Child Labor Movement

By george.main@sbcglobal.net

  • New England unions condemn child labor

    "The New England Association of Farmers, Mechanics and Other Workingmen resolve that “Children should not be allowed to labor in the factories from morning till night, without any time for healthy recreation and mental culture,” for it “endangers their . . . well-being and health” (Child Labor in U.S. History)
  • Period: to

    Child Labor Movement

  • First State Child Labor Law

    Massachusetts passed a law stating that children under the age of 15 who are working in factories, must attend school at least 3 months out of the year. This was the first state law passed that limited child labor.

  • Limiting of Work Days

    Children are limited to a 10 hour day in Massachussetts. Many states follow this lead but few of the laws are actually enforced.

  • New York Unions

    The New York Labor movement successfully sponsored legislation that prohibited the making of cigars in tenements where many young children worked.

  • Democrat Support

    The Democratic party openly supports banning factory employment for children under the age of 15.

  • National Child Labor Commitee

    The National Child Labor Commitee forms with the intention of reforming the federal laws regarding child labor

  • Keating-Owen Act

    The purpose of this act was "To prevent interstate commerce in the products of child labor, and for other purposes". This was the first federal act to restict child labor.

  • Vocational Education Act of 1917

    An Act to provide for the promotion of vocational education; to provide for cooperation with the states in the promotion of such education in agriculture and the trades and industries; to provide for cooperation with the states in the preparation of teachers of vocational subjects; and to appropriate money and regulate its expenditures.

  • Walsh-Healey Act

    Also known as the Federal Purchasing Law, states that the U.S. government will not purchase products made by underage children.

  • Fair Labor Standards Act

    Originally established a minimum wage, overtime pay, equal pay, recordkeeping and child labor standards. Children under the age of 16 could not work in industrial jobs. Children ages 14 and 15 had major restrictions on work hours during a school week.

  • Manpower Development & Training Act

    The Manpower Development and Training Act of 1962 endeavored to train and retrain thousands of workers unemployed because of automation and technological change.

  • Comprehensive Employment Training Act

    U.S. government program designed to assist economically disadvantaged, unemployed, or underemployed persons. CETA provided block grants to state and local governments to support public and private job training and such youth programs as the Job Corps and Summer Youth Employment.

  • Youth Employment Demonstration Projects Act

    This act provided an expansion of training and youth programs under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act, including the Jobs Corps, in order to meet the needs of young, unemployed, underemployed or low income persons between the ages 16 and 21.

  • National Youth Employment Coalition

    The National Youth Employment Coalition established a system for preparing youth for employment, with a focus on the needs of low-income youth.

  • Job Training Partnership Act

    The law was enacted to establish federal assistance programs to prepare youth and unskilled adults for entry into the labor force and to provide job training to economically disadvantaged and other individuals facing serious barriers to employment.

  • Kids and the Power of Work (KAPOW)

    A program of the National Child Labor Committee, is a national network of business and elementary school partnerships which introduces students to career awareness through professionally developed lessons taught by business volunteers in the classroom.

  • Workforce Investment Act

    The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) supersedes the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) and is intended to help Americans access the tools they need to manage their careers through information and high quality services, and to help U.S. companies find skilled workers.

  • Signing of Convention 182

    Convention Number 182 – "the Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor around the World."