Prison Labor Archives - Pacific Standard

Home Prison Labor

Prisons have no incentive to pay inmates better—to the contrary. Unlike workers in the free market, who (theoretically, anyway) can weigh factors like pay, working conditions, and other benefits when deciding where to work, inmates do not have a choice between employers. If they need the money, or the experience, they must take or leave what the prison is offering.

Social Justice

‘Modern Slavery’: The Labor History Behind the New Nationwide Prison Strike

A look at the origins of the 2018 prison strike through a legacy of involuntary servitude.