after turning 15, Lucero >> Gayton began work on the night shift at a House of >> Raeford Farms chicken plant. >> >> Starting at 11 each night, when most girls her age were >> asleep, the shy teenager with brown eyes was working 10- >> hour shifts, wielding a sharp knife, cutting muscles >> from thousands of freshly killed chickens. >> >> "I was scared that I'd cut my finger off," she told the >> Observer. "I did cut myself a few times." >> >> Lucero lost her job last month in the largest >> immigration raid ever conducted in the Carolinas. She >> was one of six underage workers, ages 15 and 16, found >> among the 331 arrested workers at the Greenville plant. >> >> Underage workers are a familiar sight on House of >> Raeford production lines, and not only in Greenville. >> >> More than 20 former and current workers at three House >> of Raeford plants - in Greenville, West Columbia, S.C., >> and Raeford, N.C. - told the Observer that the poultry >> company frequently hired underage workers. >> >> Six of them, all supervisors, said that top managers >> allowed the hiring to secure cheap, compliant labor. >> >> Because of the hazards, federal and state labor laws >> prohibit anyone under 18 from working on a poultry >> processing line. >> >> Former supervisor Eric Lawson started work at the >> company's West Columbia plant last year. He said a plant >> official told him: "Most of (the workers) are illegal or >> underage. So they won't question anything." >> >> Lawson said he was forced out of his job in April after >> arguments with his supervisors. >> >> In a February series on working conditions in the >> poultry industry, the Observer reported that House of >> Raeford had been cited for 130 workplace safety >> violations since 2000 - among the most of any U.S. >> poultry company. The Raeford-based company is one of the >> nation's top chicken and turkey producers, with about >> 6,000 employees and eight processing plants in the >> Carolinas and Louisiana. >> >> Following last month's raid, the U.S. Department of >> Labor launched an investigation into possible child >> labor violations. Miguel Pascal, who got a job at House >> of Raeford's West Columbia plant when he was 15, >> described it as a perilous environment, but an easy >> place to find work. >> >> "Nobody asked me how old I was," he said. >> >> In a written response Friday, House of Raeford said it >> follows the law. Every applicant, the company said, must >> present identification showing he or she is 18 or older. >> The company said it's required to accept documents that >> appear to be legitimate and can't request additional >> documentation. >> >> "Unfortunately, the documentation the employees present >> is not always genuine, or accurate, even if it appears >> to be," the company said. "Also, as we all know, not >> everyone tells the truth all the time." >> >> Coming to America >> >> Lucero's father never wanted her to come to the United >> States - at least not until she was 18. >> >> When Lucero called him from her mother's home in Oaxaca, >> Mexico, before making the trip across the desert, >> Tranquilino Gayton told her not to come. He already >> lived in Greenville and sent money home. >> >> "You're too young," he said he told Lucero. "The trip is >> dangerous. Stay in school. You need to study." >> >> But Lucero was determined to accompany her older sister, >> who had their father's permission. She knew her family >> had financial problems. Her mother would sometimes cry >> when there wasn't enough money for food or medicine. She >> wanted to help. >> >> Lucero and her father argued for three weeks. She >> threatened to move to another city if her father didn't >> welcome her in Greenville. >> >> "I thought. at least she will be with me," Gayton said. >> >> "OK," he remembers saying. "You can come." >> >> In early 2007, with the help of a human smuggler, Lucero >> traveled from Mexico to Greenville. >> >> Hundreds of immigrants have taken a similar path to find >> work at House of Raeford plants. The company, many >> workers have told the Observer, has had a reputation as >> an easy place for the undocumented to get jobs. >> >> When Lucero visited the Greenville plant, however, a >> woman behind the desk told her she was too young. >> >> The staffer paused, Lucero said, and then made a >> proposition. "If you pay $300," Lucero recalled the >> woman saying, "I can change your birth date." >> >> In a statement, House of Raeford said that it's illegal >> and against company policy to ask or require an >> applicant to pay to be hired. The company said it has >> fired human resources employees whom it discovered >> selling jobs. >> >> "If she (Lucero) submitted false documentation then she >> has broken the law, as well as company policy," the >> company said. "We have audited our I-9 records >> (employment eligibility forms) and are not aware that >> any employee who presented documentation showing that