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Anna Britton & Madison Haas
Feb 7, 20215 min read

Fair Pay for Incarcerated Laborers - DEI Committee submits testimony in support of SB 194

Did you know the furniture we use at the School of Social Work was built by workers making as little as 17 cents an hour? The University System of Maryland, of which UMB is one of 12 member institutions, is required by law to purchase “to the maximum extent practicable” from Maryland Correctional Enterprises (MCE), the industrial arm of Maryland's prison system. In fact, our university system is the third largest customer of MCE, having done $7 million in business with them in fiscal year 2020.


The following testimony was submitted to the Maryland General Assembly last week on behalf of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee at the School of Social Work in support of SB 194, which has also been introduced in the House as HB 102. It would raise compensation for incarcerated laborers working for MCE to at least the state minimum wage, prohibit the deduction of basic needs costs from these earnings (food, lodging, clothing), and require the Department of Corrections to offer job training and educational courses to all inmates.

 

The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee at the University of Maryland School of Social Work


TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF SB 194 Correctional Services – Inmates – Labor, Job Training, and Educational Courses


Finance Committee

February 4, 2021


The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee (DEIC) at the University of Maryland School of Social Work (UMSSW) strongly supports SB 194, which requires Maryland Correctional Enterprise (MCE) to pay inmates for their labor at no less than the state’s minimum wage, and prohibits the Maryland Department of Safety and Correctional Services (DPDSC) from deducting the cost of food, lodging or clothing from an incarcerated person’s earnings. The bill also requires that the Department of Corrections (DOC) offer specified job training and educational opportunities to all inmates. The bill would reduce economic exploitation and the impacts of structural racism in Maryland’s carceral system, promote the successful rehabilitation of those who are incarcerated, and improve the wellbeing of inmates, returning citizens, their families and communities.


SB 194 would reduce economic exploitation in Maryland’s carceral system. The wages of incarcerated people working in various jobs at MCE range from less than 25 cents an hour for “unskilled” jobs to slightly more than $1 an hour for warehouse team leaders. Most inmate job categories – semi-skilled, skilled, craftsman, team or line leader, clerk, invoice clerk, quality control, warehouse worker, warehouse delivery, mail clerk, sanitation, safety inspector, and institutional worker – pay approximately 35 cents per hour, the equivalent of $14 for a 40-hour work week. Some positions, such as laundry and recycling collection, pay as little $1.31 per day.[i] Such wages are far below any reasonable standard of equitable compensation.


SB 194 would reduce the impacts of structural racism in Maryland. The economic exploitation in Maryland’s carceral system disproportionately impacts Black and brown people, for more than 70% of Maryland’s prison population was Black in 2018, compared with 31% of the state population.[ii] In fact, Maryland prisons incarcerate a higher percentage of Black people than any other state – over double the national average.[iii] The racialized aspect of inmate exploitation parallels previous forms of more overt forms of institutional racism so clearly that the carceral system has been called “The New Jim Crow.” As Maryland pursues efforts to decriminalize nonviolent offenses and to decarcerate in proactive, comprehensive and evidenced-based ways,[iv] we should seek to reduce wage disparities that are also so grossly racial disparities.


SB 194 would promote rehabilitation and successful reentry, as well as the wellbeing of inmates, returning citizens, their families and communities. More adequate compensation for their work would allow incarcerated individuals to meet basic needs – e.g., to buy personal hygiene products – without having to turn to potentially dangerous side hustles or family members who may already be struggling. SB 194 would help to ensure that, in addition to the skills that are needed for successful reentry, returning citizens have a greater ability to pay restitution and child support while incarcerated, as well as accrue modest savings for when they return to their families and communities. Studies have found that financial security following incarceration correlates to lower recidivism rates.[v] Increasing inmate wages – along with expanded access to vocational and educational opportunities included in the bill – would prepare inmates for the challenges and expectations following release.


The DEIC at the UMSSW, the members of which benefit from the labor of incarcerated individuals though the products they supply to our classrooms and offices, believes SB 194 is an important step in making Maryland’s carceral system more just and effective – being a mechanism to reduce both inequity and recidivism. We appreciate the Committee’s attention, and strongly encourage a favorable report on SB 194.


Submitted on behalf of the DEIC by Madison Haas, Economic Inclusion Specialist, Office of Community Engagement, University of Maryland, Baltimore. For more information contact madisonhaas@umaryland.edu.


The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee at the University of Maryland School of Social Work seeks to challenge racism and all forms of structural oppression, and to become a fully inclusive, equitable, diverse and multicultural institution. For more information, contact Samantha Fuld and Maryrejahil Lanier, co-chairs, at samantha.fuld@ssw.umaryland.edu and mlanier@umaryland.edu.

 

[i] MCE. (2018). Inmate pay scale determination. Maryland Correctional Enterprises, Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

[ii] Justice Policy Institute. (Nov 2019). Rethinking approaches to over incarceration of black you adults in Maryland. Retrieved from http://www.justicepolicy.org/uploads/justicepolicy/documents/Rethinking_Approaches_to_Over_Incarceration_MD.pdf

[iii] Ibid.

[iv] See, for example, the Grand Challenges for Social Work, which are available at https://grandchallengesforsocialwork.org/promote-smart-decarceration/.

[v] Wetzel, J. & Wiessmann, R. (n.d.). Finances after prison, a collaborative approach. Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities. Retrieved from https://www.dobs.pa.gov/For%20Media/Pages/Successful-Reentry.aspx.

 

I encourage all of you to contact your state representatives and urge them to support this bill. This tool can be used to identify the representatives for your district. The following template can be used to draft an email to your legislators:


Hi my name is __________. I am a resident of your district and I am asking for your support for HB 102/SB 194: Correctional Services - Inmates - Labor, Job Training, and Educational Courses. I have heard that currently most inmates make less than a dollar an hour. I know from experience that _________ (include personal experience with a family of an inmate or a client if possible). I am hoping you support HB 102/SAB 194 to ensure our incarcerated friends actually have the means to support their families and restart their lives after incarceration.


Both versions of the bill are currently in committee and hearings have already been held. To have any chance of passing, we need to push now to get these bills through the committee process and back to the floor. Members of the committees considering the bill are the most important targets for advocacy.


The House bill is being considered in the Judiciary Committee. The members are as follows:



The Senate bill is currently in the Finance Committee. The members are as follows:



To stay updated on the bill’s progress, use the form linked here to provide your contact information. Please reach out to your representatives today and help move our state toward treating all of its citizens as full human beings.

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