Growing concerns over proposed prison labor expressed at city council meeting

By Jessica Schnur  This past Monday, Winston-Salem residents expressed several concerns at the city council meeting, including the issue that had been referenced multiple times about implementing inmate labor for the city of Winston-Salem in partnership with the North Carolina Department of Corrections. The proposed program would allow inmates to be contracted to work through the city’s Vegetation Management department, where they would perform such tasks as cleaning and maintaining the sides of local roads.   The historic and continued exploitation of prison labor in the United States has underlined implications with what this program could mean not only for citizens of Winston-Salem, but also for the inmates employed. Allusions to the legacy of “chain gang” prisoners who had built this city rang through the words of many concerned advocates, including Vegetation Management employee Justin Cashow.   During his presentation to the council, Cashow said, “We have openings in this position. We have four trucks running with five people. That means three trucks with only one person walking the street, picking up the litter. [If] I got hit by a car, no one’s stopping. I don’t have a partner with me to call for help. I’m not against having somebody with me...