California proposition to ban forced prison labor trails in early election results

Update: Proposition 6 failed. The Associated Press called the race on Nov. 10. For more on why Prop. 6 supporters believe the initiative failed, click on this story.

California’s measure to ban forced prison labor is trailing in early election results.

Proposition 6 would amend the state’s constitution to repeal a provision that allows involuntary servitude as a form of punishment. It would make work assignments voluntary and allow incarcerated people to prioritize rehabilitation. 

“This is our moral obligation of our generation — to remove all vestiges of slavery from everything we do in California, especially our Constitution,” said Democratic Assemblymember Lori Wilson of Suisun City, who sponsored the bill that placed Prop. 6 on the ballot.

California mandates tens of thousands of incarcerated people to work at jobs – many of which they do not choose — ranging from packaging nuts to doing dishes, to making license plates, sanitizer and furniture for less than 74 cents an hour, according to legislative summaries of prison work. 

If a person does not complete their work, regardless of illness, injury or bereavement, they face punishment, such as disciplinary infractions, which can lead to losing privileges including visits from family members. Prop. 6 would prohibit  the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from disciplining incarcerated people who refuse a work assignment.

“Nothing about prison slavery is good for rehabilitation and rehabilitation is what’s good for public safety,” said Carmen Cox, director of government affairs at ACLU California Action. “Ending slavery is morally right (and) fiscally sound. Practically speaking, it’s a win-win for everyone because why keep funding recidivism?”

Findings from a report earlier this year by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation “point to lower recidivism rates for those who earned credits from participation and completion of rehabilitative programming.”

Supporters of Prop. 6 say that the decision to end forced prison labor is long overdue. The measure has garnered support from Democratic party leaders, public employees unions, and dozens of advocacy groups who view their efforts as part of a national movement to end a racist legacy and abolish slavery. 

“Accountability is not going in there and pushing a broom all day,” said J Vasquez, a formerly incarcerated organizer with the advocacy group Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice. “It’s about someone working on themselves so when they come back to the community, we all benefit.”

The measure faced no funded opposition, but polls showed uncertainty of its success.

A similar attempt to ban forced prison labor failed in 2022. At the time, the California Department of Finance opposed the proposal, noting that it had the potential to drive up prison spending by $1.5 billion annually to provide minimum wage to incarcerated workers. This time, lawmakers adjusted what became Prop. 6 to clarify that the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will set wages for voluntary work assignments in state prisons. 

‘A highway for exploitation’

Proponents of Prop. 6 say California’s constitutional provision has created “a highway for exploitation” that hampers an incarcerated person’s ability to participate in rehabilitation.  

“A lot of the programs that are vital to rehabilitation are held at the same time as the majority of the forced work assignments,” said Lawrence Cox, regional advocacy and organizing associate at Legal Services for Prisoners with Children. 

That tension effectively makes rehabilitation a secondary priority and hinders an incarcerated person’s ability to prepare for release, the measure’s supporters say.

“What does it mean to remove barriers from rehabilitation?” Cox said. “95% of the carceral population will return back to the streets one day. So if we’re really serious about restoring our communities and decreasing public safety issues, then we have to focus on and prioritize rehabilitation.”

Cox and other supporters made it clear that their campaign values work. Prop. 6 would allow incarcerated people to inconsequentially opt-out of working jobs that do nothing to prepare them for their return home.

“Prop. 6 doesn’t do away with labor. Folks want the jobs, but they want to be able to prioritize their rehabilitation,” said Cox of ACLU. “(With Prop. 6), you will give consent to a voluntary work assignment and that will free you up to be able to take advantage of these programs that we’re paying $14 billion a year for our state prisons.”

Roughly 40% of people released from state prisons were convicted of new crimes within three years, according to the state’s most recent report on recidivism. 

How did Prop. 6 land on the ballot?

After the failed attempt in 2022, the measure was reintroduced in the Legislature earlier this year,  recommended by the California Reparations Task Force and championed by the Legislative Black Caucus.

In a June statement on the Assembly floor, Wilson said, “Slavery is wrong in all forms and California should be clear in denouncing that in its constitution. This should not be controversial…Let us take this step to restore some dignity and humanity and prioritize rehabilitative services for the often forgotten individuals behind bars.”

If it passes, California would follow a growing number of states, including Oregon, Utah and Alabama, that have recently removed language sanctioning involuntary servitude from their constitutions. Nevada voters this week overwhelmingly passed a ballot measure similar to California’s, leaving involuntary servitude embedded in 15 state constitutions.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation would be tasked with developing a new voluntary work program and creating regulations around programming assignments if the measure passes. The agency would also prescribe rules regarding wages for incarcerated workers in state prisons. City and county officials would set wages for incarcerated workers in county jails. 

“We expect it to be a robust process. We didn’t work this hard just to have some symbolic act,” said Cox.

Cayla Mihalovich is a California Local News fellow.