The history behind prison work has never been an altruistic one. It was about making profit off of incarcerated people —the majority being Black back in the day — without paying them any money for the labor. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery, but it did not do so for incarcerated people.

Today, things have changed — at least in some states. Wages range from no pay to $5.15 per hour. In Iowa, the minimum wage is 27 cents and the maximum is 87 cents per hour. Although in a more recent post, Iowa Department of Corrections spokesman Cord Overton said, “Iowa Prison Industries pays its employees between 58 cents to $1.92 per hour, with an average earning of $1.15.” This isn’t livable.

Between 90 percent to 95 percent of people incarcerated in Iowa will leave the prisons at some point, so it makes sense that we provide education on vocational training and such. This is a good thing because inmates can then move on to find better jobs and opportunities and thus lower the overall chance of reoffending. Currently, inmates through the Iowa Prison Industries have been working in making essential personal protective equipment by working long hours. 

Inmates themselves have protested concerning the wages they are paid, and even students here at Iowa State have done so. Some call the low pay and horrific conditions “modern day slavery.” Iowa State University is one of the companies that buys from Iowa Prison Industries. According to the protesters, in Iowa, one out of four inmates is Black, in contrast with the Black population only encompassing 3 percent of the state’s overall population. Disproportionately, all over the United States, people of color are incarcerated at higher rates than their white counterparts. 

The prison work market is estimated at a minimum of $2 billion, yet inmates can work 40 hours a week and earn a gross check of about $30 per week. These wages are not acceptable because, on top of this, inmates need to pay for their phone calls and emails sent and received. 

This is because communications in prison are a closed market. Prisoners are depending solely on certain vendors to take care of their communication needs. They are not able to just pick up their phone and make a call or send a message. They must go through specific channels to communicate with their loved ones.

The companies in charge of these connections have high fee, structured systems in place so inmates and their families always have to pay extra. For example, the average 15-minute jail call cost in Iowa is $7.03. If an inmate wants to speak to their family on the phone for 15 minutes once a week, then their monthly bill will be at least $28.12. That’s their entire paycheck for the month for one hour on the phone with their family.

Over 92 percent of all inmates in Iowa have the highest degree of a high school diploma or a GED diploma. If we were really interested in educating the workforce and providing tools to all Iowans, why are there no more programs that heavily target these demographics before they commit a crime? Just looking through the statistics, one can yield important key information as to where the problems start to occur. 

While prison work programs are successful for some ex-prisoners, they are being exploited by having them work for such low wages. The prisoners are already paying their debt by being behind bars. Teaching inmates how to be successful outside of jail is not only sufficient for themselves, but for our communities and societies. If prisoners could obtain better wages, then they could start paying down their debts faster before getting out of jail. They may be able to pay for better lawyers or counsel, or just cover the cost of calling their family for at least an hour per week. Even when you commit a crime, you are still a person. If we are willing to take their labor and services, then why are we not willing to treat them as people? Why are we not paying them market rate wages for the work they do?