Jennifer Sherer

joined the Labor Center staff in May, 2002, to work part-time on the Child Labor Public Education Project.

Prior to this appointment, she taught for four years as a graduate instructor in the Rhetoric and General Education in Literature Departments at the University of Iowa.

As a member of UE Local 896, the Campaign to Organize Graduate Students (COGS), she held the offices of President/Bargaining Committee Chair, Vice President, and Department Steward, and served on the Organizing Committee and the Johnson County United Way Labor Committee.

She has also worked as a Project Staff Organizer for the UE and is a member of University of Iowa Students Against Sweatshops and the American Federation of Teachers, Local 716.

Academic background:
Ph. D. in literature expected 2004.
MA, English, University of Iowa, 2000
BA,English and Neuroscience, Oberlin College, 1995

Child Labor Public Education Project offers free programs

Today, over 246 million children, many as young as five, are involved in child labor around the globe. What does child labor mean for workers' rights and labor standards? How has globalization affected the use of child labor? What are labor and community groups doing to combat child labor? SCHEDULE A WORKSHOP FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION TODAY!

Union members in Iowa will be invited this year to take part in a new series of classes on child labor issues and to participate in devising strategies for ending child labor. The University of Iowa Labor Center recently began developing new educational materials on the problem of child labor, how it affects workers around the world, and what union members in the U.S. can do to help stop it. Classes are being developed and offered as part of a "Child Labor Public Education Project" funded by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The project will educate union members, community groups and other interested members of the public about the nature and extent of exploitative child labor around the world; why the issue is important and how it relates to international trade, economic policies and worker rights; and how union members and citizens play important roles in combating abusive child labor. Project staff are: Robin Clark-Bennett and Jennifer Sherer.

The Growing Problem of Child Labor
Child labor is work that harms children or keeps them from attending school. Around the world and in the U. S., growing gaps between rich and poor have forced millions of young children out of school and into work in recent decades.

The International Labor Organization estimates that 246 million children between the ages of 5-17 currently work under conditions considered illegal, hazardous, or extremely exploitative. Underage children work at all sorts of jobs around the world, usually because they and their families are extremely poor. Large numbers of children work in commercial agriculture, fishing, manufacturing, mining, domestic service, and even illicit activities like the drug trade and prostitution.

Child Labor and Workers' Rights
Not only does child labor violate basic rights of children; it violates basic rights of all workers. In today's globally connected economy, large numbers of children exploited anywhere in the world can undermine worker and trade union rights for everyone. If child labor is tolerated, workers and families everywhere are more likely to suffer higher unemployment, lower living standards, and bleaker futures. Recognizing child labor as a violation of children's and workers' rights, trade unions are joining with families and community organizations to combat child labor, to move children out of work and into school, and to support core labor standards such as the right to organize and collectively bargain.

Child Labor Public Education Project
Child labor is a large problem, but educated workers and citizens can and are taking effective action to combat it. To continue public education on child labor, the University of Iowa Labor Center's Child Labor Public Education Project will offer free workshops on child labor issues to unions and communities across Iowa in 2002-03.
Workshops will provide information, discussion, and resources on topics including:

• child labor today internationally
• U.S. labor unions and the history of child labor reform
• effects of child labor on worker rights and the future of the labor movement
• child labor's connection to international trade and economic policies
• trade union efforts to combat child labor and promote core labor standards for all workers

Workshops available in 2002-2003 for:
· Local unions
· Central labor councils
· Regional/district conventions
· Teachers and parent-teacher organizations
· Church groups or faith-labor committees
· Community organizations
· Adult education forums or discussion groups
Program length and focus can be tailored to the interests, needs, and size of your group.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, or TO SCHEDULE A PRESENTATION FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION, CONTACT:
Jennifer Sherer: Phone: (319) 335-4020 E-mail: jennifer-sherer@uiowa.edu
Robin Clark-Bennett: (319) 335-4745   E-mail: robin-clark@uiowa.edu
Univ. of Iowa Labor Center 100 Oakdale Campus M210-Oakdale Hall Iowa City, IA 52242 Phone: (319) 337-4144 Fax: (319) 335-4464

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa sponsored events. If you require an accommodation in order to participate in a program, please contact the Labor Center in advance at (319) 335-4144.
The Child Labor Public Education Project is supported by U.S. Dept. of Labor funding made possible by the Senate Labor, Health & Human Services, & Education Appropriations Subcommittee chaired by Tom Harkin.
University of Iowa Labor Center & The UI Center for Human Rights' Child Labor Research Initiative Child Labor Public Education Project