Prison Labor Conditions: A Human Rights Issue?

This month, about 24, 000 prison laborers from 29 prisons in 12 states went on strike.  Tired of working for pennies an hour — or in some states, no pay at all — under conditions that many compare to slavery, these prisoners nonviolently refused to report to their work assignments.  In some facilities, prison guards staged sympathetic strikes to support the prisoners.  

The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution abolished slavery, but explicitly exempted prison labor, effectively permitting prisons to perpetuate slave-like conditions for convicted prison workers.  While much of the labor is for public services, some is for corporations like Walmart, AT&T and Whole Foods that gain a financial benefit from exploiting this cheap labor pool.  

According to one news report, the idea for the strike originated with Melvin Ray, an Alabama prisoner serving a life sentence for murder.  Ray describes this, and a range of related issues concerning prison conditions, as human rights issues.  Says Ray, who is currently in solitary confinement because of his organizing activities, “If you’re compassionate about human rights, support what we’re doing.”

To learn more about this issue, check out the report in the Atlantic and detailed coverage by the Marshall Project.