“The time is always right to do what is right.”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
This blog was written by SiX consultant and former Alaska State Representative Geran Tarr. Geran is a human rights activist, a former state legislator, an educator, and a food justice advocate with decades of experience in advocacy, policy, education, and strategic planning. As a legislator they served on both the House Resources and House Fisheries Committees, serving as the Co-Chair of the Resources Committee for four years and the Chair of the Fisheries Committee for two years, where they spearheaded multiple initiatives related to rural resilience and sustainable economies. Geran led efforts on food security and food system planning, including founding Food Security Awareness Week (now in its 9th year) and the bipartisan, bicameral Food and Farm Caucus, adventure tourism and sustainable land use planning, fisheries management, by-catch, habitat, climate change adaptation, and rural economic development.
A note from the author about use of language: While the phrasing of “prison labor” is widely used for discussion of this topic, this article refers to individuals and incarcerated individuals to remind us of the human rights of all persons. Also, this is to remind us that up to 95% of incarcerated individuals will be released back into the community after serving their sentence. The folks in these programs are our family, friends, and neighbors.
Discovering that a ballpark hot dog, a box of Frosted Flakes, a bag of Gold Medal flour, or even a sack of Riceland rice may have been produced using labor from incarcerated individuals raises unsettling questions about the hidden systems behind everyday products. Many of our everyday foods are produced by Prison workforce programs, often touted as rehabilitation programs. In addition to household programs, individuals in these programs grow much of the food we eat and even act as contract labor for dangerous wildfire fighting. What’s more, the incarcerated individuals in these programs are often unpaid or underpaid, sometimes working for just cents a day, and often work long hours in dangerous and rough conditions with little choice in the matter.
There are an estimated 30,000 incarcerated individuals working in food and agriculture workforce programs across the country. This number is disproportionately composed of people of color often working for less than a dollar a day.
These individuals are a hidden part of our food, agriculture, and manufacturing system in the U.S., producing products for major corporations that are sold across the country at retailers like Kroger, Target, Aldi, and Whole Foods. The general public often has little knowledge that their household products and food are essentially produced by modern day slave labor.
Recently, the use of incarcerated individuals in dangerous jobs has gained more attention with the devastating fires in Los Angeles that wiped out entire neighborhoods in the Pacific Palisades and historically Black Altadena community, with news headlines reporting that some of the brave individuals fighting the dangerous fires were in state custody. Many members of the public were outraged to learn this is common practice, but in any given year, up to 30% of the firefighting workforce in California is incarcerated individuals, often sent to remote and inaccessible parts of the state to undertake dangerous work.
While it is true that both agricultural work and firefighting could be great careers post-release, many previously incarcerated individuals are barred from seeking employment in these sectors. For the system to reflect claims that it is indeed rehabilitative and a win-win for incarcerated individuals who are receiving “free” career prep, there must be improvements in state policy and oversight of these programs.
Here are some questions you should ask your Department of Corrections about any work or farm program administered by the state. Conditions are not the same everywhere and it is important to gain information about how these programs are run in your state before proposing reforms.
For a more detailed tool to help you assess policy, please check out our latest tool: Prison Labor State Policy Assessment Toolkit.
- How do individuals participate in this program? Is it voluntary or mandated?
- What level of security is used at the facility? If the facility is residential, how are visitors accommodated? Are children allowed at visits? Has anyone been hurt or died at this facility?
- What are they paid for the work? What is the minimum pay? Does it violate human rights to use labor with that level of pay?
- Are the programs offering training and opportunities for the individuals? Are they also offered participation in a GED program, if appropriate, or other educational opportunities?
- What happens with the products produced? Are there corporate contracts? Are they discounted relative to the private sector?
Just like in battles over unionization and immigration, corporate actors will use everything at their disposal to depress wages and maximize profit for their stakeholders. The less power—and the associated inability to push back against abuse—the better for those running the show. The near invisibility and conditioned societal disregard for incarcerated individuals is the perfect storm allowing for a captive and frequently exploited workforce.
This is a brief introduction to the potential concerns with Department of Corrections work programs. We hope this encourages the investment of time in learning what is happening in your state. If you are a state legislature in need of assistance, please reach out to the SiX Agriculture and Food Systems team at [email protected]