Blueskygirl is struck by the starkness of Ann Marie Buerkle's fight to save businesses money at any cost, most recently if the cost is child safety.
Ann Marie Buerkle has come out against modernizing Federal labor regulations protecting children working on farms.
Farming (and ranching) is the fourth most dangerous occupation in the country) after commercial fishing, logging and piloting. Children working on farms incur more injuries and deaths than any other industry in which they are employed.
Farming occupational regulations protecting children under 16 haven't been updated since 1970 and continue to be a half-century or more behind child labor protections in other occupations. Equipment and processes, in the meantime, has been modernized, made bigger and more powerful and dangerous while safety devices get shortchanged by manufacturers or are easily defeated.
Ann Marie Buerkle consistently uses her new-found power to shortchange the least protected and most vulnerable in our communities She has always come down, 100% of the time, on the side that protects the interests of "The 1%."
Her actions are unconscionable.
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Resources below include:
1. The introduction to a chart from National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety comparing 1970s era child protections and recent proposed improvements,
2. A link to the above-mentioned comparisons,
2. A link to the above-mentioned comparisons,
3. Recent statistics about farm-related child accidents.
1. Agricultural Child Labor Hazardous Occupations Orders: Comparison of present rules with 2011 proposed revisions
By Mary E. Miller, R.N., M.N.
A century ago, child labor in the U.S. was an accepted practice across all industries. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 took children under 16 out of most workplaces for their own safety and over time has restricted the most hazardous work activities for 16- and 17-year-olds. Agriculture has been the lone exception. Originally, most farms were small family operations and child labor was considered necessary. The 21st century agricultural work environment is much different. Farms are larger and more specialized, with new technologies, processes, machinery and equipment.
Now the U.S. Department of Labor is proposing new rules regarding the Agricultural Child Labor Hazardous Occupations Orders (Ag H.O.). The agricultural H.O.s describe work activities that are particularly hazardous to young workers under age 16, such as operating machinery and working in and around silos and grain handling facilities. The proposed changes will be the first update since 1970. They are based on a comprehensive evaluation conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), which reported on its evaluation in 2002 and made recommendations concerning both non-agricultural and agricultural hazardous occupations orders. As a result of the report, regulations for non-agricultural HOs were revised and became effective in 2010. Recommendations to bring the agricultural H.O.s more closely in line with non-agriculture are included in the recent Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. For example, the use of power-driven equipment, which has been prohibited for 14- and 15-year-olds employed in non- agricultural industries for over 50 years, is included in the proposal. NOTE: The updated rules would continue to exempt family farms and do not provide protections for 16- and 17-year-olds. Both of these changes would require an act of Congress.
Tables …[please use link]... highlight current and proposed agricultural H.O.s. A full paper examining the changes – including historical background and additional recommendations not covered in the current proposal – will be published as part of a dedicated issue of the Journal of Agromedicine. “The 2012 Blueprint for Protecting Children in Agriculture,” Volume 17, Issue 2, is scheduled for publication April 2012.
3. Childhood Farm Injuries Facts:
- More than 23,000 children under 19, are injured on farms every year in the United States
- The majority of childhood farm injuries occur to boys between 10 and 15
- Farm machines are responsible for the majority of deaths that occur on farms
- Most farm injuries occur in rural areas where medical care is sparse and vital treatments are delayed due to inaccessibility
- More than 50% of debilitating injuries involve tractor collisions or tractor roll-overs
- Silo injuries and deaths show the biggest jump in numbers over the past ten years, compared with other sources of farm injuries
From: Down On The Farm: Why Farms Post Real Dangers For Children & Teens; thank you to: Jonathan Rosenfeld, Child Injury Laws Blog, April 29, 2011, for posting these statistics.
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