As the shock of the Los Angeles fires and their effect on so many communities, businesses and families is still being digested, lots of attention is being turned to those who are on the front lines fighting the flames.
Many people might not be aware that one particular group has long been depended on to battle wildfires: inmates.
While the 13th Amendment ended slavery in the United States, a loophole allows people convicted of crimes to be forced to work for public or private enterprises. In this case, those tasked with firefighting volunteer for those positions and must meet certain criteria. They are not assigned without their consent.
Their pay scale was doubled in 2023, and depending on the skill level and the task assigned, they either receive $0.16 to $0.74 an hour or a maximum day rate of $5.80 to $10.24.
Most of their lunches consist of a simple sandwich—two pieces of white bread with a few slices of bologna—plus an apple. Their daily food budget of approximately $4 per day is hardly enough to sustain them for their high volume of manual labor.
Incarcerated firefighters have some of the highest injury rates among all prison workers and are four times more likely to sustain injuries compared to other firefighters. Also, they work some of the longest hours and have some of the hardest tasks to execute. They don’t shoot water hoses; they use powered chainsaws and manual hand tools, such as axes, with the goal of starving the fire of fuel to continue to burn.
What is an inmate firefighter?
In some form, inmate firefighters have been used in California since the end of World War II. The state has leaned on inmates to provide additional fire-fighting staff in “hand crews” to help contain the blazes. These teams also respond to other disasters like floods.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has a Conservation Camp Program that employs incarcerated people as firefighters, who respond to emergencies at the local, state, and federal level. The program started in 1915, and the modern protocol of training the inmates at camps began in 1946. Today, there are 44 conservation camps, also known as fire camps, operated by the CDCR in partnership with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) and the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
In 2010, nearly 4,000 inmates lived in California’s fire camps. That number has declined due to the prison population shrinking, sentencing reform and less inmate interest in this volunteer assignment. CDCR has tried to expand eligibility to higher-risk inmates, but the program still represents 30% of the wildfire workforce.
For perspective, in 2023 to 2024, the Los Angeles Fire Department has 3,902 employees (3,246 uniformed firefighters and 353 professional support) and is the third busiest in the United States.
It’s time to abolish the 13th Amendment ‘slavery clause’
The 13th Amendment reads:
“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.”
Passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, this legislation led to a new form of slavery developed in the 20th century, formally known as convict-leasing. Convict-leasing was a labor solution in which private individuals and businesses leased out prisoners for forced labor.
This practice is still very big business today. It is estimated that $11 billion in prison labor is used annually, from making hand sanitizer and digging mass graves during COVID-19 to cleaning up hazardous materials. The Associated Press recently uncovered a hidden workforce, apparently linking Popeyes, Coca-Cola, Chipotle, Burger King and Kellogg’s to forced prison labor. And in instead of pay—which for some is pennies per hour—the prisoners’ wages are often garnished to pay for things like their own room and board and court fees to appeal their cases.
During the most recent U.S. election, California voters rejected Proposition 6, a ballot measure that would have banned forced labor in state prisons. Only a handful of states have abolished forced prison labor: Colorado, Vermont, Nebraska, Utah, Alabama, Oregon and Tennessee.
Will Americans ever change their stance on forced prison labor?
After watching what these men and women battling the most devastating wildfires in Los Angeles history, I know I have.
It’s time we evolve and either stop this practice or pay these individuals fairly for what they do.