Media Analysis

          In today's modern era, we are completely surrounded by media. We are constantly on our computers and cell phones looking videos, articles, pictures, and much more. One of the benefits of the over-exposure of media in our world today is being able to hear and see the voices of people of the past. Although the Fair Labor Standards Act was put in place in 1938, people are still able to access informative and interactive information about it through the media. When Franklin D. Roosevelt was in office as the President of the United States from 1933-1945, he developed his "Fireside Chats", which was a was for the President to inform the public about changes in the government. On June 23rd, 192, FDR released a chat about the FLS, which "we call the Wage Isnt Ours bill" (Fireside Chat 13pt1, Youtube). This media sample is a recording of Roosevelt's voice from 1939, and a picture of him posing at his desk. His words led the public to believe that the Fair Labor Standards Act is one of the best pieces of legislation that the United States has ever seen. "Without question, it starts us toward a better standard of living" (FDR, 2:50, youtube). The use of radio at the time of the New Deal was crucial because it was something that everyone could access, therefore making Americans believe that they were involved in the politics of the US. Because the information is told directly by the President of the United States, we are forced to accept his word as truth, rather than being able to see how the piece was developed in the first place. 

          Because the Fair Labor Standards Act is still extremely relevant to workers in the United States today, there is a continuing discussion about its policies today. Over the last 75 years, different problems have arisen under the FLSA rules and regulations. For example, there is a constant discussion about the payment of working 'overtime', and how one is protected under the FLSA policy of being paid 'time and a half'. More recently in the United States, the concept of suing (or filing a lawsuit) because of injustice is much more popular. In the media clip, "Fair Labor Standards Act", Jennifer George explains the more recent risks of lawsuits when paying workers (or not paying workers) for overtime. "An employee related lawsuit, or liability under the FLSA, can be initiated two ways: It can be initiated by an inspection (thats by the Wage and Hour division of the Department of Labor), or an employee can initiate a lawsuit on their own behalf, and the damages can be excessive" (George, 00:03:00). This video, like many other clips from the internet, is an informative discussion on how an average American can understand their place and rights under the FLSA. Jennifer George, the woman in the video, is an employment lawyer at the Isaac Brant Ledman & Teetor Law firm in Ohio, which is a respectable position form which viewers can respect. 
          Generally, the majority of the media information about the Fair Labor Standards Act are informational seminars and lectures about how to protect yourself under the policies of the FLSA. One film, titled "Webinar: Top 10 Myths About Fair Labor Standards Act", discussed how working people in the United States today can understand how to carefully protect themselves against policies mentioned in the FLSA. Since it is a "Webinar", or a web seminar, all people with the internet or a computer can access this information. The National Federation of Independent Business developed this Youtube video to educate the average American about pay rates.

           Since the development of the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, there have been many adjustments and questions about its policies. Most media films are developed to educate the general public about the FLSA, how it impacts the business world, and how to protect yourself and others under (and against) its laws. 

  

Children and the FLSA

   

Children are such a crucial part of this world. They not only are the future of our country, but they bring joy and light into everyday. Before the Fair Labor Standards Act was developed in 1938, children were allowed to work in unfit conditions at young ages without any protection from the government. According to Todd Postol, in 1900 there were over 1.7 million child laborers in the United States, which did not even include children under the age of 10. "In New York state alone, one scholar has estimated, 400,000 children between the ages of 5 and 18 were in the labor force" (pg 349, Postol). If children are truely the ones that bring sunshine to our lives everyday, then how did the US government allow for such mistreatment of our children?

Child Labor in North Carolina Textile Mills

      Throughout the early 1900s, the United States federal government made many attempts at developing an effective child labor law. Some of the different laws they tried to successfully enact were the Voss Dangerous Trades Act of 1909, the Keating-Owen Act of 1916, and others. Around the same time, the National Child Labor Committee developed, which, "Over the next forty years, it would be in the forefront of the struggle to eliminate child labor in the United States" (pg 350, Postol). Finally in 1938, the government enacted the Fair Labor Standards Act, which seemed to have all of the ideas of the Keating-Owen Act and other previous ideas, but combined into one overarching child labor law. It was much more universal, and led the country to believe that abusive and unsafe child labor was a thing of the past. Unfortunately, the FLSA did not enforce the child labor rights over children working in migrant agriculture (which were primarily black American children).
     Because minimum wage was enacted for all industries in the United States and children were now restricted on working, many people lost jobs and opportunities. Although the changes to child labor in the US was beneficial in many ways, children were a primary form of income for families at that time, so families no longer had as steady of an income. The people that were affected the most from the FLSA were "...namely blacks, females, younger workers, and workers living in rural farm areas" (pg 23, Kau). Many people lost their jobs because their companies could not afford the new minimum wage for all of their workers.

Child Labor Campaigns

     In the United States today, many people are still marginalized in the workforce because of their race and age. During the era of the development of the Fair Labor Standards Act, Americans working in agricultural industries, who were primarily black, were not necessarily protected under the legislation of the new child labor laws. Today in America, black Americans are often not given the same opportunities for health protection under the United States government because of the many underlying structural divisions in our economy. The effects of the FLSA are still very apparent today, and resurface in many different ways.