What errant nonsense. My father was a victim of child labor. His father, a Polish-American machinist, was a rebarbative anti-intellectual Republican. My grandfather forbade the reading of any non-school books (no library books allowed). My grandfather cruelly forced my dad to quit school at the end of the eighth grade. This was before child labor laws were enacted. Now, in the age of fascism in Florida, Governor RONALD DION DeSANTIS touts the ability of parents (like my grandfather) to control the destiny and education of their offspring. How gauche and louche. My father did not get to attend high school until after his service in WWII, machine-gunning Nazis with the 82nd ABN DIVN. It took a world war and the G.I. Bill of Rights for my father to finish his education. To Dull Republican politicians in Flori-DUH, we all must ask, "at long last, have you no sense of decency?"
From Florida Politics:
By Gary Rohrer, March 22, 2024:
Florida minors will soon be eligible to work longer hours after Gov. Ron DeSantissigned HB 49.
Starting July 1, workers aged 15 and younger could work longer than 15 hours a week during the Summer months when school isn’t in session.
And 16- and 17-year-olds could be asked to work after 11 p.m. when there’s no school the following day; for more than 30 hours in one week when school is in session if they have parental approval; and for more than six days in a row in a given week.
The bill passed along mostly party lines, with just one Republican, Rep. Mike Beltran of Riverview, voting against it with Democrats.
Democrats, union leaders and worker advocates opposed the bill as the rolling back of vital protections for vulnerable employees just starting out in the working world and likely unaware of labor laws and regulations.
The first incarnation of the bill would have allowed 16- and 17-year-olds to work before 6:30 a.m. and after 11 p.m. at any time during the year and prevented cities and counties from enacting a curfew on minors later than 11 p.m.
But the bill was supported by big and small business groups who wanted more flexibility for scheduling younger workers.
“House Bill 49 simply puts control back in the hands of parents and guardians if their 16- or 17-year-old has decided they want to work more than 30 hours in a week,” said Bill Herrle, National Federation of Independent Businesses Florida chapter state executive.
“For many young people, this first job is the key to gaining the skills they need to be successful for the rest of their lives. Many of these young people go on to own and operate businesses of their own using the very skills they learned early on in these jobs.”
With the rent pigs sucking everyone dry to as much of their income as humanly possible, gonna need everyone in the house to work before too long. So much for education. You must work and bring some middle man the fruits of your labor just to keep a roof over your head while you do it, and someone who already has money can do as they please. High levels of exploitation are part of Republican politics and their preferred economic arrangement.
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