Current Events > Prison labor replaces striking sanitation workers in New Orleans

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https://paydayreport.com/prison-labor-replaces-striking-garbage-workers-in-new-orleans/

On Wednesday, dozens of garbage workers, employed by the temp service People Ready, went on strike, demanding proper safety equipment.

The workers, who make only $10.25 an hour are also demanding hazard pay and paid sick leave.

$10.25 to pick up trash come on now. Its contaminated now with coronavirus, strike leader Gregory Woods told Payday Report this week.

After striking, the workers were fired en-masse earlier this week

However, many workers had hoped that the city would find a resolution to hire the back. Now, the city has found new workers to replace the striking workers, prison labor from nearby Livingston Parish.

Metro Services Group has long been an advocate of helping persons who had been incarcerated return to society in a meaningful and productive way, said the citys sanitation services in a statement. Metro makes no apologies for this policy as a core element of our commitment to being good corporate citizens.

Under state rules, prison inmates, employed by Metro Services, will be paid only 13% of what garbage workers, who only make $10.25-an-hour, are being paid.

I really dont like it, says Woods. They are really trying to use those dudes to do our job, and they paying them way less than they were paying us.

They are trying to show the world that people will still do our job without giving us the proper protective equipment, says Woods. All of it is a hustle for them, a scam for them. They saving money thats all they are doing thats all it is.

The workers have been on strike for four days, but so far, the city of New Orleans has refused to meet with them to discuss their safety concerns.

Despite the use of inmates, garbage workers say that they will continue to strike in New Orleans. They have built widespread community spreads from unions and community groups, but still, the city has refused to meet with them to discuss their safety concerns.

They arent trying to hear us, says Woods. They dont care about us; they would let anything happen. If we were to get sick, they dont care if we spread the disease. They just dont care.

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Slavery is still alive and well in the American South.

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Paying prisoners $1.50 an hour to clean up contaminated trash is pretty fucked up.

I mean if you paid them $10/h and put most of that in an account for them to receive upon release I could understand the argument for preparing them for reintegration into society.

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The American prison system is disgusting

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I still don't understand how they can get away paying them less than minimum. Even waitresses, which get paid less than minimum hourly because of the whole tips loophole, are legally entitled to minimum wage for that day from their boss if they don't receive any tips.

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Fucking scabs

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They should be locked up

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NinjaWarrior455 posted...

The American prison system is disgusting

Well it's certainly about to be.

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They should instead be paying the sanmen (my dad was a garbageman/plower/salter for my city and his email was always sanman[numbers]@someemaildomain.com) double, triple, quadruple...whatever it takes. Garbage management is really fucking important for any community and especially cities.

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Well, do they at least have proper PPE?

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Don't commit crimes then?

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s0nicfan posted...

I still don't understand how they can get away paying them less than minimum. Even waitresses, which get paid less than minimum hourly because of the whole tips loophole, are legally entitled to minimum wage for that day from their boss if they don't receive any tips.

The 13th Amendment explicitly has an exemption for prisoners as slaves. That's not a moral justification, it's still highly fucked up and needs to change, but that is the legality of it.

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So how does this work? Do you pay armed guards to follow every inmate in case they decide to make a run for it in the dumpster truck? Would paying those guards cost as much as paying the regular sanitation workers? Do the guards get PPE? If an inmate gets infected and brings it back to the prison and infects the whole place, will they get respirators?

bknight posted...

will they get respirators

it's on a case by case basis.
everyone deserves a respirator if they're in stock (though that would change once supply's go low) give it to the one more likely to survive.
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Its insane to me that there are people right now bringing weaponry to state capitals demanding they can go to Applebees but shit like this happens and people just deal with it

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TheGoldenEel posted...

Its insane to me that there are people right now bringing weaponry to state capitals demanding they can go to Applebees but shit like this happens and people just deal with it

for real

at least elon musk can force people to make cars again though right

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The article doesn't really go into too much detail on whether or not inmates are forced to do this or if they elect to do it. There's a lot of people that work in prisons for little pay because they chose to versus sitting in a cell all day

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Fair, next

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Slavery and strikebreaking! Truly a neoliberal Wonderland.

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Houston posted...

The article doesn't really go into too much detail on whether or not inmates are forced to do this or if they elect to do it. There's a lot of people that work in prisons for little pay because they chose to versus sitting in a cell all day

I suppose it's good for posterity to verify this but it goes without saying that there will be enough prisoners to volunteer getting out of their cells for work. Staving off the boredom is one of the bigger challenges of being in the clink.

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100% of people that profit off of private prisons should be locked up and tortured 18 hours a day for the rest of their lives

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John_Galt posted...

Fair, next

Username checks out
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NinjaBreakfast posted...

for real

at least elon musk can force people to make cars again though right

Force?

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WashYourHands posted...

Force?

In the year 2020, "force" has a lot of meanings.

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I mean, strange thing to focus in on notwithstanding, they had told workers to report back to work on Friday despite not meeting the requirements for reopening.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/08/business/economy/tesla-coronavirus-factory-alameda.html

The nice sounding caveat about not reporting to work if they remain uncomfortable with the current situation is tempered by the fact that they will need to take annual or unpaid leave to cover it.

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