Are We Returning to Slavery?

Slavery, and all its incarnations, has been a part of human history as far back as we know.  The civil war is regularly thought to have ended slavery.  It did not end slavery, it simply changed the name.  Operating a private prison and contracting out inmate labor quickly became a common practice(1).  This manner of assuring that free labor is available to private industry has been revived in California, as well as other states in America.  Many other states have expressly disallowed this practice in their state laws.  It seems that the
question of who is a free state and who is a slave state is currently unanswered.

We have called slavery by many different names some of which are conscripted labor, indentured servitude, shanghai sailors, kidnap victims, etc.  What it all comes down to no matter what we call it, is the willingness to dehumanize others in the pursuit of material gain.   Slavery is illegal in the state of California as stated in our Constitution.  Involuntary servitude is prohibited except to punish crime.(2)

Current Events in Private Incarceration

When the “Tough on Crime” policies were becoming popular there were industry minded individuals ready to capitalize on the free publicity.  During the 1980’s, California made incarceration into an explosive and lucrative industry.  California became the number one prison state.  We have more convicts than any other state(3), and we have given Prison Industries Authority free run at all profits that can be derived by the use of inmate labor.  We are the industry leader in the ability to make money off of prisoners.  Our example has set off a consistent effort by many smaller states to do the same(4), but no one is as
big a dealer in inmate labor as California.  It is a cruel irony that the largest inmate population consists of young, black men.(5)  Does that not smack loudly of slavery?

California’s laws and statutes have been regularly amended to allow for the explosive growth and the public acceptance of mass incarceration.  A specific example follows:

Penal Code Section 2717.8 “The compensation of prisoners engaged in programs pursuant to contract between the Department of Corrections and joint venture employers for the purpose of conducting programs which use inmate labor shall be comparable to wages paid by the joint venture employer to non-inmate employees performing similar work for that employer.”   

However, CALPIA proudly claims to pay their inmate laborers anywhere from .60 to .90 per hour before deductions.(6)  How is this?  Read on.

 Penal Code Section 2811 “…in no event shall that compensation exceed one-half the minimum wage provided in Section 1182 of the Labor Code…”  Does that not sound like a quiet little step towards free labor for private industry?