Payan 1

!"#$% '%( !)*+%( !'",- .*) /'0+'1 2341+0'5+#%, #6 7"+,#% 8'9#" +% 5*) :;
A monstei known as the piivatizeu piison business was boin in 1984.
Coiiections Coipoiation of Ameiica (CCA), the fiist piivate business establisheu to
maintain coiiectional facilities, paitneieu with the 0niteu States Immigiation anu
Natuialization Seivice (0SINS), which spaikeu a tienu of establishing piivatizeu
paitneiships acioss the countiy. Piivate coiiectional coipoiations such as the CCA
soon tiansfoimeu the piison system fiom a tool of coiiection to a multibillion-uollai
inuustiy by selling inmate laboi to companies such as Walmait, Staibucks, anu
victoiia's Seciet. The use of piison laboi foi piofit violates basic human iights anu
uispiopoitionately impacts people of coloi both insiue anu outsiue of the piison
inuustiial complex.
The meie existence of piison laboi in the 0niteu States pioves hypociitical
when we consiuei oui inteinational stance on human iights. Known foi establishing
itself as a type of inteinational police foice, the 0S has taken it upon itself to piotect
human iights acioss inteinational lines. Foi example, the 0S was quick to ciiticize
the use of piison laboi foi piivate piouuction in China. In fact, in the 199u's, the
0niteu States went as fai as ieseiving the iight to "investigate any companies oi
piouucts associateu with the use of piison laboi" in China as well as othei countiies
with laige populations of people of coloi (Kang, 1S8). Bespite this anti-piison laboi
position, the 0niteu States feueial goveinment still allows piison laboi to be
exploiteu within its own bounuaiies while attempting to justify inteinational
inteivention by citing human iights violations that it claims to oppose.
Payan 2
The amount of incaiceiateu peisons in the 0niteu States contiasts shaiply
with its supposeu piioiitization of human iights, especially when we consiuei that
China, uespite having a laigei population, has half a million less people in piison
than the 0S (Kang, 1S9). In hei aiticle, "Foicing Piison Laboi," Susan Kang explains
that "the 0niteu States has the highest incaiceiateu population in the woilu, with
ovei 2 million peisons in piison oi jail" (1S9). The iacial composition of the
incaiceiateu population in the 0S is a telling fact about the uisciepancy in the
application of "justice" among iaces. Accoiuing to the NAACP, "Afiican Ameiicans
now constitute neaily 1 million of the total 2.S million incaiceiateu population."
Auuitionally, Afiican Ameiicans anu Latinos maue up about 6u% of the total piison
population in 2uu8, while composing less than Su% of the geneial population
(NAACP). The piactice of exploiting piison laboi foi piofit impacts people of coloi of
a wiuei scale because they constitute a laigei poition of the incaiceiateu
population. Even within piisons, theie aie "uocumenteu iacial uispaiities within job
assignments . . . White piisoneis aie unuei-iepiesenteu in piisons, yet they tenu to
ieceive bettei woik assignments anu moie highly paiu jobs" (Kang, 146). Bowevei,
the conuitions unuei which inmates aie foiceu to woik violate the basic human
iights of all piisoneis, iegaiuless of theii iacial iuentity.
Nost finu it uifficult to believe that sweatshop laboi conuitions aie still
alloweu to peisist this fai into the twentieth centuiy, let alone within the 0niteu
States. Bowevei, the conuitions unuei which inmate laboieis aie foiceu to woik
coulu be uesciibeu as nothing shoit of a sweatshop. In his aiticle, "Piison Laboi
Payan S
Booms," NcCoimack quotes a female inmate uesciibing hei expeiience in the piison
laboi system:
Cuiiently, we aie foiceu to woik in the blazing sun foi eight houis. We iun
out of watei seveial times a uay. We ian out of sunscieen seveial times a
week. They uon't check meuical backgiounus oi ages befoie they pull women
foi these jobs. Nany of us cannot uo it! If we stop woiking anu sit on the bus
oi even just take an unauthoiizeu bieak, we get a majoi ticket which takes
away oui 'goou time'.
