taxloopholes:

The worst thief is he who steals the playtime of the children.

An old IWW poster addressing the American exploitation of child labor in dangerous textile mills. 

In the early decades of the twentieth century, the numbers of child laborers in the U.S. peaked. Child labor began to decline as the labor and reform movements grew and labor standards in general began improving, increasing the political power of working people and other social reformers to demand legislation regulating child labor. Union organizing and child labor reform were often intertwined, and common initiatives were conducted by organizations led by working women and middle class consumers, such as state Consumers’ Leagues and Working Women’s Societies. These organizations generated the National Consumers’ League in 1899 and the National Child Labor Committee in 1904, which shared goals of challenging child labor, including through anti-sweatshop campaigns and labeling programs. The National Child Labor Committee’s work to end child labor was combined with efforts to provide free, compulsory education for all children, and culminated in the passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, which set federal standards for child labor. (x)

Unfortunately, child labor is still prevalent worldwide and used by wealthy Western corporations. Empowering working people around the world is the way to abolish the injustices of capitalism at the hands of the ruling class.

We can do better.