Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:00:02] Let’s take it back to history class real quick. In 1865, the U.S. ratified the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, otherwise known as the Prohibition Clause.
Olivia Allen-Price [00:00:17] This is the clause that we were all taught banned slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States once and for all.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:00:25] Which it did, except not completely. I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra.
Olivia Allen-Price [00:00:32] And I’m Olivia Allen-Price. And you’re listening to Prop Fest, a collaboration between the Bay and Bay Curious where we help you get smart on all the statewide propositions on your ballot this year.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:00:45] The Constitution says slavery and involuntary servitude are prohibited except as punishment for convicted crimes.
Olivia Allen-Price [00:00:54] That exception has allowed dozens of states, including California, to force incarcerated people to work in prisons whether they want to or not.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:01:04] Proposition 6 hopes to close that loophole once and for all and begin limiting forced labor in California state prisons.
Olivia Allen-Price [00:01:14] Today, we’re going to break down Proposition 6 for you right after this.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:01:22] Today we’re talking about Proposition 6. Here’s how it will read on your ballot. Prop 6 amends the California Constitution to remove current provision that allows jails and prisons to impose involuntary servitude to punish crime, i.e., forcing incarcerated persons to work. Today, we talk with KQED arts and culture columnist Pendarvis Harshaw to help us break down what Prop 6 is all about.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:01:51] Your story on prison labor mentions a poultry processing enterprise at a state prison near the Central Valley. I mean, there’s really it seems like a really wide range of jobs that California inmates are doing.
Pendarvis Harshaw [00:02:24] It’s the notion of what you can see, you know about, what you don’t see. You have no idea. People who are residents of different institutions around the state work on everything from furniture that appears in college dorm rooms to license plates and and things of that nature, even working internally and doing maintenance. Somebody told me about working on the big industrial dryers inside of a women’s facility. There are a lot of education or jobs or even counseling jobs that people who are incarcerated do as well.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:02:59] And some of this is, I mean, really dangerous work, right?
Pendarvis Harshaw [00:03:04] Yeah. There’s the maintenance work that that can be done inside of prisons. Definitely dangerous. And not all jobs are blue collar or a front line. There are a lot of education or jobs or even counseling jobs that people who are incarcerated do as well. Folks have shared with me that some of them make $0.11 an hour or $0.14 an hour. And a lot of that goes not even directly into their pocket, can go into anything from health care to restitution. There are people who work for ducats or tokens, which essentially goes to time earned against their sentence. So they might get out sooner because of their labor. In southern states you’ve seen there are examples of people who work in chain gangs. And so the parallels between that and slavery are like clear present.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:03:55] Because there are also consequences for some folks inside of prisons. If you don’t want to work right.
Pendarvis Harshaw [00:04:02] If you get assigned a job and you do not work, then yes, you can be penalized.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:04:06] So enter then Prop 6 Pen, which would amend California’s constitution and prohibit the state from punishing inmates with involuntary work assignments. Can you talk a little bit more about the changes that Prop 6 would make exactly.
Pendarvis Harshaw [00:04:27] Prop six would essentially ban involuntary servitude in California prisons. California’s just the latest to try to close this loophole in the past two years. Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont have all passed legislation in order to change this. This is a byproduct of years of work from different organizations and legislators.
Asm. Lori Wilson [00:04:48] California is among only 16 states with an exception clause for involuntary servitude.
Pendarvis Harshaw [00:04:55] This particular year, Legislative Black Caucus. Lori Wilson did a lot of work to get this off the ground.
Asm. Lori Wilson [00:05:01] Slavery takes on the modern form of involuntary servitude, including forced labor in prisons. Slavery is wrong, and all forms in California should be clear and denouncing that in our Constitution.
Pendarvis Harshaw [00:05:16] There’s been a lot of support by the organization that I talked to, all of us or None, which is a community group that’s based in Oakland, California. Their work is to help formerly incarcerated folks return to society, as well as to get behind initiatives like this.
Lawrence Cox [00:05:33] We want to give people the choice of whether or not they choose to work.
Pendarvis Harshaw [00:05:38] Lawrence Cox is one of three people that I talk to who work for All of Us Or None. They filled me in on some background.
