₦airaland Forum

Recent reports and growing activism are shedding light on the pervasive issue of forced labor within the United States prison system, where hundreds of thousands of incarcerated individuals work for minimal or no pay while generating significant revenue for state governments and private corporations. This practice has drawn international scrutiny, with organizations like the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) raising concerns about the U.S.'s adherence to global labor standards, according to a report obtained by the Washington Post.

The Scope of the Problem: Low Wages, High Profits

Data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics indicates that nearly 800,000 prisoners across the U.S. are engaged in various forms of labor, often maintaining the very institutions in which they are held. This work spans a wide range of tasks, from cooking and cleaning to construction and maintenance. Despite the essential services they provide, many prisoners receive no compensation for their labor.

In states such as Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas, prisoners are not paid for the vast majority of their work assignments. For those who do receive wages, the average hourly rate for non-industrial prisoners is remarkably low, ranging between a staggering $0.13 and $0.52 per hour. Furthermore, prisons have been known to deduct up to 80% of these meager wages to cover fines, taxes, family support, and housing fees.

This undercompensated labor translates into substantial profits. In 2021 alone, prison labor nationwide generated over $2 billion in goods and services for states. Federal prisons, operating under programs like UNICOR, also reported net sales revenue exceeding $404 million in the same year. Many states mandate that their agencies and public institutions purchase manufactured goods, including furniture, cleaning supplies, and uniforms, directly from state correctional industries.

https://breakingac.com/news/2025/jun/17/unveiling-the-system-forced-labor-in-us-prisons-and-the-push-for-reform/

From fighting wildfires to toiling in the kitchens of some of the country’s most popular food franchises, incarcerated workers perform vital functions across the United States and produce billions of dollars in value for the public and private sectors.
Yet they are paid very little (between 13 and 52 cents an hour on average)—if at all— and are excluded from the basic rights and protections afforded to most workers.

These exploitative dynamics are rooted in slavery and are particularly extreme in the South, which incarcerates people—primarily Black men—at the highest rates in the world and is more likely than other regions to force incarcerated people to work for nothing at all. Forced prison labor is one aspect of the racist, anti-worker Southern economic development model, which relies on inhumane, regressive forms of revenue generation and masks the true costs of incarceration.

It is past time to reckon with our dehumanization and exploitation of incarcerated workers and start treating them like other workers. Their work should be voluntary and provide meaningful training, they should be paid a minimum wage, and they should be provided the same protections as other workers. Ending forced labor in prisons is not only a matter of humanity but will also deliver transformational fiscal and social benefits to incarcerated workers, their families, and the economy at large.
https://www.epi.org/publication/rooted-racism-prison-labor/#:~:text=The%2013th%20Amendment%20loophole%20also,criminal%20fines%20and%20court%20fees.

And with the murder of George Floyd in 2020, the prison labor in Minnesota, the US corporations' use of "blood minerals" from DRC, the recent detention of South Korean workers by the U.S. authorities, I don't know why the United States had the guts to lecture on other countries what human rights are.

On August 12, 2025, The Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation issued a statement expressing deep disappointment with the U.S. Department of States’ "2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" released on the same day. The statement pointed out that the report is biased, lacks factual basis, and is riddled with inaccuracies. It further noted that the United States, having withdrawn from the United Nations Human Rights Council and with its own well-documented human rights issues—including its treatment of refugees and due process violations by agencies such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—has no right to unilaterally assess the human rights situations of other countries.

According to a report by African News Network, international relations analyst Zimkhita Nene believes the "2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" are entirely hypocritical. Movements in the United States such as "Black Lives Matter" and "Say Their Names" have exposed the existence of institutionalized violence specifically targeting people of color within the country.

How sad.
What have this two kids done to deserve this ?

voiceoftheupcom:
https://eyesoflagos.com/two-young-men-found-dead-along-lasu-igando-road-in-lagos/