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    Alabama profitiert von Gefangenen, die bei McDonald’s arbeiten, hält sie aber für zu gefährlich für eine Bewährung


    Alabama profitiert von Gefangenen, die bei McDonald’s arbeiten, hält sie aber für zu gefährlich für eine Bewährung

    https://apnews.com/article/prison-to-plate-inmate-labor-investigation-alabama-3b2c7e414c681ba545dc1d0ad30bfaf5

    View 27 Comments

    27 Comments

    1. zsreport on

      Bits from the article:

      > No state has a longer, more profit-driven history of contracting prisoners out to private companies than Alabama. With a sprawling labor system that dates back more than 150 years — including the brutal convict leasing era that replaced slavery — it has constructed a template for the commercialization of mass incarceration.
      >
      > Best Western, Bama Budweiser and Burger King are among the more than 500 businesses to lease incarcerated workers from one of the most violent, overcrowded and unruly prison systems in the U.S. in the past five years alone, The Associated Press found as part of a two-year investigation into prison labor. The cheap, reliable labor force has generated more than $250 million for the state since 2000 through money garnished from prisoners’ paychecks.
      >
      > Most jobs are inside facilities, where the state’s inmates — who are disproportionately Black — can be sentenced to hard labor and forced to work for free doing everything from mopping floors to laundry. But more than 10,000 inmates have logged a combined 17 million work hours outside Alabama’s prison walls since 2018, for entities like city and county governments and businesses that range from major car-part manufacturers and meat-processing plants to distribution centers for major retailers like Walmart, the AP determined.
      >
      > . . .
      >
      > Few prisoner advocates believe outside jobs should be abolished. In Alabama, for instance, those shifts can offer a reprieve from the excessive violence inside the state’s institutions. Last year, and in the first six months of 2024, an Alabama inmate died behind bars nearly every day, a rate five times the national average.
      >
      > But advocates say incarcerated workers should be paid fair wages, given the choice to work without threat of punishment, and granted the same workplace rights and protections guaranteed to other Americans.
      >
      > . . .
      >
      > Alabama collected more than $13 million in work release fees in fiscal year 2024. But the prisoner lawsuit filed in federal court late last year with backing from the powerful AFL-CIO federation of unions, estimates the corrections department actually rakes in about $450 million in benefits from prison labor annually. That takes into consideration money saved by not having to hire civilians to maintain the sprawling prison system or work for government agencies.

    2. Gardening_investor on

      Because slavery was never truly outlawed in America, just came with additional steps. A former slave holder actually said that, in the immediate aftermath of the 13th amendment’s ratification that the former slaves turned prisoners actually had it worse under the new system. When they “owned” the slaves they wanted to ensure they survived long enough to continue working and providing the slaver income. With prisoners, they would just work them to death and then ask the state for a new one to replace the dead/injured prisoner.

    7. wittnotyoyo on

      The title seems to be misleading, the but needs to be replaced with a therefore.

    8. Sharticus123 on

      Because it’s just plain old slavery. I lived in Alabama and holy shit is it one racist piece of shit state. The legal system there is staffed by straight up predators.

    9. notthistimeD on

      This is what they will do with all the immigrants they round up next year. Horrible.

    10. Ging287 on

      Make the bigger rocks into smaller rocks. That’s the type of prison labor that should be instituted. Make license plates. Sew shoes together. If they are already working with the general public and have not murdered someone, assaulted someone, thieves to someone, this is exploitation. This is taking someone else’s job from the Free world and giving it to the prisoner. Because they want to pay them less. Because they want to exploit them. Prisoners are the most vulnerable population precisely because of their incarceration. This needs to be brought to light. Not even saying get rid of the 13th amendment exception for prisoners. This is not it though. This is crooked crony capitalism using prison labor. Class warfare. Call it out.

    11. Prestigious-Age3650 on

      Ceos and major shareholders are the real enemy of the American people. We’re at war if you like it or not and right now we’re losing and come June shits going to start
      really hitting the fan. Maybe stupidity of those in charge might save us but idk…

    14. SpillinThaTea on

      The federal government needs to come in and take control of Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. Those 3 states are still essentially feudal states that ignore the constitution and engage in unchecked corruption.

    16. SirDiesAlot15 on

      Southern states took advantage of prisoners as soon as slavery was abolished. 

    17. blackmobius on

      Theres another word for “prisoners forced to do jobs” but the spineless dickless media refuses to use it

    18. ADumpsterFiree on

      Who tf is going to a McDonalds knowing the employees are there by force? Is the McBurger really that worth it???

      Edit: cause I did a typo from losing my mind

    20. ReturnOfSeq on

      Too dangerous to let out of prison, but safe enough to make people’s food? Uhhhh

    22. varnell_hill on

      I’m sure the “all lives matter” crowd will be along shortly to protest this injustice.

      Yessiree, any moment now….

    23. iamspacedad on

      It’s wild to me that slavery is still legal in the US when done to prisoners, but Americans just go along with it as if it ended with the civil war.

    24. so_it_hoes on

      So mass deportations and then expanding prison work programs, and then increasing convictions via policy or policing. And those fucking Dems told us we were hurting ourselves by deporting “illegals”. Now we pay even less!

    26. u_tech_m on

      It’s exhausting trying to tell our lived experiences and constantly being told racism does not exist. That we are always treated equitable and fairly.

      We open our mouths and folks just yell woke.

      — A black millennial with boomer parents

    27. mkt853 on

      Not surprising. Alabama took their Covid money and built more slave housing err I mean prisons while other states used it for things that actually help people.

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