The Child Labor Coalition’s Biennial Conference

Stop Child Labor: From Exploitation to Education

June 22-23, 2000

Hilton Embassy Row Hotel, Washington, D.C. 

Agenda

Click on the speaker's name to read his or her speech.

Thursday, June 22

7:15 - 8:00 a.m.            REGISTRATION

8:00 - 8:15 a.m.            WELCOME

8:15 - 9:00 a.m.            KEYNOTE

  • Gene Sperling, National Economic Council

    • 9:00 - 10:30 a.m.      PANEL

    U.S. Perspective on ILO Convention 182

    ILO Convention 182 focuses on slavery, prostitution, pornography, and child trafficking.  How pervasive are these worst forms of child labor around the globe?  What are the strengths, weaknesses, and critical needs related to the Convention and the national action plans required of ratifying countries?  Given the interest in ending the worst forms of child labor, how can the United States enhance international cooperation in support of the goals of the Convention? 

  • Roberta Baskin, ABC News (facilitator)

  • Jo Becker, Human Rights Watch

  • Pharis Harvey, International Labor Rights Fund

  • Andrew Samet, U.S. Department of Labor

  • Barbara Shailor, AFL-CIO

    • !0:30 - 10:45 a.m.      BREAK

    10:45 - 12:15 p.m.      PANEL

                Bringing It Home: A U.S. Response to the
                Worst     Forms of Child Labor

    The United States has ratified ILO Convention 182.  What does that mean for us?  Are the worst forms of child labor thriving in the United States?  What are our challenges and obligations in addressing prostitution, pornography and trafficking, child soldiering, and work that harms the  ”health, safety, or morals” of children.

  • Dorianne Beyer, National Child Labor Committee (facilitator)

  • Terry Lord, U.S. Department of Justice

  • Diane Mull, Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs

  • Miriam Young, Asia Pacific Center for Justice and Peace

  • Rachel Stohl, Center for Defense Information

    • 12:15 - 1:45 p.m.      LUNCH

    Senator Tom Harkin

    1:45 - 2:45 p.m.            BREAKOUTS: What If?  Why Not?

    Anyone who has worked in child labor has encountered stumbling blocks -- those entrenched ideas, philosophies, and practices that stymie progress.  Other issues are just “out there,” inspiring controversy and debate.  Some of these issues are explored in concurrent breakout sessions:

    Changing the Fair Labor Standards Act: A critical look at exemptions under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), family farms, and agriculture.

  • Darlene Adkins, National Consumers League (facilitator)

  • Dorianne Beyer, National Child Labor Committee

  • Shelley Davis, The Farmworker Justice Fund, Inc.

    • Working Within the System: slave buy-backs, organizing of child workers, and partial schooling solutions for global child labor.

  • Carrie McVicker, Youth Advocate Program International (facilitator)

  • Charles Jacobs, American Anti-Slavery Group

  • Representative from a human rights organization

    •   Poor Grades -- No Work:  limiting work hours based on school performance and restricting hours of work for older students.

  • Greg Woodhead, Public Policy Department., AFL-CIO (facilitator)

  • Donna Lynch: New York State United Teachers

  • Richard Polsinello, New York State Labor Department                                                 

    • 2:45 - 3:00 p.m.            BREAK

    3:00 - 3:15 p.m.            Afternoon Keynote

         Representative Tom Lantos

    3:15 - 3:30 p.m.            Restavek: child domestic workers in Haiti

  • Jocelyn McCalla, The National Coalition for           Haitian Rights

  • Representative from   Haiti     

    • 3:30 - 4:45 p.m.            PANEL

    National Action Plan: Issues That Cannot Be Ignored

    As a ratifying country, the United States is required to design and implement a program of action to eliminate the worst forms of child labor.  The “worst” includes work which is likely to harm the health, safety, or morals of children.  New research sheds light on possible priority areas.  Are our laws and enforcement adequate to protect minors from work that harms their health, safety, or morals?

