Since the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic, prison manufacturing has increased in many states across the nation. This is due to the country’s heavy reliance on inmates to produce necessary safety materials to make up for supply shortages. Starting in the spring of 2020, inmates in Missouri prisons have created about 3,000 face masks a day, over 300,000 toilet paper rolls a week, over 5,000 protective gowns, and about 18,000 4-oz bottles of hand sanitizer (MDOC). Great Meadow Correctional Facility in Comstock, New York, has announced plans to have inmates produce almost 100,000 gallons of hand sanitizer per week (Gov NY). These current events shed light on the often-overlooked issue of prison labor, a modern institution of slavery. 

We can’t discuss prison labor without discussing the U.S. 13th amendment. The 13th amendment states that slavery and involuntary servitude are still used as punishment for crime (constitution center). This means that prisoners are forced to do manual labor as punishment. Today, many correctional facilities claim that manual labor is necessary for rehabilitation, but no studies have proved that manual labor helps reform prisoners. According to talkpoverty.org, inmates are not included in the Fair Labor Standards Act, meaning that prisoners do not have to be paid minimum wage. This allows prison industries to easily take advantage of cheap and free labor. Prisoners working same-prison jobs can earn about $3.45 per hour, which has decreased from the 2001 average of $4.73. In South Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, and Texas, inmates are forced to work non-industry jobs for free (Prison Policy Initiative).    

For too long, the prison labor system has been allowed to exploit inmates often for profit. Suppose the government and private companies have to rely so heavily on incarcerated workers to manufacture their products. In that case, prisoners should at least be given fairer pay, safer working conditions, and a say in how they choose to work. Most importantly, the labor in prisons should serve to prepare inmates for life after incarceration, not just as an excuse for cheap and easy production. 

This 2016 documentary, directed by Ava DuVernay, explores how the U.S. prison system connects to slavery and the 13th Amendment. The 13th Amendment of the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary, unpaid labor across America with a significant loophole allowing slavery and forced labor to be acceptable as punishment for a crime. Ava DuVernay’s documentary, 13th explains how the prison system began as a way for America’s South to continue to have free labor following the Civil War.  You can watch the full documentary below.

Citations:

“COVID-19.” Missouri Department of Corrections, 2020, www.doc.mo.gov/media-center/newsroom/covid-19. 
 

“At Novel Coronavirus Briefing, Governor Cuomo Announces State Will Provide Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizer to New Yorkers Free of Charge.” Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, 11 Mar. 2020, www.governor.ny.gov/news/novel-coronavirus-briefing-governor-cuomo-announces-state-will-provide-alco…

“The 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.” National Constitution Center – The 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, www.constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendment/amendment-xiii. 

October 20, 2017, | Annie McGrew & Angela Hanks, et al. “It’s Time to Stop Using Inmates for Free Labor.” Talk Poverty, Talk Poverty, 10 July 2020, www.talkpoverty.org/2017/10/20/want-prison-feel-less-like-slavery-pay-inmates-work/. 

Sawyer, Wendy. “How Much Do Incarcerated People Earn in Each State?” Prison Policy Initiative, Prison Policy Initiative , 10 Apr. 2017, www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2017/04/10/wages/ .