NBC News is capping a yearlong investigation of U.S. child labor with the documentary “Slaughterhouse Children,” which includes new information on the death of Duvan Pérez.

A 16-year-old employee who died after getting sucked into equipment at a Mississippi poultry plant got the job using the identity of a 32-year-old man, a new revelation that highlights the ease with which migrant children are finding work in a dangerous industry, and the challenges companies face in trying to evaluate their true ages.

Duvan Pérez, who was hired to clean up at Mar-Jac Poultry in Hattiesburg, which supplies chicken to companies like Chick-fil-A, died on July 14. Within hours of his death, questions about his true age were raised by a local Facebook news site, and he was soon determined to be 16.

It’s illegal for minors to work in slaughterhouses, which the Occupational Safety and Health Administration considers among the most perilous workplaces in the country.

The number of children working illegally has skyrocketed across all industries, according to the Labor Department, nearly doubling since 2019. More than 800 child labor investigations in 47 states are ongoing across industries, according to the agency.

  • girlfreddy@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    771·
    11 months ago

    More than 800 child labor investigations in 47 states are ongoing across industries, according to the agency.

    So when do the feds say enough is enough and implement severe penalties for all involved; ie: all profits the companies made x number of children working, charges/jail time for those who approved the kids to work? Cause whatever they are doing now obviously isn’t enough.

    • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
      561·
      11 months ago

      Never. Things are getting worse out there and this is what families are going to do to survive.

      All we have to do to fix these problems is pass national universal healthcare, raise the minimum wage, and start building housing as fast as possible. Given that we are not going to do any of those things more and more families are going to send their children into the labor force.

      • rockSlayer@lemmy.world
        22·
        11 months ago

        Alternatively, we can look to the past and see how the labor movement pressured the government to ban child labor in the first place.

        • highenergyphysics@lemmy.world
          21·
          11 months ago

          I think the greatest irony are the redneck ancestors of current conservatives, who even then were not known for being nice people, looking down with disgust as they grovel for scraps at the feet of con men from the city.

          These were real country folk who were willing to literally die for fair wages. Now they just gargle, swallow, and ask for seconds.

    • JoBo@feddit.uk
      18·
      11 months ago

      When are they going to make sure that all families have enough money to live on so that the children do not need to work?

      • jackoneill@lemmy.world
        11·
        11 months ago

        Right?!? Let’s solve the actual problem not criminalize the symptoms further when already criminalizing the symptoms doesn’t work

        • girlfreddy@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          6·
          11 months ago

          But, and hear me out here, I’d like to see every employee (involved in the hiring or management) of ALL the companies involved pay a price for employing children in the first place.

          That’s not saying that a UBI shouldn’t be enacted as well. I want both done.