ALABAMA: Sweat Shop

Prison labor in Alabama is a longstanding and controversial system where incarcerated individuals are often required to work for little or no pay. Jobs range from fast food and manufacturing (many of these companies are referenced in this artwork) to public works. Work-release programs place inmates in outside jobs, but large paycheck deductions—sometimes over 40%—leave them with minimal earnings.

In-prison jobs typically pay between $0.86 and $3.45 per day, and workers receive no benefits like sick leave. Refusing to work can result in severe punishments, including solitary confinement, loss of visitation, and extended sentences.

Despite a 2022 constitutional amendment banning slavery and involuntary servitude, lawsuits argue that coerced prison labor continues under state policies that penalize those who decline to work.

Black Alabamians, while 26% of the state’s population, make up 53% of its prison population—reflecting racial disparities rooted in post-Civil War forced labor practices.

While the Alabama Department of Corrections frames work programs as voluntary and rehabilitative, critics argue they are coercive and exploitative. Advocates call for prison labor to be voluntary, fairly paid, and protected by worker rights.