As you all know, last Friday school was cancelled due to the smoky conditions. Despite the usual appeal of a three day weekend, I didn’t feel excited or happy. The number of people dead and missing from the Campfire is still on the rise, even with all the help from firefighters, some of whom were prisoners. Yes, you heard that right - prisoners are helping with the California fires. Can you guess how much they earn per day? $1.45. It’s insane! They earn so little for their hard work, work that is life-threatening.
Prisoners have a variety of jobs. They work on farms, in the clothing factory, and make furniture such as bunk beds or desks. Their work, though you may not realize it, is very valuable to society. For example, Whole Foods used to sell goat cheese made from the milk produced at a prison farm. Also, the furniture in colleges are probably assembled by prisoners. Prisoners across the state of Virginia assemble most of the furniture in Williams and Mary College.
Yet despite the value of their labor, prisoners are paid almost unreal wages because they are excluded from legal protections enjoyed by other workers. This is due to the loophole in the 13th amendment which states that involuntary servitude is only allowed as a punishment for someone who committed a crime. As a result of their exclusion from legal worker protections, prisoners are unable to unionize or receive minimum wage. If they are killed or injured doing their job, they will not receive any compensation. This makes the prisoner work force an incredibly vulnerable one. In fact, it’s entirely possible that the state is keeping some prisoners in prison for cheap labor.
Let’s look from the perspective of the state. They have the deadliest fire in California history still taking down acres of land. They need more people to help and who else can help lessen the cost of labor than prisoners? It is good for prisoners to redeem themselves through community service. They can be as productive as real firefighters and increase overall productivity. And they can accept less pay so the cost of their service lowers. This maximizes the state’s output/profit so of course it’s a no-brainer to use prisoners.
The prisoners doing work are willing, but that is because they don’t have any better options. Many people consider prison labor as being exploited. What do you think? Are they exploited and if they are, should they be paid real wages?
I find your post on prisoner wages very interesting, especially how you connect it to the California fires. Since California is in need of support, it is easy to force prisoners into community service. Although there is no doubt this is benefitting the state and the residents safety, could this be considered unethical? Prisoners have to work long hours for practically no pay. With this, even though they work hard, after they get out of jail there work will be for nothing. Many prisoners may be broke and by paying prisoners while in jail, they could support themselves outside.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very important that you brought up the idea that the state may be inclined to keep prisoners in jail for cheap labor because it is a very possible issue. In California prisoners usually only earn between $0.30 and $0.50 an hour which is basically nothing. Prisoners are definitely being exploited and should receive more pay. By being able to make some money while in jail it will teach prisoners good working habits and will allow them to continue to supply for their families who may be suffering with a parent serving time in prison. Your post is super interesting and this issue of "prisoner slavery" definitely deserves more attention.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that prisoners are putting their lives at risk for the greater good and still receiving basically no pay got my attention. I agree that they should not be taken advantage of, and I do think they should be paid more than a dollar and a half per day. By increasing the amount of money they are paid, they will be inclined to work harder. It is a win-win situation because paying them can easily be done. Things will be produced faster and they are happier too.
ReplyDeleteI find this post interesting as I feel most people would immediately jump to the conclusion that prisoners should not be paid for their work as they are prisoners after all. However, after reading about the work they do that could be potentially life threatening such as helping with the California fires (which had an effect on me since I live in the area), I do feel that they should be rewarded for their work. While not paying prisoners for work may seems economically more profitable, it is a form of exploitation and is unethical. Prisoners are already punished by having much of their freedom taken away, and making them work for little to no pay I feel is unnecessary. I think having them work for a reasonable wage would help them better integrate to society and hopefully make better choices in the future.
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