page_title: Penal labor in the United States
section_title: Prison labor legislation
hierarchical_section_title: Penal labor in the United States / Prison labor legislation
caption_attribution_description: English: Prisoners work in a UNICOR (Federal Prison Industries - UNICOR is the trade name) program producing military uniforms. UNICOR logo is visible in the background.
context_page_description: Penal labor in the United States is explicitly allowed by the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." Unconvicted detainees awaiting trial cannot be forced to participate in labor programs in prison as this would violate the Thirteenth Amendment.
  The stated aim of penal labor in the United States is to mitigate recidivism risks by providing training and work experience to inmates, however some prison labor is involuntary, with noncompliance punished by means including solitary confinement. Penal labor is economically important due to it being a source of cheap labor, with base pay being as low as 60 cents per day in Colorado.
  Penal labor in the United States underwent many transitions throughout the late 19th and early and mid 20th centuries. Periods of national economic strife and security guided much of these transitions. Legislation such as the Hawes-Cooper Act of 1929 placed limitations on the trade of prison-made goods.
context_section_description: Federal Prison Industries (UNICOR or FPI) is a wholly owned United States government corporation created in 1934 that uses penal labor from the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to produce goods and services. FPI is restricted to selling its products and services to federal government agencies, with some recent exceptions.
  The Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program (PIECP) is a federal program that was initiated along with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the Prison-Industries Act in 1979. This program legalized the transportation of prison-made goods across state lines and allows prison inmates to earn market wages in private sector jobs that can go towards tax deductions, victim compensation, family support, and room and board. The PIECP, ALEC, and Prison-Industries Act were created with the goal of motivating state and local governments to create employment opportunities that mimic private sector work, generate services that allow offenders to contribute to society, offset the cost of their incarceration, reduce inmate idleness, cultivate job skills, and improve the success rates of transition back into the community after release. Before these programs, prison labor for the private sector had been outlawed for decades to avoid competition. The introduction of prison labor in the private sector, the implementation of PIECP, ALEC, and Prison-Industries Act in state prisons all contributed a substantial role in cultivating the prison-industrial complex. Between the years 1980 through 1994, prison industry profits jumped substantially from $392 million to $1.31 billion.
  The Prison-Industries Act allowed third-party companies to buy prison manufactured goods from prison factories and sell the products locally or ship them across state lines. Through the program PIECP, there were "thirty jurisdictions with active [PIE] operations." in states such as Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and twelve others.
  California Prison Industry Authority is an entity within the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) that develops and operates industrial, agricultural, and service enterprises using penal labor.
caption: Prison labor in a UNICOR (Federal Prison Industries) program.
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