Demand an End to Children Working in Tobacco Fields

Stop Child Labor in the U.S. — Demand an End to Children Working in Tobacco Fields!

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Dear friends, When 18 is the minimum age to buy a pack of cigarettes, why are young children working in tobacco fields where they suffer devastating health effects like nicotine poisoning? Take 14-year-old Luis for example. He works 12 hours a day in the tobacco fields of North Carolina. Luis starts his day at 5 in the morning to get ready for a van to pick him up, and he often doesn't return home until 7 at night. There are thousands of child laborers like Luis in the U.S. This is all thanks to loopholes created in the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act. While that law protected many types of workers by establishing a national minimum wage and prohibiting most child labor, it specifically exempted agricultural workers. That means children like Luis are legally allowed to work long and dangerous hours in tobacco fields — even though they're too young to legally purchase the very tobacco they're picking. This has to stop. Please, add your name to the petition today calling on the U.S. government to pass legislation that prohibits tobacco companies from using child labor and ensures regular human rights monitoring for all their workers. Thank you,   Ellen B. The Care2 Petitions Team P.S. Picking tobacco is long, hot, and dangerous work for anyone, much less children. Will you sign today to help protect kids across the U.S., then share the petition with your friends to help grow the movement?