History of Prison Labor in New York

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, the Auburn System was designed to force incarcerated New Yorkers to work for no pay producing goods and services that could then be sold for profit. The goal was eventually to create a prison labor industry that could offset the costs of incarceration.

The Auburn System relied on silence, corporal punishment, and group labor. Head-shaven prisoners dressed in striped clothing silently marched in lockstep formation to and from their cells for meals and work assignments. Infractions were met with whippings and removal of family visitation rights. In short, those convicted of crimes were viewed and treated as “slaves of the state.”

TODAY

Today, over 31,000 incarcerated New Yorkers are forced to work under the threat of punishment for as little as 10¢ an hour, and that is before their wages are garnished to pay fines and fees. Incarcerated workers staff hundreds of prison maintenance jobs like groundskeeping, kitchen duty, and laundry. In addition, 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 furniture for SUNY and NYC schools, to eyeglasses, trash cans, license plates and government office furniture. Moreover, in the spring 2020, as COVID-19 ravaged New York and private businesses were placed under lockdown, incarcerated people were forced to continue working in prison factories without personal protective equipment, risking their lives to bottle hand sanitizer that they themselves were prohibited from using. To add insult to injury, New York has made Corcraft the “preferred source” for the goods  it provides, meaning that state agencies, municipalities, and other public entities must purchase goods from Corcraft first and that a competitive bidding process is not required. Thus, by using its 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.

 Although the cost of living in New York is the third highest in the nation, the wages we pay to incarcerated workers are 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 communities 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, and commissary prices continue to rise. For example, between December 2021 and November 2022, the average price of a food item in the commissary increased by over 70%

Recently, states have recognized the need to right the wrongs that exist in today’s prison labor system. Since 2018, eight states – Colorado, Nebraska, Utah, Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont and Nevada - have voted to amend their state laws, to make the use of slavery and forced labor in prisons illegal. New York must be next!