SACRAMENTO, CA – California voters are being asked Nov. 5 to reevaluate forced labor in state prisons and jails under Prop. 6, and although the measure has no real opposition, current supporters argue forced labor in state prisons in jails is involuntary servitude “rooted in slavery and should be removed from the state constitution,” reported the Sacramento Bee.
Author of Prop. 6, Assemblymember Lori Wilson, (D-Suisun City) claims if Prop. 6 were to be passed, “prisoners will still work,” also emphasizing “there will be more than enough work for the prison population.”
During a virtual panel hosted by the Sacramento Bee, several questions were answered, including whether Prop. 6 would end all prison labor.
Wilson said “No,” and that the work assignments would continue in California jails although it would become voluntary.
Specifically, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation would not punish inmates with solitary confinement or loss of privileges for refusal of work, documented by the Sacramento Bee.
In addition, audience members asked whether Proposition 6 would increase wages for inmates. Assemblymember Wilson responded that it would not increase wages, as the CDCR has already boosted wages earlier this year and now most inmates earn around $.16-$.74 per hour of work.
Pay varies—for example, fire crew members can earn between $5.80 and $10.24 per hour. Wilson notes, “A lot of times, prisoners actually have more debt coming out of prison than they have going in” as a result of restitution fines.
Finally, audience members asked Wilson if prison labor will offset the cost for taxpayers.
In some areas, such as employing local inmates for cooking, cleaning, etc., the state avoids outsourcing labor to contractors, said Wilson, adding there are additional offsets for taxpayers because 55 percent of inmate wages are designated to restitution fees that were given during sentencing.
These costs can vary between $300-$10,000 depending on the “severity of the crime.” However, with the cost of housing inmates each year, along with the money owed to the victim compensation program, these costs do not necessarily offset money for taxpayers, Sacramento Bee wrote.
According to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO), there is a potential in saving tens of millions of dollars. However, “whether correction costs increase or decrease, depends on how Work programs would change if the measure is approved,” said the Bee.
LAO found, “If people in prison and jail no longer face consequences for refusing to work, prisons and/or jails might have to find other ways to encourage working…If this is done by increasing pay, costs would increase. If this is done by giving more time credits instead, costs would decrease because people would serve less time.”
