Penal labor in the United States
[16] On the other hand, supporters of prison labor argue it teaches inmates valuable job skills, reduces recidivism, and helps incarcerated persons reenter society with better prospects.
Immediately following the abolition of slavery in the United States (and ratification of the 13th amendment), the slave labor-dependent economy of the South faced widespread poverty and market collapse.
Black Codes were enacted by politicians in the South to maintain white control over former slaves, namely by restricting African Americans’ labor activity.
Inability to pay fees for vagrancy crimes resulted in imprisonment, during which prisoners labored in the very same wage-free positions held by slaves less than two years prior.
[22] Other "crimes" punishable by imprisonment (and subsequent slave labor) as per Black Codes included unlawful assembly, interracial relationships, violation of slave-like labor contracts, possession of firearms, making or selling liquor, selling agricultural produce without written permission from an employer, and practicing any occupation other than servant or farmer without holding a judge-ordered license.
[26] State governments maximized profits by putting the responsibility on the lessee to provide food, clothing, shelter, and medical care for the prisoners.
States leased out convicts to private businesses that utilized the low-cost labor to run enterprises such as coal mines, railroads, and logging companies.
While incarceration rates continued to rise during Reconstruction, feeding the convict lease system, Union occupation in the South and national pressure began to change the laws by which African Americans were arbitrarily imprisoned.
States configured legislation to more precisely target the poor, further criminalizing the vast majority of former slaves who had not yet adapted to a free market or accrued wealth.
Mississippi’s "pig law" followed this trend of hyper criminalization and fed the penal labor force simultaneously by tacking on outrageous sentences to violations.
[29] The earliest known law permitting convicts to be paid for their labor traces back to an act passed by New York governor John Jay in 1796.
[32][33] In 1924, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Herbert Hoover, held a conference on the "ruinous and unfair competition between prison-made products and free industry and labor" (70 Cong.
[34] The eventual legislative response to the committee's report led to federal laws regulating the manufacture, sale and distribution of prison-made products.
[35] PIECP relaxed the restrictions imposed under the Ashurst-Sumners and Walsh-Healey Acts, and allowed for the manufacture, sale and distribution of prisoner-made products across state lines.
She adds that "many are forced to work in unsafe conditions without protective equipment, because workplace health and safety laws do not apply to prison workers.
Incarcerated individuals who are required to work typically receive minimal to no job training resulting in situations where their health and safety could potentially be compromised.
In one instance, a prisoner working as a barber was sent to solitary for dropping a hair clipper, while in another, a woman who suffered a breakdown and refused to clean a set of toilets was beaten to the point of full body paralysis.
These revelations during the 1970s led the state to declare that it would abandon the for-profit aspect of its forced labor from convicts and planned to hire a professional penologist to head the prison.
The jobs inmates are mandated to work range from mundane ones such as tailoring and taxi driving, to more hazardous ones as lead paint and asbestos removal.
[64] Private prisons have engaged in the practice of providing cheap, dangerous labor at low costs, resulting in improper safety & health standards to maximize profits.
[65] In the aftermath of the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, it was noted that FPI would receive priority when the federal government purchases products such as office furniture to replace what was damaged in the riots.
in states such as Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and twelve others.
"[16] Executive Director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, Scott Paul stated that "It's bad enough that our companies have to compete with exploited and forced labor in China.
[76] Labor unions represent workers in their respective industries to negotiate terms regarding wages, employment standards, benefits, and any applicable workplace conditions and policies.
In the United States, prison workers often times earn roughly $0.13 to $1.30 per hour depending on whether the work is classified as a "non-industrial" or "industrial" occupation.
[77] This exclusion of the legal right to organize a union creates an exploitative, dangerous environment in prisons, leaving many incarcerated workers in low wage, oppressive work conditions.
[77] Many of these “protest strikes” generally were popularized in national news, mainly surrounding the issues of prison wages & not being able to afford basic necessities to dehumanizing work conditions.
[79] Although these strikes took place to address issues regarding prison labor conditions, many of the efforts of incarcerated workers deteriorated due to the public’s view of the topic.
The right to unionize protects prisoners’ “dignity” by fighting for benefits that include higher wages, secure & safe work sites through collective bargaining.
Incarcerated workers can also gain a sense of identity and social unity by participating in their respected union which could further help improve the effects of reintegrating back into society after being released.