  • Deborah Greenfield, AFL-CIO (facilitator)

  • Chris Camillo, U.S. State Department

  • Nancy Crowell, National Research Council

  • Peter Guerrero, U.S. General Accounting Office

  • John Fraser, U.S. Department of Labor

    • 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.            EXHIBIT AND RECEPTION

    Exhibit:  Russell Senate Office Building Rotunda, Capitol Hill

    Reception: Russell Senate Office Building, Room 385

    Congressional Host: Senator Tom Harkin

    Photographic exhibition highlighting global and U.S. child labor,                                featuring photography by:

  • David Parker

  • Child Labor and the Global Village: Photography
                                        for Social Change (project coordinator Julia
                                       Dean)                             

    •                           Exhibition of posters from the Sweatshop/Child Labor
                              Poster Contest sponsored by the New York State
                              United Teachers.

  • Zachary Vitale, 1st place (high school division)

    •   Reception and Exhibit Sponsors:

  • American Federation of Teachers

  • International Brotherhood of Teamsters

  • United Food and Commercial Workers
                                        International Union      

    •  

    Friday, June 23

    8:10 - 8:15 a.m.            Opening and Announcements

     8:15 - 9:00 a.m.            Keynote

    Kailash Satyarthi, Global March Against Child Labor

    9:00 - 10:45 a.m.      PANEL

    Providing and Improving Basic Education & Access

    No schools, no access to affordable education, and low quality of education have all contributed to the growing global problem of child labor.  As long as these educational deficiencies are allowed to continue, child labor cannot be effectively eliminated.  As advocates band together to raise international action on this issue, targeted initiatives are underway.   

  • Sandra Feldman, American Federation of Teachers (facilitator)

  • Elizabeth Bloomer, Broad Meadows Middle School

  • Ajai Malhotra, Embassy of India

  • Ellen Trevino, Motivation, Education and Training, Inc.

  • UNICEF Representative

    • 10:45 - 11:00 a.m.      BREAK

    11:00 - 12:30 p.m.      PANEL

    Issues Impacting Child Labor                 

    Child labor does not exist in a vacuum.  There are internal and external agents that can and do impact the problem.  This session explores how development agencies address child labor, the possible role of debt relief in ameliorating child labor, the poor allocation of national resources for basic education, and the reliance on international monies to provide education and rehabilitation to child laborers.

  • Anthony Freeman, International Labor Organization, Washington Office (facilitator)

  • David Bryden, Jubilee 2000 

  • Sheena Hanley, Education International

  • Zafiris Tzannatos, The World Bank

  • Rijk van Haarlem, International Program for the Elimination of Child Labor, ILO

    •  12:30 - 2:00 p.m.      LUNCH

  • Jonathan Blagbrough, Anti-Slavery International

    • 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.            PANEL            

    Evidence In the Marketplace: Child Labor in the U.S.

    Exploitative child labor is alive and well in the United States. This session explores child migrant and seasonal farmworkers at work harvesting our nation’s fruits and vegetables; youth peddlers selling at your door; imports of clothing, carpets, and other consumer goods made by child labor; and the service sector’s aggressive recruitment of children at younger ages, for longer hours, and in more occupations.

  • Linda Golodner, National Consumers League (facilitator)

  • Dolores Huerta, United Farm Workers

  • John Colledge III, U.S. Customs Service

  • Connie Knutti, Illinois Department of Labor

    • 3:30 - 3:45 p.m. BREAK

     

    3:45 - 4:45 p.m. BREAKOUTS: 

    Preparing Youth for Safe Work and Making A
    Difference in Their Generation

    Educating youth about child labor -- as they seek employment or become activists on behalf of their contemporaries -- is an important vision for the future.  The following concurrent breakout sessions explore initiatives for young workers and student advocacy.

    Injuries and Rights: Educating Young Workers on Workplace Rights and Safety

  • Darryl Alexander, American Federation of Teachers (facilitator)

  • Michele Gonzalez Arroyo, Labor Occupational Health Program, UC-Berkeley

  • Lynne Lamstein, Maine Department of Labor

    • Mobilizing the Youth Powerhouse

  • Helen Toth, American Federation of Teachers (facilitator)

  • Lupe Rodriguez, Student Action with Farmworkers

  • Kate Ward, Free the Children, Albany, New York chapter

  • Mary Bloomer, The Kids Campaign to Build a School for Iqbal

    •   Teaching Activism to Youth

  • Ron Adams, teacher, Broad Meadows Middle School

  • Eric Rubin, American Federation of Teachers

    •  

     

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