One of the propositions on the ballot in the 2024 election is prop 6, which “eliminates the constitutional provision allowing involuntary servitude for incarcerated people.” The outdated measure should be removed, meaning voters should vote “YES” on proposition 6.
The policy was first introduced in 1851, and was used post-Civil War as a source of cheap labor. It was treated as an exception to slavery in the South, where plantation owners leased former slaves if they were imprisoned, often forcing them into conditions worse than their initial indenturement.
Historically, the issue of involuntary servitude in prisons has been recognized as “modern slavery” as people of color see higher incarceration rates than others, with one in three Black males being at risk of incarceration over one in seventeen White males.
California is one of just 16 states that still allow this source of labor with little-to-no pay. Inmates earn less than $0.74 an hour and have been pulled for life-risking jobs — 30% of wildland firefighters are inmates, and they were responsible for spending an aggregate of more than 10 million hours of labor per year.
According to USA Today, some of these firefighters have died, and those who live face “sickness, sleep deprivation, mountain lions, scorpions and rattlesnakes, and are four times more likely to suffer injuries.”
The lack of compensation for difficult jobs leaves prisons in a dilemma: how do we replace this ever-critical labor force without facing major costs? The answer is voluntary prison work programs.
Voluntary work programs allow prisoners to volunteer for jobs they’d be more interested in doing over jobs that they’re arbitrarily assigned. Not only do they generate benefits for the state, but it also allows prisoners to gain experience in fields that they may be interested in pursuing post-incarceration.
Voting ‘YES’ on prop 6 is essential to move California away from a historically separated prisoner work system and in the direction of an open program that allows prisoners to focus on their interests. It’s time for California to model a shift toward a healthier prison system for the rest of the nation.
