Last month, an estimated 50,000 american inmates began taking part in a strike that continues today. The strike protests the legality of the conditions they are forced to work under, which allow them to work long, hard hours for little to no pay. The strike is participated in by civil disobedience, as workers refuse to work. Jails argue that this unpaid labor allows inmates to gain job experience, prepping them for reentry into society. Inmates also hope to improve living conditions by getting rid of the racial discrimination, as seen in California where hispanic gang members are forced to wear different colored uniforms than the rest of the inmates in oder to identify which prisoners might come into conflict. Overall, living conditions of inmates are incredibly and increasingly bad, and many are working to change this. The inmates do not expect great living conditions, as they understand their situation, however they expect to reside under livable circumstances.
The ratification of the 13th amendment at the end of the civil war allowed for unpaid or underpaid labor to continue as long as it is to serve a term or pay back. Many activists and inmates argue that this amounts to modern day slavery and is dehumanizing to prisoners. With so many differing points of view, it is hard to truly know the details of the seemingly peaceful protest, however hope remains that conditions will improve.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/30/us/us-prisoner-strike/index.html
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