Gov. Schwarzenegger Proclaims May Safe Jobs for Youth Month; Lewis Hine Child Labor Photographs Offer Historical Context For Observance.

Entertainment Editors/Business Editors

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 13, 2004

Child labor photographs by Lewis Hine highlight the importance of Gov. Schwarzenegger's declaration of May as Safe Jobs for Youth Month. The exhibit, entitled "Let Children be Children: Lewis Wickes Hine's Crusade against Child Labor", is sponsored by the California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation (CHSWC) and opens at Los Angeles City Hall May 17, running through June 25. An opening reception will be held May 17 from 10 a.m. - noon.

"The Lewis Hine photos provide an opportunity to educate young workers, parents and employers on workplace rights and responsibilities," said CHSWC Executive Officer Christine Baker. "We're pleased to play a vital role in the area of young worker health and safety."

Hine took hundreds of photos documenting the harsh working conditions of child laborers employed in sweatshops, mining, agriculture, canning and manufacturing in the early 1900s. His powerful photographs were instrumental in the passage of landmark child labor laws in 1938.

While conditions have vastly improved since then, the fact remains that over 230,000 young workers are injured on the job every year - twice the rate of adult workers - underscoring the importance of educating young workers about their rights, and how to protect themselves on the job.

More than a dozen students from North Hollywood High School are promoting the Hine photo exhibit on campus, staffing the opening reception, and acting as photo exhibit docents, while participating in an ongoing service-learning project with UCLA's Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program (LOSH), the Constitutional Rights Foundation and the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Young workers face potential hazards from:

-- Powered equipment such as box crushers, bakery machines and

forklifts

-- Late hours, which increase risks and vulnerability to crime

-- Long hours, which create potential hazards when working alone

and experiencing frequent contact with the public

-- Unsafe or broken equipment

-- Cooking with hot oil and on hot cooking surfaces.

Safe Jobs for Youth Month events:

-- Exhibit of Lewis Hine child labor photos at the Los Angeles

City Hall Land Bridge, May 17-June 25, 2004. Opening reception

May 17, 10 a.m. - noon

-- Special tours of the Hine photos and workshops for teachers

and students May 18-20, 2004

-- 2004 Safe Jobs for Youth Month resource kit available for

free, to plan workshops or events. Call 1-888-933-8336 or

visit www.youngworkers.org

-- Job safety and labor law fact sheets for teens working in a

variety of industries on the Department of Industrial

Relations Web site at www.dir.ca.gov.

Organized by the George Eastman House, the Lewis Hine exhibition is sponsored by the California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation, State Compensation Insurance Fund, UCLA-Labor Occupational Safety and Health (LOSH) Program, UCLA Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, Teamsters Joint Council 42, Los Angeles City Attorney, City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, and funded in part by a grant from the California Wellness Foundation. Generous support came from the California Regional Environmental Community-LA Region, Constitutional Rights Foundation, Facing History and Ourselves-LA Region, LAUSD Local District B, LAUSD Service Learning Task Force, LAUSD school board member Marlene Canter, LAUSD Work Experience Office, and Skirball Cultural Center.

Editors note: Interviews with young workers can be arranged.