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1. How are incarcerated people exploited in the American prison system? Provide examples from the text. 2. How do states benefit from prison labor? Provide at least 3 ways, explain. 3. Why don’t labor laws apply to incarcerated people? How does this relate to American history and the 13th Amendment? 4. Which reform proposal do you MOST agree with (reference the last section of the article)? State the proposal and explain why by providing a line of reasoning.

1. How are incarcerated people exploited in the American prison system? Provide examples from the text. 2. How do states benefit from prison labor? Provide at least 3 ways, explain. 3. Why don’t labor laws apply to incarcerated people? How does this relate to American history and the 13th Amendment? 4. Which reform proposal do you MOST agree with (reference the last section of the article)? State the proposal and explain why by providing a line of reasoning.

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1. How are incarcerated people exploited in the American prison system? Provide examples from the text. 2. How do states benefit from prison labor? Provide at least 3 ways, explain. 3. Why don’t labor laws apply to incarcerated people? How does this relate to American history and the 13th Amendment? 4. Which reform proposal do you MOST agree with (reference the last section of the article)? State the proposal and explain why by providing a line of reasoning.
PRISON LABOR REPORT SURVEY: 70% said they were not able to afford basic necessities with their prison wages 64% 70% said they received no formal job training" 76% being forced to work or working said they felt concemed about their Today, more than 76 percent of incarcerated workers say that they are required to work or face additional punishment such as solitary confinement, denial of opportunities to reduce their sentence, and loss of family visitation. They have no right to choose what type of work they do and are subject to arbitrary, discriminatory, and punitive decisions by the prison administrators who select their work assignments. ACLU U.S. law also explicitly excludes incarcerated workers from the most universally recognized workplace protections. Incarcerated workers are not covered by minimum wage laws, work protection laws or overtime protection. From the moment they enter the prison gates, incarcerated people lose the right to refuse to work. This is because the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects against slavery and involuntary servitude, explicitly excludes from its reach those held in confinement due to a criminal conviction Incarcerated workers are paid pennies as prisons + state governments reap the benefits Incarcerated workers typically earn little to no pay at all, with many making just pennies an hour. They earn, on average, between 13 cents and 52 cents per hour nationwide. Wages remain stagnant for years, even decades...Yet even these abysmal wages are not theirs to keep. The government takes up to 80 percent of these wages for "room and board," court costs, restitution, and other fees like building and sustaining prisons. These wage deductions generally leave incarcerated workers with less than half of their gross pay. Workers are left with even less disposable income because prison systems charge incarcerated people exorbitant costs for basic necessities, like MINIMUM WAGES FOR INCARCERATED WORKERS IN EACH STATE phone calls to loved ones, hygiene products, and medical care. Almost 70 percent of surveyed incarcerated workers said they were not able to afford basic necessities with their prison wages... Nationally, incarcerated workers produce more than $2 billion per year in goods and more than 89 billion per year in services for the maintenance of the prisons. Some states will be at $0 M ●●●●● ●●● More than 80 percent of prison laborers do prison maintenance work, which offsets the costs of our bloated prison system... Another 8 percent of incarcerated workers, assigned to public works projects, maintain cemeteries, school grounds, and parks; do road work; construct buildings, clean government offices; clean up landfills and hazardous spills; undertake forestry work; and more. At least 30 states explicitly include incarcerated workers as a labor resource in their emergency operations plans for disasters and emergencies. Incarcerated firefighters also fight wildfires in at least 14 states. Dangerous work conditions and preventable injuries A majority of incarcerated workers surveyed say that they received no formal job training, and many also say they worry about their safety while working, Incarcerated workers with minimal experience or training are often assigned hazardous work in unsafe conditions and without standard protective gear, leading to preventable injuries and deaths. Prisons don't keep good records on the number of incarcerated workers injured on the job, but California reported more than 600 injuries in its state prison industry program over a four-year period. Because of poor data collection, this number likely underestimates the true impact of prison work on the health and safety of incarcerated workers. Workplace safety and labor laws explicitly exempt prison laborers from the protections that virtually all other workers enjoy. Incarcerated people sometimes work in inherently dangerous conditions that would be closely regulated by health and safety regulations and inspectors if they were not incarcerated. Some are exposed to dangerous toxins on the job. Dead-end jobs Most prison workers surveyed by the Bureau of Justice Statistics-70 percent-said the most important reason for working is to develop skills that they can use to build careers after release, but prison labor programs fail to provide incarcerated workers with transferable skills. In reality, the vast majority of work programs in prisons involve menial or repetitive tasks, and prison industries jobs and vocational training programs are declining nationwide, while maintenance jobs increasingly represent a larger share of work assignments. The path forward requires major reforms 1. We must push both state and federal lawmakers and prison authorities to eliminate laws and policies that punish incarcerated workers who are unable or unwilling to work. This will ensure that prison work is voluntary, and that people who refuse are not held in solitary or denied other benefits because they don't want to-or can't-work on behalf of the state. 2. We also need to guarantee incarcerated workers the same labor and wage protections as everyone else. This includes minimum wage, health and safety standards, the ability to unionize, protection from discrimination, and speedy access to redress when their rights are violated. 3. We must raise incarcerated workers' wages and limit wage deductions. By paying incarcerated workers the state minimum wage, they will be able to pay for necessary expenses like child support, phone calls home, and commissary costs, while supporting their families and saving for eventual reentry into the society. 4. Prison workers deserve dignity. They should be properly trained for the work they perform, and we should be investing in programs that provide incarcerated workers with marketable skills that will help PA them find employment after release and eliminate barriers to employment and release. 5. Finally, we must push lawmakers to amend the U.S. Constitution to abolish the 13th Amendment exclusion that allows slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime.