he >> or she was less than 18 years old at the time of hiring >> was given a job with the company." >> >> Teen on the line >> >> Lucero barely looks her age sitting on her living room >> couch. With her legs propped up, she twiddles her >> ponytail while talking about her friends from back home. >> >> While most of her former classmates were playing sports, >> flirting with boys and attending dances, Lucero was >> pulling overnight shifts in a cold concrete factory, >> helping to turn thousands of birds into convenient cuts >> for restaurants, stores and cafeterias. >> >> "I don't dance much here," she said. >> >> Lucero, now 16, worked at the plant, known locally as >> Columbia Farms, for about 18 months, first cutting >> muscles and then moving down the line to cut wings. >> >> Working in a chicken factory is hard, dirty work. >> Workers stand shoulder-to-shoulder, making as many as >> 20,000 cuts a shift. >> >> With a knife in her right hand, Lucero said, she cut at >> the chickens as fast as she could. The meat seemed to >> fly by. >> >> The older women on the processing line at the House of >> Raeford Farms plant didn't have as much trouble, but >> Lucero was hampered by her adolescent muscles. >> >> "The others kept up because they were big," she said. >> "It was harder for me. I'm small." >> >> Colleagues who looked out for Lucero said her age was no >> secret. >> >> Anita Bautista worked across from Lucero. She and Lucero >> would sometimes switch places when the teenager fell >> behind. >> >> "She's just a kid," Bautista said. "A 'chamaca' - a >> little girl." >> >> After her shift, Lucero would pick bits of chicken fat >> from her clothes. Her skin seemed to absorb the smell of >> the meat. Her throbbing hands would burn for hours. >> >> Weeks after losing her job, she says some fingers still >> hurt. >> >> She stands up and grabs a bottle of a hot analgesic >> lotion from a shelf near the kitchen. >> >> "My father," she said, "rubbed this cream on my hands at >> night." >> >> Others underage >> >> Current and former workers say Greenville wasn't the >> only place where House of Raeford hired underage >> workers. Dozens of minors, they say, also got jobs in >> West Columbia and Raeford. >> >> Fernando Arevalo, who supervised about 80 workers in >> West Columbia until he was fired in October, said he >> knew of five or six underage workers. They looked and >> acted young, often talking the way teenagers do, he >> said. Arevalo sometimes asked their ages. >> >> "They'd tell me straight out 'I'm 15,'" he said. >> >> Another supervisor still employed at the plant said the >> company is aware of underage workers, but overlooks that >> because of a need to keep production lines running. >> >> "When I've said someone looked too young, they've told >> me not to ask any questions," said the supervisor, who >> asked not to be named. "They said 'you have to assume >> the papers are real.'" >> >> Lizzie Mae Harris, who worked as a supervisor at the >> Raeford plant for many years before leaving in 2003, >> estimated that about two dozen workers in her department >> were underage. >> >> The boys were still not shaving, she said, and lacked >> the strength to do jobs designed for grown men, such as >> pulling skin off turkeys. >> >> "You could look at them," she said, "and tell they were >> babies." >> >> Miguel Pascal said no one asked about his age when he >> started working at the West Columbia plant. He was 15 >> when handed a deboning knife and put to work last year >> on the production line. His father says he often dreams >> that his oldest son stayed in school and later became a >> doctor or lawyer. But, he says, when you're a poor >> family from the mountains of Guatemala, that is rarely >> an option. >> >> "When you're poor," his father said, "there are choices >> you have to make that you'd rather not." >> >> He noted it's very common in Guatemala for a 15-year-old >> to be working. >> >> Miguel, now 17, and his father said many Americans don't >> understand the daily struggles of many Guatemalan >> families. Before they came to the United States, the >> family not only struggled to buy food, they struggled to >> pay for fertilizer so he could grow simple food staples, >> such as corn. >> >> But Marcille Chavis is troubled when she sees children >> doing this kind of work. Chavis, who worked as a >> production clerk at House of Raeford's Rose Hill plant >> for about 20 years before leaving in 2003, said she can >> recall seeing about 50 plant workers who she suspected >> were underage. When she pressed one youth who worked on >> the processing line about his age, he admitted he was >> 15, she said. >> >> It troubled her. "A lot of the time they're not mature >> enough to know what to do in an emergency," she said. >> >> In a statement, House of Raeford said supervisors should >> report underage employees to the human resources >> department because it is a