Forced prison labor faces new challenge at the ballot box

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On November 5, voters in Nevada and California have the chance to outlaw forced labor in prisons. Ballot measures in both states would close an exception in the Thirteenth Amendment, which allows slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime.

The fight to end forced prison labor

For millions of Americans, slavery is still on the ballot in 2024. While many believe slavery ended with the Civil War, the 1865 ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment left an exception. It allows forced labor as a punishment for crime, and advocates have been fighting to close this exception ever since.

Due to this exception, incarcerated individuals across the U.S. are still forced into labor for little or no pay. A 2022 report showed that incarcerated workers generate more than $2 billion in goods and $9 billion in services annually, while earning as little as thirteen to fifty-two cents per hour. Over 75% of incarcerated workers say they are not allowed to refuse the work.

In California and Nevada, the tide could soon turn. Both states will vote on measures that, if passed, would ban the use of prison labor. Activists, including those directly impacted by forced labor, are pushing for these changes to be part of a broader national effort.

Historical roots of forced prison labor

The roots of forced labor in U.S. prisons date back to the post-Civil War era. Southern states implemented “convict leasing,” where prisoners, mostly Black men targeted by harsh laws, were rented out to work for private companies. This exploitative practice endured in various forms, including chain gangs and penal plantations, into the 20th century.

The idea that certain people could be enslaved through incarceration has never truly disappeared. In the words of Curtis Davis who spent decades in a Louisiana prison,

“People were like, ‘No, slavery was abolished in 1865! Meanwhile, I’m over here pickin’ cotton.”

Jacobin reports,

“This provision, rooted in the post–Civil War efforts to reassert white supremacy, remains an avenue for exploiting incarcerated people through forced labor. Prison labor today closely resembles slavery, with inmates compelled to work in unsafe conditions for meager pay or no pay at all.”

Today, thousands of companies indirectly benefit from prison labor, and many American prisons rely on unpaid or barely paid “orange-collar” workers to function. Some well-known companies such as Walmart, McDonald’s, Coca Cola, Victoria’s Secret, and Whole Foods have been reported to rely on prison labor for various services, from call center staffing to product packaging and manufacturing. In some cases, incarcerated individuals are paid as little as pennies per hour, with corporations reaping the financial benefits of cheap labor.

A grassroots movement grows

The push to eliminate the exception began to gain traction in 2018, when Colorado became the first state to remove it from its constitution. Since then, Utah, Nebraska, Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee, and Vermont have followed suit. Now, California and Nevada aim to join them.

Although these state-level efforts are encouraging, activists warn that abolishing the exception is only the first step.

What comes next?

While advocates continue to campaign for change at the state level, there is also a growing movement for federal reform. Eliminating forced labor in prisons requires action not just from state governments but from Congress as well.

As voters head to the polls in California and Nevada, the decisions they make could be a key step toward ending forced labor nationwide.

Join us in calling for the complete abolition of forced labor in the U.S. prison system. Sign our petition to demand that lawmakers address the exception in the Thirteenth Amendment once and for all.

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