Be Inspired with Natalie B: Jailhouse conditions and organizations
CBS News Pittsburgh, 08/13/24: “Our Be Inspired segment this week is about jailhouse conditions and organizations that are hoping to help.
Pennsylvania has the highest incarceration rate in the Northeast – with 96,000 people behind bars – and, when factoring in people who are on probation or parole, PA has the second highest rate of incarceration in the country, after Georgia. (ACLU)
So let’s talk about labor – nationwide, people in prison earn on average between 13 cents and 52 cents an hour. How is that legal? Well, U.S. law also explicitly excludes incarcerated workers from the most universally recognized workplace protections. Incarcerated workers are not covered by minimum wage laws or overtime protection, are not afforded the right to unionize, and are denied workplace safety guarantees.
According to the ACLU, more than 76 percent of incarcerated workers surveyed by the Bureau of Justice Statistics say that they are required to work – and if they don’t, they can face additional punishment, like solitary confinement, loss of family visitation, or denial of opportunities to reduce their sentence.
Who does this disproportionately affect? This may not surprise you. Despite making up just 13% of the population in the United States, the percentage of people in prison or jail who are Black is 37%.
On an average day, around 1,600-1,800 people are held at Allegheny County Jail, including as many as several dozen children. Many are in dire need of mental and physical health treatment, and the majority have disabilities (ALC). So how can we support people who are currently or formerly incarcerated?”