"A group of women farmworkers from Homestead, a major agricultural area in South Florida, traveled to Tallahassee on Tuesday to say they want their kids to have opportunities to further their education rather than toil in the fields.
But legislation moving through the state House would roll back child labor restrictions to allow minors to work longer hours. This Thursday, the Florida House will vote on, and most likely approve of, HB 49, which would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to work more than eight hours per day and more than 30 hours a week during the school year.
Employers could give 16- and 17-year-olds fewer breaks under the House proposal.
'What’s best for our kids is that they study to be able to defend themselves in life, so that they don’t have to work in the fields under the sun all the time. We don’t want them to pass out from heat illness or suffer debilitating injuries; we want them to be healthy,' said Sandra Diaz, one of the workers with The Farmworker Association of Florida, Inc.
She continued: 'We want our kids to be more successful than we are. Some of us are not professionals, but we want our kids to be.'”
~ Jackie Llanos
"FL child labor bills: Women farmworkers worry about kids working longer hours in the fields"
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