2016 U.S. prison strike

[3] The main goal of the strike was to end constitutional servitude, that is, prison slavery to which inmates are subjected.

[1] The Free Alabama Movement and the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee actively participated in the prison strike.

The main goal of the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee is to protest the living conditions inmates endure.

[1] Protest actions included the inmates refusing to perform labor and pushing the prisons into a state of lockdown.

[5] Inmates in South Carolina and Alabama voiced their concerns and requested an end to unfair prison labor, low wages, and poor living conditions.

[3] The labor of the inmates includes maintaining the prison: indoor cleaning, paperwork, cooking, and outdoor maintenance.

From Nixon’s presidency to the present day, much of the increase in both the number and percentage of Americans who are incarcerated can be attributed to the War on Drugs.

As a result of increased enforcement of 1970s-era drug laws, enhanced sentencing guidelines, and racial profiling, 40 percent of people incarcerated in the United States are now African American.

[11] The wage levels caused the inmates to join the strike by participating in a work stoppage.

[6][4] Prison systems continue to enforce mandatory work stations that provide few financial advantages for inmates.