Lawrence Cox [00:05:44] For us here in California. This is the fourth consecutive year that we’ve attempted to make that reach the ballot.
Pendarvis Harshaw [00:05:51] Saying it’s about humanity, it’s about labor rights. And then beyond that, it’s about this capitalist system. And Lawrence Cox talked about this.
Lawrence Cox [00:06:00] We’re not only trying to change the Constitution because we’re not talking about symbolism. We’re focused on creating airtight solutions that prevent the exploitation of individuals.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:06:12] Who else do we know is for Prop six?
Pendarvis Harshaw [00:06:17] Other organizations that are in favor of Prop six are orgs that do the work for people who are incarcerated, families who are incarcerated and people who are reentering society. So the anti recidivism coalition, ACLU of Northern California, organizations that are on the frontlines working with these folks who have been impacted by the system.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:06:37] And do we know what like the money is looking like in terms of support for Prop six? Who’s throwing coin basically into the Yes on Prop six campaign?
Pendarvis Harshaw [00:06:49] It’s it’s a tilted scale. Nearly $500,000 worth of support behind Prop six. And there have been $0 spent on the no side.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:07:03] There’s no official opposition to Prop six, but the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has said it opposes it. There have also been a few newspaper editorial boards that call on voters to reject Prop six. The Bay Area News Group argued in a recent op ed that says, quote, Requiring inmates to sweep floors, clean the bathrooms or cook in the kitchen is reasonable. If we expect the same of ourselves and our children, if we insist members of the military conduct those chores, certainly we can ask incarcerated, convicted criminals to do the same, unquote. This also isn’t the first time advocates have tried to pass a similar idea. Back in 2020, the End Slavery in California Act was first introduced. But after two years in the legislature, it failed because lawmakers were worried about how much it would cost. That’s why this time, Prop six allows inmates to volunteer for work assignments without pay, but only if they want to.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:08:18] Well, I know you visited San Quentin earlier this year, and I’m curious where you heard from people. Did any of this sort of conversation that we’re having now come up in your visit there?
Pendarvis Harshaw [00:08:31] It came up naturally. I was in San Quentin in early August, tagging along with a group of journalists, doing a more or less a media day just to get a sense of the media that was being produced out of San Quentin. And of course, if you’re producing media, you’re working and you should be compensated for your work. And so naturally, the conversation would come up like, how much do you make? It was mind blowing because it was said like it was just common or even laughed at like here, you know, just making a little $0.14 here and there, almost saying it in jest or saying it and moving on to the next topic. People have told me that they are looking for employment or some type of work because busy hands stay out of trouble, more or less. The people that I talked to much older understand how prison works and know that by being occupied with their time, it’s a benefit to them. How much do people get compensated? How many people can work? What type of rights do they have? It’s start of a much larger discussion, or probably even the continuation of a conversation that’s been happening for some time.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:09:34] Well, Pen, thank you so much for breaking this down for us. We really appreciate it.
Pendarvis Harshaw [00:09:39] Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:09:44] In a nutshell, a yes vote on Prop six means involuntary servitude would not be allowed as punishment for crime and that California prisons would not be allowed to discipline people in prison who refuse to work. A no vote means involuntary servitude would continue to be allowed as punishment for a crime in California. And that is it for today’s episode of Prop Fest. If you missed our other episodes, you can always find them at kqed.org/prop fest. Stay locked in and make sure you are subscribed so you don’t miss out on the next ones.
Olivia Allen-Price [00:10:30] Prop fest is a collaboration between the Bay and Bay Curious Podcasts. It is produced by Alan Montecillo, Ericka Cruz Guevarra, Christopher Beale, Amanda Font, Jessica Kariisa, and me, Olivia Allen-Price.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:10:45] We get extra support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, and Holly Kernan.
Olivia Allen-Price [00:10:52] And the whole KQED family. For more super helpful info on both state and local elections, make sure to bookmark KQED is handy Election guide at kqed.org/voter Guide.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:11:06] I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra.
Olivia Allen-Price [00:11:08] And I’m Olivia Allen-Price. We’ll be back next week with an explainer on prop 32, which would raise California’s minimum wage.
