Statewide Iowa — Iowa-based Casey’s General Stores — the country’s 4th largest pizza chain — is asking the Iowa legislature to let 16 and 17-year-olds man the machines that roll out the pizza dough.
That’s Tom Cope, a lobbyist for Casey’s. He says unlike surrounding states like Illinois and Missouri, current Iowa law bars anyone under the age of 18 from operating a pizza dough rolling machine.
A Senate subcommittee has approved the bill that adopts federal guidelines, so 16 and 17-year-olds would be able to operate pizza dough machines in Iowa. Senator Todd Taylor, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, says as long as minors aren’t allowed to do maintenance on the machines, which could be dangerous, he’ll support the move.
Peter Hird, a lobbyist for the Iowa Federation of Labor, says unions aren’t opposing the attempt to add older teenagers to Casey’s pizza-making enterprise, but Hird questions whether increasing child labor is the best way to address Iowa’s workforce shortage.
He cites last year’s vote in the legislature to let 16 and 17-year-olds operate the rides at Iowa amusement parks as well as legislation proposed this year that would no longer require adult supervision of older teens working in child care facilities.
