Global InformationPenal labor in the United States information
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In the United States, penal labor is a multi-billion-dollar industry.[1] Annually, incarcerated workers provide at least $9 billion in services to the prison system and produce more than $2 billion in goods.[2][3][4] The industry underwent many transitions throughout the late 19th and early and mid 20th centuries. Legislation such as the Hawes-Cooper Act of 1929 placed limitations on the trade of prison-made goods. Federal establishment of the Federal Prison Industries (FPI) in 1934 revitalized the prison labor system following the Great Depression.[5] Increases in prison labor participation began in 1979 with the formation of the Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program (PIECP). The PIECP is a federal program first authorized under the Justice System Improvement Act of 1979.[6] Approved by Congress in 1990 for indefinite continuation, the program legalizes the transportation of prison-made goods across state lines and allows prison inmates to earn market wages in private sector jobs that can go towards tax deductions, victim compensation, family support, and room and board.[7][8]
Firms including those in the technology and food industries are often provided tax incentives to contract prison labor, commonly at below market rates.[10] The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) serves as a federal tax credit that grants employers $2,400 for every work-release employed inmate.[11] "Prison in-sourcing" has grown in popularity as an alternative to outsourcing work to countries with lower labor costs. A wide variety of companies such as Whole Foods, McDonald's, Target, IBM, Texas Instruments, Boeing, Nordstrom, Intel, Wal-Mart, Victoria's Secret, Aramark, AT&T, BP, Starbucks, Microsoft, Nike, Honda, Macy's and Sprint and many more actively participated in prison in-sourcing throughout the 1990s and 2000s.[12] After the 2021 storming of the US Capitol, it was noted that FPI would receive priority when the federal government purchases products such as office furniture to replace what was damaged in the riots.[13]
Penal labor is allowed by the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which outlaws slavery, "except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted."[14] Unconvicted detainees awaiting trial cannot be forced to participate in labor programs in prison as this would violate the Thirteenth Amendment. Critics of the prison labor system argue that the portrayal of prison expansion as a means of creating employment opportunity is a particularly harmful element of the prison–industrial complex in the United States. Some believe that reducing the economic drain of prisons at the expense of an incarcerated populace prioritizes personal financial gain over ensuring payment of societal debt or actual rehabilitation of criminals.[15] Prisoners are required to work if medically able. Job assignments usually include employment in areas such as food service or warehouse, plumber, painter, groundskeeper, or inmate orderly.[16] According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Inmates earn 12-40 cents per hour for these jobs, far below the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.[16]
In recent decades "tough-on-crime" policies have led to a surge in incarceration rates, disproportionately affecting Black and poor communities.[17] The emergence of the "prison-industrial complex" (PIC), a term used to describe the intersecting interests of government and industry in perpetuating mass incarceration, has further exacerbated these disparities.[17] This complex includes not only the privatization of prison management but also the exploitation of prison labor by numerous U.S. corporations, contributing to the industry's rapid growth.[18] As prisons increasingly became a source of cheap labor, the exploitation of incarcerated individuals by for-profit entities has raised ethical concerns and sparked public debate regarding the role of prison labor in modern society.
- ^ "The Uncounted Workforce". NPR.
- ^ Anguiano, Dani (June 15, 2022). "US prison workers produce $11bn worth of goods and services a year for pittance". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
- ^ ACLU (June 15, 2022). "Captive Labor: Exploitation of Incarcerated Workers | ACLU". American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
- ^ Bair, Asatar (November 21, 2007). Prison Labor in the United States: An Economic Analysis. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-89840-3.
- ^ "BOP: UNICOR". www.bop.gov. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
- ^ Herraiz, Domingo S. (March 2004). "Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program" (PDF). National Criminal Justice Reference Service. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
- ^ Sexton, George E. (November 1995). "Work in American Prisons: Joint Ventures with the Private Sector" (PDF). National Criminal Justice Reference Service. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
- ^ "Bureau of Justice Assistance – Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program (PIECP)". bja.gov. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
- ^ Radde, Kaitlyn (November 17, 2022). "Louisiana voters rejected an antislavery ballot measure. The reasons are complicated". NPR.
- ^ "These 5 Everyday Companies Are Profiting from the Prison-Industrial Complex". Groundswell. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
- ^ "Work Opportunity Tax Credit, Employment & Training Administration (ETA) – U.S. Department of Labor". doleta.gov. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
- ^ "How Prison Labor is the New American Slavery and Most of Us Unknowingly Support it". June 13, 2016. Archived from the original on June 7, 2023.
- ^ "The Furniture Damaged in the Capitol Riot Will Almost Certainly Be Rebuilt By Incarcerated People For Pennies". Jezebel. January 8, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
- ^ "13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Primary Documents of American History (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress)". loc.gov. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
- ^ "Jailing Americans for Profit: The Rise of the Prison Industrial Complex". Retrieved October 23, 2018.
- ^ a b "BOP: Work Programs". www.bop.gov. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
- ^ a b "Defending Justice - What Is The Prison Industrial Complex?". www.publiceye.org. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ Fulcher, Patrice (July 2, 2012). "Hustle and Flow: Prison Privatization Fueling the Prison Industrial Complex". Washburn Law Journal. 51 (3): 589–617 – via SSRN.