1. United States
2. Mich.
3. Letter

Our Kids are NOT Corporate Capital: Reject HB5627 I am a voting constituent writing to urge you to forcefully reject House Bill 5727. Dismantling Michigan’s youth work permit system is a dangerous step backward that leaves our communities' most vulnerable young people unprotected. The reality is that child labor exploitation and labor trafficking are already rampant and largely unmonitored. Gutting this essential oversight system abandons accountability in favor of blind trust, replacing actual state tracking with corporate self-policing. Furthermore, this legislation ignores the crises surrounding school attendance, truancy rates, and how young people learn that they have rights as workers. Eliminating the permitting process and implementing employer self-monitoring undermines health and safety standards & puts young people at risk. A child's primary responsibility should be their education and development, not filling labor shortages in low-wage and abusive situations. This legislation looks like another clear example of prioritizing corporate donors over the safety of our children. "Hope" is not a regulatory framework, and reducing administrative red tape should never come at the cost of basic child safety. I demand that you stand up for Michigan's youth, implement stong work permit standards, and vote a resounding "No" on HB 5727.