Inmates Can Make Up Nearly A Third Of Those Fighting
California Fires
Due to “Slavery
Clause,” 30% of LA Fires are Being Fought by Inmates
Doug Melville, Forbes, January 9, 2025
 |
Inmate firefighters with Delta
Conservation Camp construct a hand line during the Point Fire in ... [+] San Francisco Chronicle via Getty
Images |
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 up to 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 retail brands 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.
SOURCE: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dougmelville/2025/01/09/inmates-makes-up-nearly-a-third-of-those-fighting-la-fires/
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