New York State

NY constitutional amendment would ban prison slave labor

OFFICE OF FORMER GOV. ANDREW CUOMO

It's March 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic is just beginning to surge. New York officials are struggling to get their hands on necessary resources to combat the virus. With test kits, masks and ventilators in short supply, the state at least didn't have to worry about hand sanitizer. Then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo proudly unveiled crate upon crate of “NYS Clean.” Only an unflattering fact wound up leading the headlines: The state used prison labor and paid pennies an hour to make it.

The news that New York utilized such labor came as a shock to many residents, but the state has long relied on that labor for a wide variety of local government needs. In fact, New York – despite its progressive reputation – remains one of an ever shrinking list of states that still technically permits slavery as a means of punishment for a crime. 

Lawmakers and advocates for incarcerated people are planning to rally in Albany on Wednesday to change that. They're pushing for a constitutional amendment that would ban prison slave labor, as well as legislation that would require incarcerated people to make at least minimum wage for their work.

Although the 13th Amendment abolished slavery at the federal level, it still permitted the practice among incarcerated individuals. It's thanks to that caveat that forced prison labor began proliferating across the nation. And while an increasing number of states, including deep-red southern states, have approved changes to their constitutions ending the practice, New York has lagged behind. "I think people just assumed New York was a liberal state and that we were going to protect people's rights and interests," Assembly Member Harvey Epstein, the amendment's sponsor, told City & State. "I think we just need to line up our values with our laws. 

Jesse Koklas, statewide organizer for ending mass incarceration at Citizen Action and a leader of the 13th Forward coalition, said the attention that the hand sanitizer received in 2020 went a long way toward "lifting the curtain" for the average New Yorker to begin to understand the forced labor issue. "I think that's kind of when this campaign started, I'm not sure people were talking about it before," Koklas said.

So far, eight states have passed amendments to ban forced prison labor, with New York among a handful of others to have active campaigns to do so. But the amendment alone does not solve the secondary issue of compensation. While incarcerated people could refuse work under the constitutional change, they could still receive as little as 16¢ an hour for work they do accept. It's why Epstein and his counterpart in the upper chamber, state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, have also sponsored legislation that would ensure incarcerated people receive fair wages and basic labor protections. Koklas said that getting support for the amendment is the first step. "If you agree (this) is not a New York value, let's actually change the material conditions, the slave-like conditions," she said. If the Legislature passes the amendment this year, it would need to approve it again in 2025 before it can head to voters for the final say.

The Wednesday action is the first major push to get attention for both the amendment and the accompanying legislation. Although advocates feel good about the level of support for the constitutional change, instituting new labor practices in prisons may take more convincing. "Change is difficult," Epstein said, mindful of the kind of backlash that has served as roadblocks for other bills like the Clean Slate Act that seek to improve the lives and protect the rights of people involved with the criminal justice system. But he said he had confidence that with the proper education, both pieces will see success. "Everyone knows it's wrong," Epstein said. "And I think we can get it done."

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.