Modern day slavery? The complicated story of prison labor

[lucas80]

Long story from the AP about the use of prison labor, some of which feeds into large multinational companies. The rules on if the prisoners have the right to refuse work in many states are unclear, even if the prisoners are not paid for their work. Many prisoners are contracted out to local restaurants and production facilities. Many have been injured and even killed on the job. Women suffer sexual harassment and even sexual assault in some cases that have been documented. The promise of learning valuable skills as one Florida official boasted about seem shallow when the skill being learned is working on a chain gang.
The programs in many states lose money, which has sparked charges of graft, but state officials do not seem overly interested in investigating these programs that generate large revenues.
https://apnews.com/article/prison-t...nvestigation-c6f0eb4747963283316e494eadf08c4e

 

[EvolutionDenier]

Women suffer sexual harassment and even sexual assault in some cases that have been documented.

And that's when they're NOT caged with males.

 

[seminole97]

I don't think prison labor should be sublet to any private enterprise, whatsoever.
Only opportunities for corruption there.

If they want to let them cut weeds in the ditch along the public highway and pick up trash, I'm ok with that.

 

[NorthernHawkeye]

Lucas posting from the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison?

 

[Ree4]

Should read the book "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander and things will become even more clear.

 

[jamesvanderwulf]

Lucas posting from the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison?

Grandparents were from the Fort. Grandma used to give dad a cool monogrammed, leather embossed billfold from the prison shop every other birthday or so. She also had a dinner table and chairs that would rival the Amana furniture store from the prison woodshop. Gramps would sometimes hire parolees for his construction business but they usually stole some tools and left town...

 

[EasyHawk]

Kim has a new idea to replace prison labor with elementary kids. If they work hard enough, they get lunch, if not then they will learn.

 

[Dorrman]