Opposition to a child labor law exemption for Amish lumber yards and woodworking shops comes from competitors who fear it would give Amish businesses an unfair advantage, Rep. Mark Souder, R-3rd, told his House colleagues Wednesday.
"In my community, Mennonites and others complain all the time (that) the Amish don't do this, didn't do that," Souder said during a hearing on a bill that would would allow Amish children between 14 and 17 to work in some supervised jobs that are off-limits to youngsters under federal law.
The Amish are a religious sect that shuns most modern conveniences invented after the 1600s, including electricity in their homes. They avoid interaction with non-Amish, end formal education after eighth grade, expect their children to "learn by doing" in farming or Amish-owned small businesses, and embrace a Bible- and family-oriented life.
A significant number of the country's Amish live in northern Indiana.
Lawmakers who represent areas where the Amish live have been trying for years to get congressional approval of the child labor law exemption. It has passed the House twice but has never been voted on in the Senate.
Souder said Congress should respect Amish traditions, make an exception for the group and recognize that there isn't enough farmland to support the all the Amish families, so they have to turn to non-farm businesses such as woodworking.
"If you can't eat, if you can't get jobs," Souder said, "you abandon your religion, or you abandon the region."
A Pennsylvania Amishman who owns a lumber company said it's traditional for Amish teens to work in the family business. For generations that was farming, but now includes carpentry, wood and metal shops, sawmills, furniture making and harness making.
"We recognize that child labor laws were made and needed to correct abuses in the past," William Burkholder said. "These laws still help ensure that children are not forced into unsafe, exploitative labor. We hope you recognize that we pursue the same goal."
The Labor Department opposes relaxing child labor laws for Amish businesses, as do labor groups.
Nicholas Clark, an attorney for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, said Amish children shouldn't be excluded from the government's protection because of their religion. He said sawmills and woodworking shops are among the most dangerous workplaces for adults, so would be at least as dangerous for children.
Proponents of the bill said several Amish businesses have been fined for violating child labor laws, but Souder said none were Hoosier wood shops.