Schlackman Calls For End of Underpaid Labor in Maryland Prisons

Ian Schlakman – Green Party nominee for Governor of Maryland – calls on Maryland officials to respond publicly to the demands of incarcerated people across the country participating in a hunger strike. nominee for Governor of Maryland – calls on Maryland officials to respond publicly to the demands of incarcerated people across the country participating in a hunger strike.

Schlakman / Chambers for Governor

https://www.schlakman.com



For Immediate Release

August 27, 2018

"People incarcerated in prisons across the country have issued a set of demands and are refusing work assignments and food until their demands are heard," said Schlakman. "I am calling on Maryland Division of Correction officials to respond publicly to these demands."

"Incarcerated people are asking for basic human rights," said Schlakman, "and their demands deserve to be addressed. They are asking for improvements to their living conditions, an end to slavery and payment of prevailing wages for prison labor, an immediate end to the profiling and over-sentencing of black and brown people, universal access to prison rehabilitation programs, educational funding for incarcerated people, and voting rights for all confined persons."

According to the Division of Correction website, Maryland Correctional Enterprises is the prison industry arm of the state's correction system and is one of the largest prison industries in the nation. According to data compiled by the Prison Policy Initiative, workers in Maryland prisons are entitled to pay of between ninety cents and $5.10 a day.