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Teen Workers:
Beware These Five Worst
Summer ’04 Jobs
National
Consumers League Warns Youth and Parents, Calls for Child Labor Reform
as Youth Enter Summer Employment
Release Date: June 21,
2004
Contact: 202-835-3323,
media@nclnet.org
WASHINGTON, DC — The
National Consumers League (NCL) issued the 2004 Five Worst Teen Jobs
today as Vice President for Fair Labor Standards Policy Darlene Adkins
called for the White House and Congress to initiate long-overdue child
labor reform to save the lives of young workers. This comes less than a
month after a DC-area teenager was killed at his job, a job listed among
the top five.
As the summer employment season geared up,
a 17-year-old worker who had been with his company for just a few weeks
was killed after falling into a mulch-spreading truck in North Potomac,
Maryland. Climbing on top of the truck to investigate a jam, the teen
fell into the machine and was killed by it. Fatalities like this occur
throughout the United States on a too-regular basis. Every 30 seconds,
an American teen worker is injured on the job, and one teen dies from a
workplace injury every five days. According to the Department of Labor,
fatalities among working teens climbed to 175 deaths in 2001.
Unfortunately, according to the nation’s
oldest consumer group, the White House and Congress remain unmoved. The
U.S. Department of Labor continues to ignore long overdue National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommendations to
protect working minors from injury and death. The report, NIOSH
Recommendations to the U.S. Department of Labor for Changes to Hazardous
Orders, reviews the list of prohibited occupations for minors and
recommends 54 changes and additions meant to better protect young
workers. The Labor Department has not acted upon the recommendations
since the report was released more than two years ago.
“Too many youth are working under outdated
and insufficient child labor laws, and there are thousands who are
legally employed in industries or with machinery that is
unacceptably dangerous to working minors,” said Adkins. “The NIOSH
report addresses safety concerns that require immediate attention to
save lives, and three of our five worst jobs are specifically cited in
the report."
NCL compiles the five worst teen jobs each
year using government statistics and reports, results from the Child
Labor Coalition’s annual survey of state labor departments, and news
accounts of injuries and deaths. Statistics and examples of injuries for
each job on the list are detailed in a report available at
www.nclnet.org/childlabor.
2004 Five
Worst Teen Jobs
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Agriculture. Agriculture is the
most dangerous industry for young workers. Among young agricultural
workers aged 15-17, the risk of fatal injury is four times the risk
for young workers in other workplaces.
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Working Alone and Late-Night Work
in Retail: The second highest number of workplace fatalities
among youth are in the restaurant and retail store industries. Most
deaths are robbery-related homicides.
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Construction and Work in Heights:
Construction is the third leading cause of death among young
workers. Deaths and serious injury result from working at heights 6
feet and above. Falls from roofs, ladders, and scaffolds or staging
are the most common types of fatal falls.
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Driver/Operator of Forklifts and
Tractors. This includes minors who are operating or riding as
passengers or non-operators working near such a machine.
Tractor-related accidents are the most prevalent cause of
agricultural fatality in the United States.
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Traveling Youth Crews. Defined
as youth who are recruited to sell candy, magazine subscriptions,
and other items door-to-door or on street corners, these youth
operate under dangerous conditions and are unsupervised by adults.
“It’s important
for teens and parents to know that all jobs can be hazardous, not just
the ones on this list,” said Adkins. To promote safe work, NCL has
released tips for working teens and advice for parents. All materials
are available online at
http://nclnet.org/childlabor.
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About NCL
The
National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America's pioneer
consumer organization. Our mission is to identify, protect, represent,
and advance the economic and social interests of consumers and workers.
NCL is a private, nonprofit membership organization. For more
information, visit
www.nclnet.org.
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