Latest Forced labor News
Prisoners fight against working in heat on former slave plantation, raising hope for change in South
Beneath the blazing summer sun on a former slave plantation, Lamont Gross and fellow prisoners stooped in long rows, picking vegetables by hand under the watchful eyes of armed guards on horseback. He said breaks were short and infrequent, with nothing to protect workers from the heat. ...
Tennessee sheriff pleads not guilty to using prison labor for personal profit
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A sitting Tennessee sheriff pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges that he illegally profited from the work of jail inmates under his supervision and housed dozens of them in a home outside of the prison without permission. Gibson County Sheriff Paul Thomas...
Takeaways from AP's report on how China's textile recycling efforts take a back seat to fast fashion
WENZHOU, China (AP) — China is the world’s largest textile producer and consumer, throwing away 26 million tons of clothes each year, mostly made of unrecyclable synthetics. A recycling factory in Zhejiang province on China’s east coast repurposes discarded cotton clothes to...
Forced labor, same-sex marriage and shoplifting are all on the ballot in California this November
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Forced labor, same-sex marriage and shoplifting are among the 10 statewide ballot measures that California voters are set to consider in November. The California secretary of state assigned proposition numbers to the measures on Wednesday after the...
As temperatures soar, judge tells Louisiana to help protect prisoners working in fields
Amid blistering summer temperatures, a federal judge ordered Louisiana to take steps to protect the health and safety of incarcerated workers toiling in the fields of a former slave plantation, saying they face “substantial risk of injury or death.” The state immediately appealed the decision....
US miners' union head calls House Republican effort to block silica dust rule an 'attack' on workers
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The head of the national mine workers’ union on Friday condemned what he characterized as an effort by House Republicans to block enforcement of a long-awaited federal rule directed at curbing workers' exposure to poisonous, deadly rock dust, calling it “a direct...
California voters to weigh proposal to ban forced prison labor in state constitution
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California voters will decide in November whether to remove an exemption for involuntary servitude from the state constitution under a proposal the state Legislature approved Thursday. In California and many other states, the state constitution bans...
California’s Black legislators make case for reparations bills while launching statewide tour
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Several members of California’s Legislative Black Caucus launched a statewide tour in San Diego Saturday to promote a slate of 14 reparations bills, including a measure that could change the state constitution to end forced prison labor. That measure and several...
Boston pizza shop owner convicted of forced labor against employees in the country illegally
BOSTON (AP) — The owner of two Boston-area pizza shops was convicted of forced labor on Friday for using physical violence and threats of reprisal or deportation against employees living in the country illegally to make them work long hours, sometimes seven days a week. Prosecutors...
Sen. Cory Booker questions US prison labor policies, calls for change
Prisoners should be learning professional skills that help prepare them for their release instead of being forced to work, sometimes picking crops in triple-digit heat for pennies an hour or nothing at all, Sen. Cory Booker said at a Senate judiciary subcommittee hearing on prison labor Tuesday. ...
