The 13th
amendment was passed in December of 1865. The text of that amendments
reads, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment
for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist
within the United States.” This loophole was immediately exploited and
many of the newly freed slaves were imprisoned for minor crimes such as
loitering or vagrancy. Thus, slave labor was allowed to continue and the
notion of the “black criminal” was created.
This system of labor allows states to maintain
their reliance on forced, uncompensated or undercompensated, and predominantly
Black labor to this day.
Cheap prison labor is a powerful labor
market incentive against criminal justice reform. Private
corporations are incentivized to lobby for policies that maximize prison populations in
order to sustain a business model that is only profitable because they can
exploit artificially deflated labor costs.
4100
corporations profit from prison labor and every
state, except for Alaska,
has a state-governed prison industries initiative.
Most inmates
are engaged in in-house work within correctional facilities, such as food
service and laundry, however around
63,000 inmates
work in prison industries which produce goods for external sale. Work
ranges from farm production and manufacturing to call centers and distribution
services. Those Idaho potatoes you may eat? Prison labor.
McDonald’s containers, cutlery, and employee’s uniforms? Also - prison
labor.
Usually inmates are not “required” to
work; however the consequences of not working are harsh. They may lose
their “privileges” such as family visits or even may end up in solitary
confinement. If the prisoners are paid, they can earn as little as 74
cents a day and are often required to pay for basic items such as soap,
deodorant, and shoes. Inmates can have 80% of their measly pay taken for taxes,
room and board, and restitution.
Here are some companies
to avoid if you don’t want to support prison labor
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