Why Prisons Shouldn’t Exist: Bonded Labor

Prison Labor is of a form of slavery as Bonded Labor and you cannot deny that fact just because the individual is convicted of a crime. Over the past decade many organizations have come to recognize prison labor as a form of human trafficking and modern-slavery. Recently we’ve seen a lot of public interest on the issue of prison slavery over the past few years especially with popular forms of entertainment calling out the issue such as documentary films like Ava Duvernay’s 13TH and books such as Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow.  We must use whatever platforms we have available as activists to speak out against modern day slavery by taking a clear stance against prison slavery. This could simply be by voicing our demand that corporations un-involve themselves with corrections departments across the country.

Currently with the way that slavery is functioning in our country, tax dollars are funding corporate savings which has been the case historically in the United States, this is exactly how our country became a world power and why our government refuses to relinquish the practice entirely. In this area taxpayers pay millions towards prisoners’ cost of living, an average of $35,000/year while corporations save millions by using prison labor for the production of their products and services. For example, while taxpayers pay to feed, cloth and provide recreation and education programs for prisoners, inmates are paid 11cents per hour to sew McDonald’s uniforms and manufacture their plastic cutlery and containers. Walmart purchases their produce from prison farms on modern-day plantations as they advertise the false slogan, “forced or prison labor will not be tolerated by Wal-Mart”. Its appalling to see how companies fail to recognize the irony in their inhumane business tactics. Instead of paying federal minimum wages AT&T works its way around this requirement by employing incarcerated telephone operators and paying less than $2/day. Other brands like Victoria Secret boast about their “Made in America” branding, for many  reading this the idea comes to mind that American families are supported by being employed by this brand. However, this is far from the case as many “Made in America” stickers are exploitative in their use of prison labor and serves to further depress the wages of marginalized groups in our society by keeping the poor poor.

In addition, many individuals are trapped within the prison system because of this injustice. Slavery is a complex issue within the United States because of its place within the corporate world so I’m not surprised that it isn’t defined explicitly by the US State Department, however seeing that bonded labor is identified by the government as an unjust practice we must realize that prison labor is a form of bonded labor as it is work under obligation or for repayment of a debt (in this case a debt to society) with an undefined time of duration. This can be seen clearly in states like Michigan which practice indeterminate sentencing where an individual is sentenced with a minimum and maximum date of release than can span a period of 20+ years. This is a cruel and unusual way to handle human life and many inmates work within the prison for companies for very low wages with no other options. An incarcerated individual has little to no variety in choice of earning income other than doing maintenance jobs for the prison or seeking employment by the companies who enter the prison to exploit inmates. Many companies, including Walmart, Starbucks, Victoria Secret, McDonalds and Chevron to name a few participate in the mass industrial prison complex by using prisoners’ labor (majority unpaid but many services costing these companies less than $1/day for an individuals’ 8hrs of work). These salaries are completely unrealistic seeing as how many prisoners have expenses to pay within the institution, for example inmates pay anywhere between $3-$17 for a 15minute phone call. These companies create contracts that state that prisons must be at 80% or fuller capacity, advocating for longer sentences which result in many prisons being over capacity and overcrowded. There is an injustice in the corporate world’s involvement with government enforced retribution and rehabilitation. We can see clearly that this is another form of modern day slavery and as antagonists chant that all lives matter within this country, this means that prisoners lives matter as well. Slavery should be abolished everywhere forever, which is why the exception clause in the 13^th amendment is a disgusting reminder of how slavery is still reserved for use in this country:

 

“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime… shall exist within the United States,”

Additional Steps to Push for Good Time

As we continue to push for the establishment of Good Time credits by petitioning our legislators we await their vote on the bill that was introduced earlier this year. The bill was initially introduced February 28th and was scheduled to vote April 10. After the vote was pushed back to April 17 my comrades on the inside advised me to start this petition which would force the bill through. On April 17 the vote for the bill was pushed back again so we must keep moving forward with getting signatures. We are practicing our constitutional power in this case because Michigan is one of 3 states that do not have a good time policy, prisoners are even able to collect good time credits on their sentences at a Federal Level. Prisoners around the country with good behavior only do on average 40-50% of their sentences while Michigan prisoners do an average of 140% after completing their full sentence and then going to the parole board. Michigan as a result of their lack of good time credits was supposed to do away with the parole board because after doing 100% of their time inmates would be guaranteed their release but this still is not the case. Currently after completing their full sentences many prisoners are sent to do more time leaving many serving 120% – 140% of their sentence which is a gross and violent misuse of justice.

I’ve gotten several questions on how we can do more to push for Good Time in Michigan. I’ve been in dialouge with staff in David Legrand’s office who informed me that in order for the bill to receive a hearing here are some steps for doing so: