by Jane Slaughter

About the author: Jane Slaughter is a Detroit-based labor writer.

Start talking about “prison labor,” and people tend to fall into two categories. One is appalled at the exploitation implied: workers locked up, overseen by guards, with no say in their wages, conditions, or anything else. But the other group sees a chance to “make prisons pay” and to get tough on crime. Back in the 1970s, Chief Justice Warren Burger called for turning prisons into “factories with fences.” Today, Burger’s words are coming true, with consequences that may be as serious for workers on the outside as for those who labor behind bars.

The Growing Number of Inmate Laborers

The number of prisoners who work for private, profit-making companies or state-controlled industries—around 80,000—is still...