Transcribed Image Text:PRISON LABOR REPORT SURVEY: 70% said they were not able to afford basic necessities with their prison wages 64% 70% said they received no formal job training" 76% being forced to work or working said they felt concemed about their Today, more than 76 percent of incarcerated workers say that they are required to work or face additional punishment such as solitary confinement, denial of opportunities to reduce their sentence, and loss of family visitation. They have no right to choose what type of work they do and are subject to arbitrary, discriminatory, and punitive decisions by the prison administrators who select their work assignments. ACLU U.S. law also explicitly excludes incarcerated workers from the most universally recognized workplace protections. Incarcerated workers are not covered by minimum wage laws, work protection laws or overtime protection. From the moment they enter the prison gates, incarcerated people lose the right to refuse to work. This is because the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects against slavery and involuntary servitude, explicitly excludes from its reach those held in confinement due to a criminal conviction Incarcerated workers are paid pennies as prisons + state governments reap the benefits Incarcerated workers typically earn little to no pay at all, with many making just pennies an hour. They earn, on average, between 13 cents and 52 cents per hour nationwide. Wages remain stagnant for years, even decades...Yet even these abysmal wages are not theirs to keep. The government takes up to 80 percent of these wages for "room and board," court costs, restitution, and other fees like building and sustaining prisons. These wage deductions generally leave incarcerated workers with less than half of their gross pay. Workers are left with even less disposable income because prison systems charge incarcerated people exorbitant costs for basic necessities, like MINIMUM WAGES FOR INCARCERATED WORKERS IN EACH STATE phone calls to loved ones, hygiene products, and medical care. Almost 70 percent of surveyed incarcerated workers said they were not able to afford basic necessities with their prison wages... Nationally, incarcerated workers produce more than $2 billion per year in goods and more than 89 billion per year in services for the maintenance of the prisons. Some states will be at $0 M ●●●●● ●●● More than 80 percent of prison laborers do prison maintenance work, which offsets the costs of our bloated prison system... Another 8 percent of incarcerated workers, assigned to public works projects, maintain cemeteries, school grounds, and parks; do road work; construct buildings, clean government offices; clean up landfills and hazardous spills; undertake forestry work; and more. At least 30 states explicitly include incarcerated workers as a labor resource in their emergency operations plans for disasters and emergencies. Incarcerated firefighters also fight wildfires in at least 14 states. Dangerous work conditions and preventable injuries A majority of incarcerated workers surveyed say that they received no formal job training, and many also say they worry about their safety while working, Incarcerated workers with minimal experience or training are often assigned hazardous work in unsafe conditions and without standard protective gear, leading to preventable injuries and deaths. Prisons don't keep good records on the number of incarcerated workers injured on the job, but California reported more than 600 injuries in its state prison industry program over a four-year period. Because of poor data collection, this number likely underestimates the true impact of prison work on the health and safety of incarcerated workers. Workplace safety and labor laws explicitly exempt prison laborers from the protections that virtually all other workers enjoy. Incarcerated people sometimes work in inherently dangerous conditions that would be closely regulated by health and safety regulations and inspectors if they were not incarcerated. Some are exposed to dangerous toxins on the job. Dead-end jobs Most prison workers surveyed by the Bureau of Justice Statistics-70 percent-said the most important reason for working is to develop skills that they can use to build careers after release, but prison labor programs fail to provide incarcerated workers with transferable skills. In reality, the vast majority of work programs in prisons involve menial or repetitive tasks, and prison industries jobs and vocational training programs are declining nationwide, while maintenance jobs increasingly represent a larger share of work assignments. The path forward requires major reforms 1. We must push both state and federal lawmakers and prison authorities to eliminate laws and policies that punish incarcerated workers who are unable or unwilling to work. This will ensure that prison work is voluntary, and that people who refuse are not held in solitary or denied other benefits because they don't want to-or can't-work on behalf of the state. 2. We also need to guarantee incarcerated workers the same labor and wage protections as everyone else. This includes minimum wage, health and safety standards, the ability to unionize, protection from discrimination, and speedy access to redress when their rights are violated. 3. We must raise incarcerated workers' wages and limit wage deductions. By paying incarcerated workers the state minimum wage, they will be able to pay for necessary expenses like child support, phone calls home, and commissary costs, while supporting their families and saving for eventual reentry into the society. 4. Prison workers deserve dignity. They should be properly trained for the work they perform, and we should be investing in programs that provide incarcerated workers with marketable skills that will help PA them find employment after release and eliminate barriers to employment and release. 5. Finally, we must push lawmakers to amend the U.S. Constitution to abolish the 13th Amendment exclusion that allows slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime.
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