Enacts "the prison wage act" relating to payment for labor performed by incarcerated individuals

• Democratic30

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Zellnor Myrie says this is needed

New York State played a critical role in creating the profiteering and exploitative prison labor systems that exist across the U.S. today. Pioneered more than 200 years ago at Auburn Prison in Auburn, New York, our state was the first in the nation to force incarcerated workers to labor without wages to produce goods and services that could then be sold for profit. The goal was to create a prison labor industry that would eventually wholly offset the costs of incarceration. Even the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which ended chattel slavery, failed to protect people who are incarcer- ated, including New Yorkers, from the vestiges of slavery. The 13th Amendment contains an insidious exception that prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude "except as a punishment for crime." This inten- tional omission of people who are incarcerated from constitutional protections against slavery has led many scholars to conclude that our current system of prison labor is an institutional descendant of slav- ery. Today, little has changed. Wages for incarcerated workers have been stagnant since the early 1990s, while costs for basic goods in facili- ties have skyrocketed, preventing individuals in facilities from access- ing necessary goods, being able to support their families, and saving for release. Incarcerated New Yorkers are forced to work under the threat of punish- ment for as little as $0.10 per hour, and that is before their wages are garnished to pay fines and fees. In addition to staffing hundreds of prison maintenance jobs like groundskeeping, kitchen duty, and laundry, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) owns and operates a prison industry program known as Corcraft. Through Corcraft, incarcerated people are paid pennies an hour to provide services like asbestos and lead removal, and to manufacture everything from eyeglass- es, trash cans, and license plates, to furniture for SUNY, NYC schools, and government offices. The desks that lawmakers and their staff work at, and many of the very office chairs used by legislators today, are made by incarcerated workers. Moreover, in the spring of 2020, as COVID-19 ravaged New York and Private businesses were placed under lock- down, incarcerated people were forced to continue working in prison factories without personal protective equipment, risking their lives to build coffins and bottle hand sanitizer that they were prohibited from using. By using forced and exploitative labor practices, Corcraft makes millions of dollars for the state every year. Between 2010 - 2021, Corcraft sold over $545 million worth of goods and services using the labor of incarcerated New Yorkers. Although the cost of living in New York is the third highest in the nation, the wages we pay to incarcerated workers is well below the national average. Wages for New York's incarcerated population have not increased in over thirty years. In addition to the obvious harm and indignity nearly nonexistent wages cause to those who are incarcerated, the lack of payment takes a tremendous toll on the families and communi- ties of incarcerated individuals. One in three families is driven into debt supporting a loved one who is incarcerated. The current system of prison profiteering requires prisoners to pay for basic necessities such as food, clothing, toiletries, and phone calls. Most incarcerated people must work hours just to afford a single bar of soap, a toothbrush, or toothpaste. Increasing prison wages to one-half of the minimum wage would be money well spent, with fiscal and social benefits far exceeding the costs. With increased wages, incarcerated workers would be able to meet their own basic needs for food, clothing, and toiletries while lessening reli- ance on family members. In addition, increased wages would make more money available for child support payments and restitution to crime victims. Governments and taxpayers would see a reduction in public welfa

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.