violation of company policy >> and federal law. >> >> "Any company manager who condones the employment of >> underage or illegal workers would likewise be in >> violation of company policy and would be subject to >> termination of employment," the company said. "And, in >> fact, we have terminated employees for just such >> reasons." >> >> 'La migra' >> >> Lucero said the Oct. 7 raid at Columbia Farms was one of >> the scariest moments of her young life. >> >> Federal agents came pouring into the Greenville factory >> just before 9a.m. >> >> "La migra," workers screamed. >> >> Lucero said she and others tried to escape through an >> emergency door. It wouldn't budge. >> >> She said she called her sister on her cell phone, >> weeping, to say goodbye. >> >> Authorities took her to an empty factory about 10 >> minutes from the plant. She was fingerprinted and >> questioned. >> >> Lucero said she pleaded with the agents. She told them >> about her father and sister in Greenville. >> >> Lucero was released to her sister's custody. She was >> told she'd be contacted by federal authorities. >> >> She may still be deported. >> >> "I don't want to go," she said. "I want to help my >> mother. I've only done a little. I want to do more." >> >> Franco Ordoñez: 704-358-6180; >> [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> >> ***** >> >> Child Labor Going Largely Unchecked >> Part two of two >> By Ames Alexander and Franco Ordonez >> Charlotte Observer >> November 10, 2008 >> http://www.charlotteobserver.com/573/story/315580.html >> >> In South Carolina, several young workers have died on >> the job in recent years, according to government >> documents and published reports. Among them: >> >> Josue Daniel Martinez Castillo, 16, was working for a >> construction company in Jedberg on May 10, 2006 when he >> stepped between the beams of a roof frame and fell 20 >> feet to his death. >> >> Rigouerto Xaca Sandoval, 15, and his brother Moses Xaca >> Sandoval, 16, died in Blythewood on Jan. 28, 2003 when >> the 8-foot trench where they were installing electrical >> conduit caved in. >> >> Gustavo Hilario, 16, died on March 9, 2004 after falling >> 10feet from a scaffold to a concrete slab while working >> for a framing crew in North Myrtle Beach. >> >> Aside from the death of Nery Castañeda, the Observer >> found no other recent juvenile deaths in North Carolina. >> >> Rules looser in agriculture >> >> Agricultural work accounts for most workplace deaths >> among children younger than 15. But child-labor rules >> are looser in agriculture than for other U.S. employers. >> >> Children as young as 12 - younger if they are working on >> their family's farm - are allowed to work in the fields >> in some situations. Fourteen- and 15-year-olds can >> operate large tractors if they take a safety course. And >> 16-year-olds can work any agricultural job, no matter >> how hazardous. >> >> Though workplace safety advocates believe the laws are >> lenient, not everyone follows them. >> >> Heather Anderson, an advocate for young farm workers, >> described seeing children as young as 6 working in >> blueberry fields near Whiteville, N.C., on a day last >> June when the temperature reached the mid- to upper 90s. >> Anderson, who works with the Association of Farmworker >> Opportunity Programs, said she visited a dozen farms in >> the area during her two-week trip, and "every day we saw >> kids." On a few of the days, she said, the temperature >> exceeded 100 degrees. >> >> The National Institute for Occupational Safety and >> Health has pushed to tighten federal rules to better >> protect children in agricultural work. To date, there >> has been no action on the agency's recommendations. >> >> Critics also contend regulators have done little to >> investigate and punish those who violate the rules. In >> 2006, just 2 percent of the U.S. labor department's >> child labor investigations were in agriculture, >> according to the National Consumers League. >> >> The number of federal child-labor investigations in >> agriculture has plummeted from 142 in 1999 to 28 in >> 2006. >> >> Federal officials say enforcement isn't their only tool. >> They say they have tried to protect young farm workers >> by issuing public service announcements and developing >> other materials to educate parents and teens about safe >> practices. >> >> Ames Alexander >> >> Nery Castañeda tackled a job that was never intended for >> kids his age. >> >> One afternoon last fall, the 17-year-old Guatemala >> native ran a machine to grind damaged pallets into >> mulch. When a co-worker at the Greensboro plant returned >> from another task, he didn't see Nery - until he looked >> inside the shredder. >> >> "A person shouldn't die like this," said older brother >> Luis. ".He came with a dream and found death." >> >> Decades after the enactment of regulations designed to >> prevent such tragedies, thousands of youths still get >> hurt