The Legal Aid Society released never-before-seen information today obtained via a Freedom of Information Law request that revealed that over 1,000 New Yorkers in the custody of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) performed hundreds of jobs, some dangerous, for Corcraft – New York’s prison industry – throughout the pandemic without critical employment protections or fair wages. The data set covers the period from April 2020 to July 2022.

Early in the pandemic, it was reported that incarcerated workers were denied personal protective equipment while being forced to manufacture these same products, which included hand sanitizer and face masks, but the sheer extent of their exploitation has never been fully revealed.

If incarcerated New Yorkers refuse to work they often face severe punishments, including keeplock (disciplinary confinement in a cell) and solitary confinement, extended incarceration through loss of good time credits, and loss of family visitation. They are paid wages from 10 – 65 cents an hour.

This forced labor system has its roots in slavery, and most incarcerated workers today are people of color. BIPOC New Yorkers, who total just 45% of our state’s population, make up 78% of our incarcerated population.

Legal Aid is part of a coalition calling on lawmakers to pass the 13th Forward Bill Package in the coming legislative session. The bills would abolish slavery without exception in NY’s constitution and extend workers’ protections to incarcerated New Yorkers.

“New York’s record on exploitation in our prisons is unparalleled, and it’s unconscionable that incarcerated people worked grueling jobs throughout the pandemic, manufacturing products to keep the public safe, yet were deprived of both a fair wage and critical workplace protections,” said Jacalyn Goldzweig, a paralegal casehandler with the Employment Law Unit at The Legal Aid Society. “To right this historic wrong, New York must pass legislation this year to abolish slavery in all its forms, affirming our progressive values that all New Yorkers deserve dignity and respect.”