Child Labor USA

Child labor, nominally banned in the USA in the early 20th century, is one of many ills making a comeback in the face of a weakened labor movement. This poster, originally released by Northland Poster Collective in the late 1980’s, explains some of the history. The text in the poster reads:

“Young boys sitting bent over for 10-hour shifts picking up pieces of coal; children sewing for hours in crowded, stuffy sweatshops; orphan boys injured through “personal carelessness” in hot, glass factories. Laws designed to prevent such terrible exploitation of children in the U.S. were passed during the first third of this century following years of campaigning by the labor movement. Today we are still finding children exploited for their labor. Some are middle class, looking to supplement their allowances. Others are low income children helping to support their families or undocumented immigrants trying to make a living. In any case, the practice of child labor deprives youth of their childhood–of their education to prepare for more than a life of drudgery. It robs young people of their future.”