Minnesota Prisoner Workers Organizing Committee Holds Significant Rally at State Capitol Demanding End to Forced Labor in Correctional Institutions
On Saturday, May 31st, 2025, the Minnesota Prisoner Workers Organizing Committee (MPWOC) held a significant rally at the state capitol, demanding an end to forced labor in the state’s correctional institutions. The rally is part of a larger national movement challenging the long-standing problem of involuntary servitude in the US prison system, shining a light on deeper systemic issues.
For years, federal and state governments have offset budget shortfalls by forcing incarcerated individuals to work in order to maintain the very prisons that confine them. These individuals are often forced to serve as janitors, plumbers, electricians, and food servers, allowing prisons to significantly offset their operating costs.
Furthermore, states and municipalities contract with state departments of corrections to use the labor of incarcerated workers for a variety of public works projects, mostly off prison grounds. At least 41 state departments of corrections have public works programs that employ incarcerated workers. These individuals maintain cemeteries, school grounds, fairgrounds, and public parks; do road work; construct buildings; clean government offices; clean up landfills and hazardous spills; undertake forestry work in state-owned forests; and treat sewage. They also play a critical role in preparing for and responding to natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, mudslides, or floods. The use of incarcerated workers in emergency operations has been documented in at least 30 states. For example, during Hurricane Irma, hundreds of unpaid incarcerated workers in Florida were tasked with picking up fallen trees and other debris, while in Texas, hundreds of unpaid incarcerated workers filled sandbags in preparation for Hurricane Harvey, forced to work in the storm’s path while people outside prisons were evacuated. In addition, incarcerated firefighters in 15 different states assist with fighting wildfires, responding to over 3,000 calls annually in Georgia alone.
State prison systems also profit from labor contracts signed with private companies that employ incarcerated workers. These companies benefit from prison labor by directly employing incarcerated workers through the Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program (PIECP) and other means, and by purchasing goods and services through correctional industries at a lower cost than they would pay in the private market. For example, Utah Correctional Industries has sold goods and services to almost a thousand private companies. In Arkansas, incarcerated individuals work in the fields cultivating and picking row and vegetable crops, as well as in slaughterhouses, poultry, and swine management, and egg production.
As highlighted during the rally in Minnesota, the use of labor in prisons is not entirely voluntary in the current day United States.
“I was incarcerated for 11 years in the state of California and I worked against my will under conditions of involuntary servitude – a form of modern-day slavery,” said a voice from a prisoner.
Incarcerated workers typically earn little to no pay, with many making just pennies an hour. Civil rights advocate Nekima Levy Armstrong drew attention to MINNCOR Industries, a state-run program within the Minnesota Department of Corrections, during the rally. The University of Minnesota has purchased goods and services from MINNCOR, including furniture and laundry services. However, incarcerated workers are paid as low as 25 cents per hour, while MINNCOR executives earn more than $100,000 annually.
In the federal system, all “sentenced inmates who are physically and mentally able to work are required to participate in the work program.” Individuals incarcerated in federal prisons can be disciplined for refusing to work or accept program assignments, unexcused absence from work or a program, and failure to perform work as directed. In states such as Florida, Texas, and California, individuals who refuse to work typically lose all privileges, including access to personal telephone calls, family visitation, and the commissary to buy food, medicine, and other basic necessities. They also risk losing the opportunity to shorten their sentence through earned “good time,” effectively extending their incarceration.
Even during the height of the pandemic, incarcerated individuals who refused work assignments due to health concerns were subject to punishment. In at least 40 states, incarcerated workers were tasked with manufacturing hand sanitizer, masks, medical gowns, face shields, and other personal protective equipment that they were then prohibited from using to protect themselves. These individuals labored under the threat of punishment if they refused their work assignments. In Colorado, incarcerated workers who opted out of kitchen work assignments in 2020 due to health concerns lost their earned time, pushing back their parole eligibility dates. In Illinois, a worker reported being punished with a rule violation for refusing to report to her job in the kitchen after testing positive for COVID-19.
The Persistence of Forced Labor in U.S. Prisons
In a country that champions freedom and democracy on the world stage, the persistence of forced labor in U.S. prisons has drawn mounting condemnation from international human rights organizations and domestic
Derick is an experienced reporter having held multiple senior roles for large publishers across Europe. Specialist subjects include small business and financial emerging markets.