The 13th Amendment states:
“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, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
This exception, allowing for the use of slavery as a punishment for a crime, assisted in the creation of the “Prison Industrial Complex,“ a system that exploits human labor for profit. It functions similarly to chattel slavery in terms of organization and profitability, and it labels individuals as “criminals,” regardless of their guilt or innocence, to justify their exploitation.
Cheap Prison Labor for Hire
Two weeks ago, the Associated Press released a report highlighting the hidden prison workforce linked to major food brands and supermarkets, including Kroger, Target, Aldi, and Whole Foods. While the report focused on Angola State Prison for men in Louisiana, that is not the only facility exploiting prison labor, and women prisoners have been exploited just as men have. In addition, various reports show that local industry dictates the type of jobs prisoners work and that field labor activities are not gender specific.
Last year, we released our report documenting and analyzing the growing population of women in the federal prison system. Chart 1 shows the total number of women’s prisons by state at both the state and federal levels.
Chart 1: Total Women’s Prison Facilities by State
In 2021, the American Civil Liberties Union estimated that nearly 800,000 people incarcerated in U.S. prisons perform work in 1 of 5 categories.
Pure Exploitation
Although prison workers produce around $11 billion worth of goods per year, for paid non-industry jobs, the average wage ranges from 13 cents up to 52 cents an hour depending on the job. Furthermore, lost wages for prisoners, which result in profits for private companies, state-owned entities, and correctional agencies, have been estimated between $2 billion and $14 billion.
In addition to low or no pay, workers face safety hazards on the job, no representation in terms of receiving fair treatment, and routine punishment if they refuse to work. One female inmate interviewed by The Guardian stated that she only received $450 working full-time for the entire year. This not only harms the individual impacted but can also hurt local labor markets.
Moving Forward
In 2018, Colorado passed a constitutional amendment that removed language allowing forced prison labor without pay. In 2022, four more states (Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee, and Vermont) voted to amend their constitutions similarly. While this is a step in the right direction, the Federal Constitution needs to be amended as well to end this harmful practice of forced prison labor.
Happy Valentine’s Day!