Currently, there are 19 states with constitutions that explicitly permit either slavery, involuntary servitude, or both as punishment for a crime. We cannot assume that people and state governments are wholly against slavery and involuntary servitude, as states are clearly taking advantage of these constitutional exceptions.
Ballot measures, while imperfect, are an important first step toward a full-throated repudiation of the slavery and involuntary servitude that continues in these states. Indeed, while some critics may characterize these measures as symbolic, they are important because the shift in the legal status of incarcerated workers may allow prison laborers’ claims to certain worker protections and rights. Previous challenges by prison laborers for worker protections have failed, in large part, due to slavery and involuntary servitude loopholes.
However, following the passage of Amendment A, incarcerated workers in Colorado are now testing the extent to which the removal of their status as “slave” laborers affords them legal protections. Two men filed suit in February 2022, alleging that the state forced them to work despite their health conditions and, in doing so, violated the ban on slavery and involuntary servitude in Colorado’s constitution. They are asking the courts to allow for a class-action lawsuit so that other incarcerated people can join this action.
Oregon will also provide another reflection point regarding the importance of passing state amendments to abolish slavery. On one hand, Senate Joint Resolution 10 (SJR 10) in Oregon – which is on the ballot in November – highlights why the state also must revise other existing state laws, such as Measure 17, which mandates 40 hours of weekly, involuntary labor by incarcerated individuals, and allows both private and public sectors to use that labor. However, as Riley Burton, the co-founder of the Oregonians Against Slavery and Indentured Servitude (OASIS) coalition, emphasized in a February 2022 Esquire interview, passing SJR 10 is still an imperative step toward eradicating codified slavery as the basis of the criminal justice system.
“We constantly get asked, ‘Well, is this just a symbolic thing?’” Burton told Esquire, “ … and the question is, is the amendment being used as just a symbolic thing? If the basis of your system is built on slavery, then it will have an effect. And if it’s not [built on slavery], then it won’t.’”
What actually ensues if Oregon’s ballot initiative passes is yet to be determined. However, it is still unquestionable that these ballot initiatives matter — especially to those most affected by them. Indeed, the incarcerated people in Oregon who worked on SJR 10 see passing it as a critical step toward fair wages — and as a way to remove their reality from obscurity.