NEW YORK, NY – On Monday, national headlines picked up New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s outrageous plan to use prison labor to mass produce hand sanitizer to combat the spread of coronavirus. During the plan’s grandiose unveiling, the Governor did not mention the incarcerated workers tasked with executing this plan or that the state pays them as little as $0.26 per hour. He also failed to mention that incarcerated people are prohibited from using hand sanitizer. But the Governor’s announcement did bring attention to just one of the countless ways that the private and public sectors are using the coronavirus to exploit incarcerated people.
Bianca Tylek, Executive Director at Worth Rises, said “Worth Rises condemns the exploitation of incarcerated people and their loved ones at all times, but particularly in times of crisis. In facilities throughout the country, the prison industry and its correctional partners are preying upon incarcerated people and their loved ones right now, exploiting everything from efforts to stay informed to slave labor. By putting profit over people, some will make millions while others will pay with their lives.”
During the current public health crisis, Worth Rises urges elected officials to protect incarcerated people from harm and exploitation by doing the following:
Release people detained pretrial and incarcerated people at higher risk for infection without the use of bail bonds or electronic monitoring: Prisons and jails are dangerous places during pandemics, especially for older and ailing people who are more vulnerable to infection. Advocates have called on officials to prevent the spread of coronavirus by releasing people to the community—the easiest and most effective way to decrease the risk for incarcerated people and their communities. However, these decarceral solutions must not be implemented with the use of bail bonds or electronic monitoring, like some public health have officials have suggested. Bail bonds and electronic monitors come with exorbitant fees that will only divert resources from already struggling communities.
Provide hygiene and cleaning products at no cost and end predatory commissary pricing: Administrators do not provide incarcerated people with hand sanitizer, and some facilities do not even give out soap. Instead, people must buy cleaning products from privately- and state-run commissaries at vastly inflated prices. States pay incarcerated workers as little as $0.10 per hour—or nothing at all—so many people will be forced to go without these essential items. For those with support systems, families will send money, draining precious resources at a time when they are needed most.
Provide access to adequate healthcare services, including testing for coronavirus, and eliminate co-pays for medical care: The nation’s largest correctional healthcare corporations consistently put profit before people’s wellbeing. During previous outbreaks of contagious diseases like Hepatitis-C, corporations like Wellpath cut costs and denied treatment, leading to needless suffering and preventable deaths. In most states, incarcerated people cannot get care unless they pay co-pays that can cost an entire month’s salary in a typical prison job. Unless states improve care and end co-pays, many incarcerated people will be unable to access the care they need and the remarkably contagious coronavirus will spread quickly, creating a lethal threat for the increasingly elderly population behind bars who should be free.
Make all phone calls, video calls, and other communication free and more accessible, particularly if visit access is temporarily limited: Prison telecom corporations have used this crisis as an opportunity to exploit the need for families to be in contact. In places like Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, administrators have ended visits to prevent the spread of coronavirus, replacing them with video calling services run by GTL, a prison telecom corporation. Families must now pay $15 for each 25-minute call just so an elderly mother can check on her incarcerated son and vice versa. As several states and the federal prison system prepare to end visits, the telecom industry will almost certainly make a windfall from this crisis unless something is done.
Prohibit the use of prison labor in the manufacturing of safety products or disinfecting of facilities without compensation at minimum wage and adequate training: During the outbreak, incarcerated people are being forced to do sanitation work in every prison and jail in the U.S., often laboring in unsafe conditions, with limited training or protection equipment, and for little-to-no pay. In New York City jails, incarcerated people are being forced to sanitize toilets and sinks for just $1.00 per hour. While the city saves money, these workers will risk their lives for just a fraction of the pay that they deserve.
It is clear that the prison industry sees the coronavirus health crisis as an opportunity to make millions. Worth Rises calls upon correctional administrators and prison industry executives to stop exploiting incarcerated people and their families during this critical moment and to value people’s health more than profit. Meeting these five recommendations will help ease the burden on incarcerated people and their families during this crisis, but this exploitation will not end until profit motives are removed from the criminal legal system entirely.
###