California Moves to Ban Forced Prison Labor — But There’s Still More to Do

If you’re looking for a rare bit of good news, look no further: California is finally taking steps to abolish slavery from its constitution by banning it in state prisons. On June 27, 2024, the state legislature passed the End Slavery in California Act, teeing up a statewide vote this fall on whether to end forced prison labor in the Golden State.

As of now though, California remains among the 16 states that allow the forced servitude of its prisoners. California’s Constitution, like the 13th Amendment, bans involuntary servitude except as punishment for a crime. This new amendment would remove that exception, often dubbed the “slavery loophole.”

Voters in four states — Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont — have recently approved similar proposals. This burgeoning movement to close the exception should spur us all to work toward abolishing carceral slavery everywhere it still exists.

True abolition requires the total demolition of slavery and its racist legacies. History tells us what happens when abolition fails — continued exploitation and subjugation of people, incarcerated or otherwise. Typically, non-white Americans pay the highest price. 

In the 19th century, states instituted the lucrative convict lease system, often called “slavery by another name,” by putting the incarcerated to work in mines, on plantations, and other private industries where labor was scarce. In 1898, for example, 73 percent of Alabama’s revenue came from convict leasing.

The racist legacies of slavery can still be found deeply embedded in the criminal justice system today, including compulsory carceral servitude for no or very little pay. Seven states do not pay wages at all to those they force to work. The rest pay wages that are usually less than $1 an hour. That outrageous wage even goes for the incarcerated Californians who have put their lives on the line to battle the state’s increasingly dangerous wildfires.

The work of prisoners is not covered by workplace safety regulations or other labor laws. Many are not trained to perform the work they are required to do, while others face horrific conditions, including toiling in extreme heat and working with dangerous machinery. Though they often face life-threatening risks, prisoners know they have little choice in the matter. Failure or refusal to work could result in punishment like solitary confinement or the denial of parole.

Many believe forced labor is an essential part of effective punishment that offsets the cost of incarceration paid by taxpayers. But the reality of the situation is very different — forced labor is a lucrative business, not a path to rehabilitation. 

Labor performed at prisons greatly benefits private companies including Kroger, McDonald’s, Whole Foods, and Walmart. A 2022 ACLU report estimates that prison labor in the United States generates approximately $11 billion annually. The Associated Press estimates that agricultural products, like the ones produced at the infamous plantation turned maximum security prison in Angola, Louisiana, account for $200 million of that.

The financial ramifications of ending prison slavery have been a major hurdle to its abolition. In California, an estimate from 2022 suggests that ending the practice would cost the state $150 billion annually. The huge price tag need not be an impediment to abolition. Instead, it should force states to consider their astronomical rates of incarceration, and think critically about who we incarcerate and why.

California still has a tall task ahead of it. It’s not clear whether voters will approve the new amendment. And it’s equally unclear whether it would require payment of minimum wage or the application of standard labor laws that protect other workers. 

A legislative measure may not even be enough. As a lawsuit in Alabama alleges, a change in a state’s constitution has not prevented involuntary carceral labor from continuing there. 

But abolishing slavery on paper is still an essential first step toward abolition — prisoners in Alabama have grounds to sue because of a similar measure. The technical abolition may encourage the adoption of policies that prevent people from ending up in prison in the first place.

Plus, it’s just the right thing to do.

The more people who remain productive members of society, the greater the economic output of the states — a boon for us all. And ending carceral slavery might just take us one step closer to the next frontier in the abolitionist struggle, the end of conventional forms of imprisonment that remain rooted in our nation’s slave past.