Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Stephanie Bloomingdale released the following statement:
Set ‘em up, bartender. And don’t forget to clean your room and do your homework…
That’s a request Wisconsin bar patrons might make if State Sen. Rob Stafsholt (R-New Richmond) and State Rep. Chanz Green (R-Grandview) have their way. The two lawmakers have sponsored a bill that would let children as young as 14 serve alcohol. Currently, servers must be 18 to pour alcohol, mix drinks or deliver beer, wine, or spirits to a table. If passed, Wisconsin would have the nation’s lowest age limit for workers allowed to serve alcohol, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Stafsholt and Green say the current age restriction keeps young workers from doing their jobs, since adult employees have to run drinks to thirsty customers. Green, who owns a bar in Cable, WI, claims the bill would give children, “an opportunity to take part in the workforce”, adding that the pros of the bill outweigh any “hypothetical” cons. For a middle schooler forced to interact with intoxicated customers, the cons would be all too real.
This ill-advised proposal is just the latest in a series of bills passed or under consideration across the nation to loosen restrictions on work done by minors. The results of weakening these protections have been predictable. The U.S. Department of Labor notes that the number of minors found to be employed illegally in hazardous jobs last year was the highest in over a decade.
In a memo to Republican colleagues, Sen. Stafsholt and Rep. Green note “severe workforce shortage issues” in Wisconsin’s food and beverage sector. The solution cannot be placed on the backs of our children. This is bad legislation for which there should be no last call.
