Dear MoveOn member,
Wildfires have ravaged California—displacing families, destroying homes, and claiming lives. Fighting the fires on the front lines are more than 1,000 incarcerated firefighters who are risking their lives for meager wages and without the dignity, protections, or opportunities afforded to non-incarcerated firefighters. And they are not alone. They are among the more than 800,000 incarcerated people who are also workers—a hidden and exploited labor force.1
Incarcerated people are required to work in prisons or face punishment. The exploitative nature of these programs, which often provide minimal training, inadequate safety equipment, and little to no compensation for dangerous work, needs to change NOW!
Roughly a third of Los Angeles's firefighters are incarcerated, and they earn as little as $5.80 each day, with an absolute max of $26.90 after bonuses for active emergencies.2 While this wage is considered high behind bars, it's still exploitative by all measures. On these wages, incarcerated firefighters cannot support their families, pay court fees, or prepare for life after release.
This labor system is built on the exception in the 13th Amendment that still allows slavery as punishment for a crime. Last year, California had the chance to amend its state constitution to end this exception, as other states across the country have done, but the ballot measure failed with just 47% of the vote—one that demands reckoning now as Californians desperately rely on incarcerated firefighters for their livelihoods.3
Incarcerated workers are not just fighting fires and clearing debris after natural disasters. They are manufacturing goods, harvesting crops, and doing the day-to-day work that keeps our country functioning.4 And they are doing it all without the protections afforded to us as workers, such as minimum wage laws and worker protections. In fact, a recent study found that the majority of incarcerated workers—76% according to one study—report being coerced, forced to either work or face punitive ramifications.5 Incarcerated people who refuse to work are often beaten, denied visits and calls from loved ones, put in solitary confinement, and even denied parole.
The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Due to racism and discrimination in our criminal-legal system, forced prison labor disproportionately affects marginalized people. Black people are overpoliced, overincarcerated, and overrepresented in low-paid prison jobs.6 This is modern-day slavery—and we have to abolish it once and for all.
In addition to the U.S. Constitution, 16 state constitutions also explicitly name the exception, allowing slavery and forced labor. But many states are working to change that. Colorado amended its constitution to abolish slavery under any conditions back in 2018.7 Six other states have since followed Colorado's lead and many others have introduced legislation.8 There's a growing movement fighting back against this abhorrent violation of human rights, but John, we need you to keep up the pressure.
Unfortunately, it'll be a few years before Californians will have the opportunity to vote on the ballot measure again—and hopefully repay incarcerated firefighters for their heroism with the basic human right to be protected from slavery. But in the meantime, you can take a stand for incarcerated firefighters, and all incarcerated workers.
Thanks for all you do.
–The Worth Rises Team
Sources:
1. "Captive Labor: Exploitation of Incarcerated Workers," ACLU, June 15, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/201865?t=8&akid=422986%2E40999114%2EzPwWNQ
2. "Incarcerated firefighters are making as little as $27 a day to battle L.A.'s fires," Fast Company, January 9, 2025
https://act.moveon.org/go/201866?t=10&akid=422986%2E40999114%2EzPwWNQ
3. "California voters reject proposed ban on forced prison labor in any form," Los Angeles Times, November 10, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/201867?t=12&akid=422986%2E40999114%2EzPwWNQ
4. "Captive Labor: Exploitation of Incarcerated Workers," ACLU, June 15, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/201865?t=14&akid=422986%2E40999114%2EzPwWNQ
5. Ibid.
6. "Black people are more likely to be incarcerated, especially in the South, and are overrepresented in low-paid prison jobs," Economic Policy Institute, January 16, 2025
https://act.moveon.org/go/201869?t=16&akid=422986%2E40999114%2EzPwWNQ
7. "Colorado banned forced prison labor 5 years ago. Prisoners say it's still happening,” NPR, November 13, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/201870?t=18&akid=422986%2E40999114%2EzPwWNQ
8. Ibid.
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