A prison strike is an inmate
strike or work stoppage that occurs inside a
prison, generally to protest poor conditions or low wages for penal labor. Prison strikes may also include
hunger strikes.
United States
In September 2016,
large, coordinated prison strikes took place in 11 states, with inmates claiming they are subjected to poor sanitary conditions and jobs that amount to forced labor and
modern day slavery
Contemporary slavery, also sometimes known as modern slavery or neo-slavery, refers to institutional slavery that continues to exist in the 21st century. Estimates of the number of enslaved people range from around 38 million to 49.6 million, d ...
.
[Inmates strike in prisons nationwide over 'slave labor' working conditions](_blank)
''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' September 9, 2016. Organizers, which include the
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), whose members are nicknamed "Wobblies", is an international labor union founded in Chicago, United States in 1905. The nickname's origin is uncertain. Its ideology combines general unionism with indu ...
labor union, asserted that it was the largest prison strike in U.S. history.
On August 21, 2018,
another prison strike, sponsored by Jailhouse Lawyers Speak and the
Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee, took place in 17 states from coast to coast to protest what inmates regard as unfair treatment by the criminal justice system. In particular, inmates objected to being excluded from the
13th amendment which forces them to work for pennies a day, a condition they assert is tantamount to "modern-day slavery". The strike was the result of a call to action after a deadly riot occurred at
Lee Correctional Institution in April of that year, which was sparked by neglect and inhumane living conditions.
Legalities
At the national level, declares "encouraging others to refuse to work, or to participate in a work stoppage" to be a "High Severity Level Prohibited Act" and authorizes
solitary confinement
Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...
for periods of up to a year for each violation.
The
California Code of Regulations (CCR) states that "
rticipation in a strike or work stoppage", "
fusal to perform work or participate in a program as ordered or assigned", and "
curring failure to meet work or program expectations within the inmate's abilities when lesser disciplinary methods failed to correct the misconduct" is "serious misconduct" under §3315(a)(3)(L), leading to
gang affiliation under CCR §3000.
List of prison strikes
*
1970 Folsom Prison strike
*
Walpole prison strike (1973)
*
Cuban political prisoners hunger strike of 2010
*
2010 Evin prison hunger strike
*
2010 Georgia prison strike
*
2013 California prisoner hunger strike
*
2016 U.S. prison strike
*
2018 U.S. prison strike
See also
*
Prisoners' Rights
*
Strike Action
Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike in British English, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Working class, work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Str ...
References
Prisons
Civil disobedience
{{Prison-stub