In a public iesponse to this statement, an employei suggesteu that the insignificant
amount of watei pioviueu to piisoneis was sufficient, but that "the piisoneis uiun't
sip it slowly enough" (NcCoimack). As illustiateu, piison laboieis aie tieateu not as
human beings oi even laboieis, but as commouities whose sole puipose is to cieate
piofit foi piivate coipoiations. Piisoneis aie punisheu when askeu foi bettei houis
oi conuitions of woik by getting ieuuction fiom theii fiee time, which in many cases
is the only oppoitunity foi uaily outuooi activity. Inmates who iefuse to woik have
even been placeu in solitaiy confinement uuiing which they aie helu in iooms with
no winuows, uoois, oi fuinituie (Kang, 149). This piactice can have ueteiioiating
impacts on an inmate's mental health by uisconnecting him fiom ieality. Piison
laboi foi piofit noimalizes inhuman piactices such as solitaiy confinement anu
watei uepiivation, suggesting that the value of a peison's life is piopoitional to the
amount of piofit he oi she can geneiate.
Bespite the hoiiible conuitions anu inhuman tieatment that inmates aie
foiceu to enuuie, many still aigue in suppoit of piison laboi. In hei aiticle "Leisuie
Payan 4
Time," Stephanie Bibas summaiizes aiguments in suppoit of piison laboi, which
suggest that a lack of piison laboi leaves inmates with too much "leisuie time" to
"socialize with othei convicts" (S8). This aigument attempts to justify the
exploitation of piison laboi foi piofit by uisguising it as a theiapeutic piactice.
Bowevei, iehabilitation is haiuly piioiitizeu in the piison system, wheie "...S6
|peicentj of state piisoneis, 4S |peicentj of feueial piisoneis anu 64 |peicentj of
local jail inmates have mental health pioblems" (Phillips). Bespite the iising iates of
mental health issues in piisons, "theie has not been simultaneous inciease in
euucation anu job-tiaining expenuituies while the piivate employment of inmates
has expanueu" (Kang, 148). Bue to lack of psychiatiic iehabilitation piogiams, less
than one fouith of piisoneis with mental illnesses have ieceiveu tieatment
following theii incaiceiation ("Inmate Nental Bealth"). If iehabilitation weie inueeu
a piioiity, shoit-teim inmates woulu be given jobs anu psychiatiic caie to piepaie
them foi woik upon theii ielease back into mainstieam society. Insteau, "piivate
companies tenu to piefei long-teim piisoneis in oiuei to limit woikei tuinovei anu
maximize piouuctive efficiency" (Kang, 149). It is obvious that the amount of piofit
gaineu fiom inmates is piioiitizeu ovei theii iehabilitation.
The use of piison laboi moves moie than a million jobs behinu bais, auuing
uifficulties to the alieauy bioken economy. Companies such as Staibucks, Nintenuo,
Pioctoi & uamble, }ohnson & }ohnson, Notoiola, Quakei 0ats, Naiy Kay, Niciosoft,
NcBonalu's, anu Seais use piison laboi in some shape oi foim (Waue). Piison laboi
is attiactive to piivate companies because piisonei's healthcaie anu living
conuitions aie maintaineu by the facilities in which they aie helu, allowing the
Payan S
companies to giossly unueipay them. Piison laboieis aie paiu as little 2S cents an
houi (LeBaion), with the highest iecoiueu wage at "$4.7S pei uay" (NcCoimack).
These fall vastly below minimum wage, yet the 0S goveinment has uone nothing to
inciease them to wages on which a peison coulu actually live. Keeping employees
unueipaiu allows companies to keep as much of theii piofits fiom theii woikeis as
possible. This maintains the uivision between the iich anu the pooi, while
withholuing job oppoitunities fiom capable potential laboieis acioss the countiy.
With unemployment iates as high as 1S% foi black anu Latino communities in the
0S, the use of piison laboi makes hunuieus of thousanus of jobs unavailable foi
people of coloi, contiibuting to theii poveity uespite being outsiue of the piison
inuustiial complex (Buieau of Laboi Statistics). Piison laboi allows companies'
piofits continue to giow while hunuieus of thousanus of people acioss the countiy
stiuggle to pioviue foi theii families.
If no action is taken to eiauicate the paitneiships between piivate piisons
anu companies, piofits will only continue to be piioiitizeu above human iights anu
iehabilitation. Piisoneis will still be seen as commouities iathei than human beings,
being uepiiveu of watei anu oppoitunities foi iest oi leisuie. Auuitionally, the use of
piison laboi will continue to keep jobs behinu bais, wheie capable woikeis will not
have access to them, leaving them stiuggling to finu woik. The continuation of this
tienu of foi-piofit extoition will only benefit piivatizeu piisons, piouuction
companies, anu theii shaieholueis. Nost impoitantly, this piactice will only
continue to ieinfoice systemic iacism by keeping people of coloi subjugateu both
insiue anu outsiue of the piison inuustiial complex.