If Californians vote to ban slavery this fall, will prisoners get a raise?

By Shaanth Nanguneri (CALMATTERS) – Californians in the November election will vote on a ballot measure that would change the state Constitution to ban the practice of forced labor in jails and prisons, a proposal advocates say would wipe out a legacy of enslavement that dates to the 19th century. If Proposition 6 passes, correctional officers could not order an inmate to work. What’s less clear is what might happen if an inmate wants to work in one of the thousands of prison jobs that allow them to earn small amounts of money or to build skills. No one can say with certainty, but it raises the possibility that inmates could be paid minimum wage for work they perform while incarcerated. The legal precedent that allows California prisons to pay sub-minimum wage to inmates — less than 74 cents an hour for most — draws in part from the provision in the state Constitution that would be overturned if voters pass the anti-slavery amendment. Deleting the provision that bans slavery except as punishment for a crime could open the door to higher pay for inmate labor depending on how courts interpret the ballot measure, according to experts and an analysis...