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Solidarity Beyond Bars: Unionizing Prison Labour
Prisons don’t work, but prisoners do. Prisons are often critiqued as unjust, but we hear little about the daily labour of incarcerated workers ― what they do, how they do it, who they do it for and under which conditions. Unions protect workers fighting for better pay and against discrimination and occupational health and safety concerns, but prisoners are denied this protection despite being the lowest paid workers with the least choice in what they do ― the most vulnerable among the working class. Starting from the perspective that work during imprisonment is not “rehabilitative,” this book examines the reasons why people should care about prison labour and how prisoners have struggled to organize for labour power in the past. Unionizing incarcerated workers is critical for both the labour movement and struggles for prison justice, this book argues, to negotiate changes to working conditions as well as the power dynamics within prisons themselves.
- GenresNonfiction
180 pages, Paperback
Published November 15, 2022
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April 27, 2023
This is a great introduction to the history of prison labour and organizing prisoners in Canada. This is a must read for all labour and prison justice activists.
The book outlines the history of prison labour and the legal challenges that are faced in organizing. It uses the successful union drive of prison and non prison workers with the Canadian Food and Allied Workers which later became UFCW as evidence of the potential for unionization. The only critique I have is that i would have liked more details on the organizing strategy and relationships between the prison and non prison workers who were in the same bargaining unit. This could likely be a book of its own.
Near the end of the book the authors say “the question is less about if prisoners will once again seek union representation, and more about when they will do it.” Hopefully, when it happens next, they will have the support of the labour movement.
The book outlines the history of prison labour and the legal challenges that are faced in organizing. It uses the successful union drive of prison and non prison workers with the Canadian Food and Allied Workers which later became UFCW as evidence of the potential for unionization. The only critique I have is that i would have liked more details on the organizing strategy and relationships between the prison and non prison workers who were in the same bargaining unit. This could likely be a book of its own.
Near the end of the book the authors say “the question is less about if prisoners will once again seek union representation, and more about when they will do it.” Hopefully, when it happens next, they will have the support of the labour movement.
Displaying 1 of 1 review