Should California ban involuntary servitude as a punishment for crimes?
That’s the thought of Assemblymember Lori Wilson, D-Suisun City, who is behind Proposition 6. The measure, approved by the legislature earlier this year to appear on voters’ ballots, is part of the reparations priority legislative package the California Legislative Black Caucus introduced in January.
“Involuntary servitude is an extension of slavery,” Wilson, chair of the caucus, said. “Today, slavery takes on the modern form of involuntary servitude, including forced labor in prisons. Slavery is wrong in all forms and California should be clear in denouncing that in the constitution.”
While involuntary servitude is prohibited in California, the state constitution still allows it in prisons as punishment for crime. Incarcerated people are paid nothing or as little as eight cents an hour to perform labor, according to a legislative analysis, including food service, construction, clerical work and custodial work. Some prisoners are paid a few dollars per hour to fight fires.
Should California voters approve Proposition 6, forced labor in prison will be deemed unconstitutional and as a result, discontinued.
The ballot measure “prioritizes rehabilitation for incarcerated people. Incarcerated people should be able to choose jobs and shifts that allow them to continue their education, use the law library, get counseling and participate in other rehabilitative programs that facilitate growth and transformation,” Wilson said.
The measure is supported by more than 100 organizations, including ACLU California Action, the LA County Board of Supervisors, the League of Women Voters of California and the California Immigrant Policy Center.
While no one is officially opposed, some lawmakers have voiced concerns over the billions of dollars the state could have to shell out yearly to pay incarcerated people should a minimum wage mandate ever be issued. That was a concern also brought up by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2022 when the state Senate rejected similar legislation.
