abusesaffiliationarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upattack-typeburgerchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-upClock iconclosedeletedevelopment-povertydiscriminationdollardownloademailenvironmentexternal-linkfacebookfiltergenderglobegroupshealthC4067174-3DD9-4B9E-AD64-284FDAAE6338@1xinformation-outlineinformationinstagraminvestment-trade-globalisationissueslabourlanguagesShapeCombined Shapeline, chart, up, arrow, graphLinkedInlocationmap-pinminusnewsorganisationotheroverviewpluspreviewArtboard 185profilerefreshIconnewssearchsecurityPathStock downStock steadyStock uptagticktooltiptwitteruniversalityweb

这页面没有简体中文版本,现以English显示

文章

2025年1月9日

作者:
Doug Melville, Myanmar Labour News

USA: Inmates fighting California fires exposes poor conditions of incarcerated firefighters & exploitative prison labour via 13th Amendment loophole

"Inmates Can Make Up Nearly A Third Of Those Fighting California Fires", 9 January 2025

As the shock of the Los Angeles fires and their effect on so many communities, businesses and families is still being digested, lots of attention is being turned to those who are on the front lines fighting the flames.

Many people might not be aware that one particular group has long been depended on to battle wildfires: inmates.

While the 13th Amendment ended slavery in the United States, a loophole allows people convicted of crimes to be forced to work for public or private enterprises. In this case, those tasked with firefighting volunteer for those positions and must meet certain criteria. They are not assigned without their consent.

Their pay scale was doubled in 2023, and depending on the skill level and the task assigned, they either receive $0.16 to $0.74 an hour or a maximum day rate of $5.80 to $10.24.

Most of their lunches consist of a simple sandwich—two pieces of white bread with a few slices of bologna—plus an apple. Their daily food budget of approximately $4 per day is hardly enough to sustain them for their high volume of manual labor.

Incarcerated firefighters have some of the highest injury rates among all prison workers and are four times more likely to sustain injuries compared to other firefighters. Also, they work some of the longest hours and have some of the hardest tasks to execute. They don’t shoot water hoses; they use powered chainsaws and manual hand tools, such as axes, with the goal of starving the fire of fuel to continue to burn...

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has a Conservation Camp Program that employs incarcerated people as firefighters, who respond to emergencies at the local, state, and federal level...

The 13th Amendment reads:

“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

...this legislation led to a new form of slavery developed in the 20th century, formally known as convict-leasing. Convict-leasing was a labor solution in which private individuals and businesses leased out prisoners for forced labor.

This practice is still very big business today. It is estimated that $11 billion in prison labor is used annually, from making hand sanitizer and digging mass graves during COVID-19 to cleaning up hazardous materials...And in instead of pay—which for some is pennies per hour—the prisoners’ wages are often garnished to pay for things like their own room and board and court fees to appeal their cases...

隐私资讯

本网站使用 cookie 和其他网络存储技术。您可以在下方设置您的隐私选项。您所作的更改将立即生效。

有关我们使用网络存储的更多信息,请参阅我们的 数据使用和 Cookie 政策

Strictly necessary storage

ON
OFF

Necessary storage enables core site functionality. This site cannot function without it, so it can only be disabled by changing settings in your browser.

分析 cookie

ON
OFF

您浏览本网页时我们将以Google Analytics收集信息。接受此cookie将有助我们理解您的浏览资讯,并协助我们改善呈现资讯的方法。所有分析资讯都以匿名方式收集,我们并不能用相关资讯得到您的个人信息。谷歌在所有主要浏览器中都提供退出Google Analytics的添加应用程式。

市场营销cookies

ON
OFF

我们从第三方网站获得企业责任资讯,当中包括社交媒体和搜寻引擎。这些cookie协助我们理解相关浏览数据。

您在此网站上的隐私选项

本网站使用cookie和其他网络存储技术来增强您在必要核心功能之外的体验。