Fight Child Labor in Uzbekistan As the harvest season for cotton
in Uzbekistan begins, 2 million Uzbek children, some as young as
six or seven and ranging up to 15, will be forced to spend their
days picking cotton instead of attending classes. Earlier this
month, the U.S. Labor Department included cotton from Uzbekistan
on a list of goods produced by forced and child labor. Each year
during the three-month harvest, Uzbek authorities shut down
hundreds of schools, hospitals and public offices. Along with
the children, thousands of teachers, doctors and public
administrators are forced into the fields. The International
Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) has joined with AFT and a broad range
of organizations in the United States and Central Asia to call
for an end to forced child labor in Uzbekistan. You can act
today to stop this shameful practice by signing a petition here.
All supporters who sign the petition by Oct. 2 will have their
names put on a special cotton quilt that will be unveiled at a
rally in front of t