13th Amendment

The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. This amendment, which was one of the most important milestones in the history of the United States, ended the practice of slavery that had been a part of American society since the country’s founding. The 13th Amendment marked a major turning point in the struggle for civil rights and equality in the United States.

 

 

Prison-Labor Bans Are About Unions More Than ‘Slavery’
|

Prison-Labor Bans Are About Unions More Than ‘Slavery’

ByEyes on Trafficking News

What I learned working in the correctional kitchen for 75 cents a day. I worked in York Correctional Institution’s kitchen for five years. I earned 75 cents a day for the first year, then got a raise to $1.75 a day. That job is the reason I’m alive. The work was menial, but it provided…

Voters in five states have the chance to wipe slavery and indentured servitude off the books
|

Voters in five states have the chance to wipe slavery and indentured servitude off the books

ByEyes on Trafficking News

When slavery was outlawed in the U.S. in 1865, the 13th Amendment included one exception. “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,” the amendment reads. The penalty has remained on…

The bid to close the U.S. ‘slavery loophole’
| | | | | |

The bid to close the U.S. ‘slavery loophole’

ByEyes on Trafficking News

Johnny Perez was made to work under threat of punishment, sewing underwear, pillowcases and sheets. He earned between $0.17 and $0.36 per hour for his labor.   Johnny was one of the hundreds of thousands of incarcerated people who are forced to work in the U.S. as a result of a so-called “slavery loophole” created…

Nationwide Movement to End Unpaid Prison Labor Tackles the ‘Slavery Loophole’
| | | |

Nationwide Movement to End Unpaid Prison Labor Tackles the ‘Slavery Loophole’

ByEyes on Trafficking News

Photo by mksfly via Flickr Incarcerated individuals across the country are forced to work for cents on the dollar, with five states, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi and Texas, offering no wages, reports the Guardian.  The 13th amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude but contained an exception for “a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have…

Locked Up: The prison labor that built business empires
| | | |

Locked Up: The prison labor that built business empires

ByEyes on Trafficking News

More than 150 years ago, a prison complex known as the Lone Rock stockade operated at one of the biggest coal mines in Tennessee. It was powered largely by African American men who had been arrested for minor offenses — like stealing a hog — if they committed any crime at all. Women and children,…

Report on Prison Labor: ‘Too Much Drudgery, Not Enough Opportunity’
| | | |

Report on Prison Labor: ‘Too Much Drudgery, Not Enough Opportunity’

ByEyes on Trafficking News

Illustration by AK Rockefeller via Flickr. The ‘vast majority” of individuals incarcerated in state prisons are forced to work menial jobs for poverty-level pay, according to a new Prison Policy Initiative (PPI) policy brief. As a result, most leave prison poorly qualified to find a job in civilian society that will keep them out of…

The fight for human labor trafficking (modern day slavery) victims continues
| |

The fight for human labor trafficking (modern day slavery) victims continues

ByEyes on Trafficking News

Q: MY employer brought me to America to work as live-in nanny for their youngest child. I would be paid $1,000 per month with weekends off.  When we arrived in Los Angeles, my employer took my passport. I was then made to work 7 days a week, up to 16 hours per day, taking care…

Some States Will Have Slavery On The Ballot This Midterm Election
| | | |

Some States Will Have Slavery On The Ballot This Midterm Election

ByEyes on Trafficking News

In less than 60 days, voters in Alabama, Louisiana, Oregon, Tennessee, and Vermont will decide whether to abolish slavery. But it’s not exactly what you may think. The initiative on the ballot is a part of a larger criminal justice reform movement aimed at prison labor. In an attempt address the “loophole” in the 13th Amendment—which ended slavery…

‘A vestige of slavery’: Why advocates are fighting to make prison labor voluntary
| | | |

‘A vestige of slavery’: Why advocates are fighting to make prison labor voluntary

ByEyes on Trafficking News

Prisoners making license plates is a popular stereotype, but most of the nation’s 800,000 incarcerated workers hold jobs more similar to those on the outside: They cook and serve food, mop floors, mow lawns, and cut hair. Unlike other workers, though, the incarcerated have little say, if any, in what jobs they do. They face…