USA: Investigation reveals migrant children working in factories across the US in violation of child labour laws; incl. co. comments
အကျဉ်းချုပ်
Date Reported: 25 Feb 2023
Location: United States of America
Other
Not Reported ( Agriculture & livestock ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Agriculture & livestock , Men , Unknown migration status )Issues
Child labour , Right to EducationResponse
Response sought: မဟုတ်
Action taken: None reported.
Source type: News outlet
အကျဉ်းချုပ်
Date Reported: 25 Feb 2023
Location: United States of America
Companies
Walmart - BuyerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Manufacturing: General , Gender not reported )Issues
Child labourResponse
Response sought: Yes, by The Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Walmart provided a response to the request
Source type: News outlet
အကျဉ်းချုပ်
Date Reported: 25 Feb 2023
Location: United States of America
Companies
Whole Foods Market (part of Amazon) - BuyerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Manufacturing: General , Gender not reported )Issues
Child labourResponse
Response sought: Yes, by The Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Whole Foods responded to the Resource Centre's request for comment, saying "Just want to clarify the NYT piece does not call into question the labor practices of any Whole Foods Market facilities. Regarding our suppliers, we have conducted a thorough investigation and have not found any evidence to support this report’s findings." Their response can be read in full.
Source type: News outlet
အကျဉ်းချုပ်
Date Reported: 25 Feb 2023
Location: United States of America
Other
Not Reported ( Restaurants & bars ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 1
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Guatemala , Restaurants & bars , Men , Undocumented migrants )Issues
Child labour , Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time , Recruitment FeesResponse
Response sought: မဟုတ်
Action taken: After the child contacted law enforcement, the sponsor was found guilty of smuggling.
Source type: News outlet
အကျဉ်းချုပ်
Date Reported: 25 Feb 2023
Location: United States of America
Other
Not Reported ( Agriculture & livestock ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Agriculture & livestock , Men , Unknown migration status )Issues
Occupational Health & Safety , Injuries , Child labourResponse
Response sought: မဟုတ်
Action taken: None reported.
Source type: News outlet
အကျဉ်းချုပ်
Date Reported: 25 Feb 2023
Location: United States of America
Companies
PepsiCo - Buyer , General Mills - Buyer , Hearthside Food Solutions - BuyerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Guatemala , Manufacturing: General , Women , Undocumented migrants )Issues
Child labour , Occupational Health & Safety , Mental Health , Illness , Sexual harassmentResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Hearthside Foods published a response to the NYT investigation in which they described steps taken in response and an independent review. General Mills and PepsiCo also responded to the Resource Centre.
Source type: News outlet
အကျဉ်းချုပ်
Date Reported: 25 Feb 2023
Location: United States of America
Companies
Hearthside Food Solutions - Buyer , Forge Industrial Staffing - Labour Supplier , Ford - Buyer , General Motors - BuyerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Manufacturing: General , Gender not reported , Unknown migration status )Issues
Right to Education , Occupational Health & Safety , Access to Non-Judicial Remedy , Child labourResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Hearthside Foods published a response to the NYT investigation in which they described steps taken in response and an independent review. General Motors, Industrial Staffing and General Motors all provided responses to the Resource Centre. Ford did not provide a response.
Source type: News outlet
အကျဉ်းချုပ်
Date Reported: 25 Feb 2023
Location: United States of America
Companies
Fruit of the Loom - BuyerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Manufacturing: General , Gender not reported , Unknown migration status )Issues
Child labourResponse
Response sought: Yes, by The Resource Centre.
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Fruit of the Loom provided a response to the Resource Centre's request; it named Renfro as the owner of the facility reported on and the company said the contract with Renfro was terminated at the end of 2022. Their response can be read in full.
Source type: News outlet
အကျဉ်းချုပ်
Date Reported: 25 Feb 2023
Location: United States of America
Companies
J.Crew - BuyerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Manufacturing: General , Gender not reported , Unknown migration status )Issues
Child labourResponse
Response sought: Yes, by The Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: J. Crew did not respond to the Resource Centre's request for comment.
Source type: News outlet
အကျဉ်းချုပ်
Date Reported: 25 Feb 2023
Location: United States of America
Companies
Target - BuyerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Manufacturing: General , Gender not reported , Unknown migration status )Issues
Child labourResponse
Response sought: Yes, by The Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Target provided a response to the Resource Centre.
Source type: News outlet
အကျဉ်းချုပ်
Date Reported: 25 Feb 2023
Location: United States of America
Companies
Ben & Jerry's (part of Unilever) - BuyerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Manufacturing: General , Gender not reported , Unknown migration status )Issues
Child labourResponse
Response sought: Yes, by The Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Ben & Jerry's provided a response to the Resource Centre.
Source type: News outlet
"Alone and Exploited, Migrant Children Work Brutal Jobs Across the U.S.," 25 Feb. 2023
... Migrant children, who have been coming into the United States without their parents in record numbers, are ending up in some of the most punishing jobs in the country, a New York Times investigation found. This shadow work force extends across industries in every state, flouting child labor laws that have been in place for nearly a century.
... The Times spoke with more than 100 migrant child workers in 20 states who described jobs that were grinding them into exhaustion, and fears that they had become trapped in circumstances they never could have imagined.
... Migrant child labor benefits both under-the-table operations and global corporations, The Times found. In Los Angeles, children stitch “Made in America” tags into J. Crew shirts. They bake dinner rolls sold at Walmart and Target, process milk used in Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and help debone chicken sold at Whole Foods. As recently as the fall, middle-schoolers made Fruit of the Loom socks in Alabama. In Michigan, children make auto parts used by Ford and General Motors.
... The federal government hires child welfare agencies to track some minors who are deemed to be at high risk. But caseworkers at those agencies said that H.H.S. regularly ignored obvious signs of labor exploitation, a characterization the agency disputed. In interviews with more than 60 caseworkers, most independently estimated that about two-thirds of all unaccompanied migrant children ended up working full time.
... Several, including Ford, General Motors, J. Crew and Walmart, as well as their suppliers, said they took the allegations seriously and would investigate.
... In Worthington, Minn., it had long been an open secret that migrant children released by H.H.S. were cleaning a slaughterhouse run by JBS, the world’s largest meat processor.
... The cleaning company paid a $1.5 million penalty, while JBS said it had been unaware that children were scouring the Worthington factory each night. JBS fired the cleaning contractor.