on American jobs deemed unsafe for young workers. >> On a typical day, more than 400 juvenile workers are >> injured on the job. Once every 10 days, on average, a >> worker under the age of 18 is killed, federal statistics >> show. added >> >> Enforcement has waned, despite new evidence that many >> employers are ignoring child labor laws. U.S. Department >> of Labor investigations have dropped by nearly half >> since fiscal year 2000. >> >> "There are lots of kids being asked to do work that's >> been prohibited for them - and it's been prohibited >> because it's dangerous," said Carol Runyan, who heads >> UNC's Injury Prevention Research Center. ".Our system is >> failing them." >> >> More than 3 million youths under age 18 have jobs. >> Regulations prohibit them from doing a variety of >> hazardous jobs, including most meat-processing work. >> >> But last month, at an immigration raid at a House of >> Raeford Farms poultry plant in Greenville, S.C., six >> juveniles were among the workers detained. Three young >> workers told the Observer they were under 18 when they >> held jobs at House of Raeford plants requiring them to >> make thousands of cuts a day with sharp knives. The >> company says it requires job applicants to present >> identification showing their age, but not all the >> documentation is accurate. >> >> At Agriprocessors, a large meatpacking plant in >> Postville, Iowa, authorities recently charged owners >> with thousands of child-labor violations after finding >> that teenage employees were asked to use circular saws, >> clean floors with powerful chemicals and perform other >> dangerous tasks. >> >> "The raids in Postville and Greenville show that 15- and >> 16-year-old kids are doing some of the most dangerous >> jobs in America," says Reid Maki of the National >> Consumers League. " . It's time for the U.S. Department >> of Labor to investigate slaughterhouses and poultry >> plants." >> >> A study of 16- and 17-year-old construction workers in >> North Carolina, published in 2006, found that more than >> 80 percent did tasks that were clearly prohibited. A >> national survey of young retail and service workers, >> published in 2007, found that more than half of males >> and more than 40 percent of females performed prohibited >> tasks. >> >> Runyan, who co-authored both studies, says much of the >> blame lies with employers. >> >> "I suspect there are employers who flagrantly disregard >> the law," she said. "And I suspect there are others who >> are clueless." >> >> Little to deter employers >> >> Employers who flout child-labor rules often face few >> consequences. >> >> Federal law allows a maximum penalty of $11,000 for each >> violation, but in 2006 the average penalty was less than >> $1,000, according to the National Consumers League. >> Total federal penalties for child labor violations >> dropped 29 percent from 2000 to 2007. >> >> Federal child labor laws cover large employers, as well >> as smaller companies engaged in interstate commerce. >> Most states also have their own child labor laws, which >> usually cover small employers and impose additional >> restrictions. But state fines tend to be smaller. >> >> Under N.C. law, the maximum penalty for each violation >> is $250. When employers fail to ensure juvenile workers >> get youth employment certificates, the maximum fine is >> $50 for each violation. That "doesn't seem to be a whole >> lot of deterrent," says N.C. wage and hour director Jim >> Taylor, whose office is in charge of enforcing - but not >> writing - the state's child-labor laws. >> >> In South Carolina, the maximum penalty for violations is >> $1,000 per person per job. >> >> Federal labor department officials say much has been >> done to help improve conditions for young workers. >> Alexander Passantino, administrator for the wage and >> hour division of the U.S. Department of Labor, told a >> congressional committee in September that officials have >> worked to strengthen child-labor laws, raise public >> awareness and target industries where young workers are >> likely to be killed or injured. The number of youths >> killed on the job has declined over the past decade, he >> noted. >> >> But critics say government has made little progress. >> Since 2001, injury rates among young workers have >> remained virtually flat, according to the National >> Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. >> >> Witnesses at the recent congressional hearing were asked >> whether regulators are doing enough to protect children. >> Several said the answer was no. >> >> "Much more can and must be done to better protect our >> young people from hazards and dangers they confront in >> the workplace," testified Sally Greenberg, executive >> director of the National Consumers League. >> >> The perils of poultry >> >> Meatpacking plants are among the workplaces where better >> protections are most needed, child advocates say. Many >> of those plants hire illegal immigrants with false >> papers, excacerbating the challenge of stopping >> juveniles from being employed. >> >> In poultry plants, workers are surrounded by dangerous >> machines and chemicals. And they're often required to >> make thousands of cuts with sharp knives each day, work >> that can leave them with lacerations and debilitating >> nerve and muscle problems, such as carpal tunnel >> syndrome. >> >> But youths are finding work in such plants, the Observer >> found. >> >> Elena Luna said she was 16 when she went to work at the >> Mountaire Farms poultry plant in Lumber Bridge, N.C. At >> first, she said, a human resources official told her she >> wasn't old enough. But when she returned with a >> recommendation from a cousin at the plant, the official >> asked her whether she could do the work, she said. >> >> "He said, "I don't want to see you in the nursing >> station or they'll fire me," she said. >> >> On the processing line, she said, she got little >> training and worked with a supervisor who often yelled >> at her to hurry up. >> >> Making thousands of cuts with dull knives every day, her >> hands began to hurt. "Sometimes I couldn't hold the >> knife," she said. >> >> Luna, who worked under the name Rosaura, said she often >> wanted to quit, but endured because she needed to repay >> family members from Mexico who financed her trip to the >> U.S. - and she thought it was one of the few jobs she >> could get. >> >> Luna, now 20, said other juveniles also worked at the >> plant. "I was not the only one," she said. ". Everybody >> knew." >> >> Mike Tirrell, vice president of operations for Mountaire >> Farms, said Luna signed paperwork indicating she was 18 >> when she was hired in 2005. She was fired about 15 >> months later, after company officials discovered false >> information on her application, Tirrell said. >> >> He said he could not speak to Luna's specific >> allegations, but noted that the scenario she described >> with the human resources official would violate company >> policy. He disputed that the company has employed >> numerous underage workers. >> >> The company participates in a voluntary federal program >> that helps employers determine whether job applicants >> are legally authorized to work in the country. "We take >> every step that we can reasonably take to ensure the >> eligibility of applicants .," Tirrell said. >> >> Nery's last day >> >> Nery Castañeda lived a healthy life. He loved to play >> soccer and steered clear of alcohol, cigarettes and >> confrontation, his brother Luis said. >> >> In June 2007, he went to work for Pallet Express, a >> manufacturer in Greensboro with about 80 employees. He >> presented his ID, which showed he was 17, his brother >> said. >> >> Several months into the job, he was asked to operate the >> pallet shredder, a massive machine that turned damaged >> pallets into mulch. >> >> On the day of the accident, Nery's co-worker stepped >> away to get a forklift, Luis said. By the time the co- >> worker returned, Castañeda had been devoured by the >> shredder. >> >> N.C. OSHA cited the company for eight serious >> violations, including its failure to put required safety >> guards on the machine. The agency fined Pallet Express >> $12,000. The state labor department has also fined the >> company $250 for putting a juvenile without a youth >> employment certificate in a hazardous job he shouldn't >> have been doing. >> >> The family, meanwhile, has filed a lawsuit alleging, >> among other things, that the company failed to provide >> Nery with the proper safety gear, training and >> supervision. >> >> Company vice president Lynn Bell said she could not >> comment on the case because it is still under >> investigation. >> >> Luis vividly remembers seeing his brother-in-law's pale >> face that afternoon in October 2007 when he came to >> deliver the news that there had been an accident. Luis >> sank deep into a chair. "No," he recalled moaning. >> >> "I didn't believe it," Luis said. ".He was a kid." >> >> Ames Alexander: (704) 358-5060; >> [EMAIL PROTECTED] | Franco Ordoñez: (704) >> 358-6180; [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> >> _____________________________________________ >> >> Portside aims to provide material of interest >> to people on the left that will help them to >> interpret the world and to change it. >> >> Submit via email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Submit via the Web: portside.org/submit >> Frequently asked questions: portside.org/faq >> Subscribe: portside.org/subscribe >> Unsubscribe: portside.org/unsubscribe >> Account assistance: portside.org/contact >> Search the archives: portside.org/archive > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Internet group address: http://groups.google.com/group/ChicagoMayDay To send e-mail: [email protected] To unsuscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
