July 24, 2007

senator@stabenow.senate.gov

Dear Senator Stabenow,

I am writing to you about the issue of child labor. It is a worldwide problem and should be stopped. I know that I am young and may have no power in this issue but that is why I’m writing to you because I think you have the power and concern to make a difference. I hope that after reading my letter you will know a little bit more about child labor than you did before and not feel you wasted your time reading this letter.

If you are looking for a reason to believe me then here are a few: I’ve done a couple of research papers about child labor so I’m familiar with what I’m talking about, I’ve read numerous academic journals and magazines and I’ve done a lot of research so that all the information I give you is recent and accurate.

Child labor is the employment of children under the age specified by the Fair Standards Labor Act (FLSA). It is estimated by the International Labor Organization (ILO) that there are 250 million child laborers worldwide right now. Most of them are 11 to 14 years old but 60 million are 4 to 11. These children can’t get a good education because they are always working. They don’t have time to be a kid. Some have to do work harder than what their parents are doing. 96% of these children are located in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Most of these children are hired by employers who don’t know what the rules and regulations are about child labor.

There are many laws and regulations about child labor. For example, 14 and 15 year olds can work a maximum of 3 hours per day and 18 hours per week when they’re in school. When they’re not in school, however, they can work a maximum of 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week. They can’t work before 7 am or after 7 pm except in the summer, and then they can work until 9 pm. If you are under 16 you cannot work during school hours. Youth minimum wage is $4.25 an hour but a four year old in India makes about $1.50 a week. Also, you cannot fire an adult employee for a child worker.

We need to help these children because if we don’t they will grow up and not get a good-paying job because they didn’t get a good education because they were poor. They won’t make enough money to provide for their family so they will have to give their child up to child labor. Child labor is passed down from generation to generation because of this cycle.

In conclusion, I challenge you to make a difference. Steps we can take to make this happen are to boycott things made in places using child labor. For example, we can boycott clothing made in Indonesia, dolls and other toys made in China, and soccer balls made in India. However, we can’t just stop child labor cold turkey in some countries because their economy is based on child labor; that’s their source of income. What we need to do is find another source of income for them. I know this sounds like a lot of work but I think we can do it and it will be worthwhile in the end. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to read my letter. I really appreciate it!