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Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee

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IWOC
Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee
FoundedJuly 31, 2014;
10 years ago (2014-07-31)[1]
Location
  • International
Publication
Incarcerated Worker
Websiteincarceratedworkers.org

The Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee (IWOC) is a prison-led section of the Industrial Workers of the World. Its purpose is 'a union for the incarcerated,' with the goal of abolishing prison slavery, as well as fighting to end the exploitation of working-class people around the world.

History

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The Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee was founded as a labor union for prisoners.[2] Among those who helped to found the IWOC was Brianna Peril.[3][4] Peril is a veteran organizer with the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), a group founded in 1905.[5] She was previously imprisoned in the 1980s.[4] The IWOC is a committee of the IWW.[6]

On September 9, 2016, the IWOC helped organize a U.S. prison strike on the 45th anniversary of the Attica uprising.[7][8] The strike involved an estimated 24,000 prisoners in 24 states, the largest prison strike in U.S. history.[9] The IWOC coordinated the strike alongside the Free Alabama Movement.[10]

This was followed through with another prison strike on August 21, 2018 which was organized by Jailhouse Lawyers Speak and supported by the Committee.[11] The strikers protested against a system they describe as "prison slavery", making 10 demands.[12] Two notable demands, for example, were that the Prison Litigation Reform Act be rescinded, and that inmates serving their sentences get their voting rights back, alongside pre-trial detainees and ex-convicts.[13] This strike lasted until September 9, the same day the first prison strike started, and was supported by the ACLU.[14] Prisoner participation occurred in at least 17 states.[12]

Despite the strike ending on September 9, 2018, some prisoners continued to strike.[15]

In 2019, the Committee successfully lobbied for the local government of Gainesville, Florida to stop using prison labor in collaboration with Florida's Department of Corrections.[16] The same year, the IWOC was among the groups that lobbied for the Florida Democrats to return a donation from G4S, a private prison contractor.[6] In Wisconsin, the group lobbied to end solitary confinement.[17]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Committee has advocated on behalf of prisoners who had been affected in some way, such as those who had been infected or were affected by prison lockdowns.[18][19][20] This has included advocating for those who had a health condition or a minor sentence to receive an early conditional release from incarceration during the pandemic, due to risk of infection.[21]

Mission and goals

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a red and black circle with the words 'Industrial Workers of the World' around the edge, and the letters IWW in the middle.
Current logo of the IWW, IWOC's parent organization

On July 31, 2014, IWOC released their official Statement of Purpose, which includes five key tenets:

  1. To further the revolutionary goals of incarcerated people and the IWW through mutual organizing of a worldwide union for emancipation from the prison system.
  2. To build class solidarity amongst members of the working class by connecting the struggle of people in prison, jails, and immigrant and juvenile detention centers to workers struggles locally and worldwide.
  3. To strategically and tactically support prisoners locally and worldwide, incorporating an analysis of white supremacy, patriarchy, prison culture, and capitalism.
  4. To actively struggle to end the criminalization, exploitation, and enslavement of working-class people, which disproportionately targets people of color, immigrants, people with low income, LGBTQ people, young people, dissidents, and those with mental illness.
  5. To amplify the voices of working-class people in prison, especially those engaging in collective action or who put their own lives at risk to improve the conditions of all.[22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "About IWOC", retrieved July 5, 2017
  2. ^ Brown, Dalvin. "Nationwide strike by prisoners set to end Sunday after weeks of protests". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
  3. ^ Sykes, Michael. "Inmates in 17 states are striking against "slavery"". Axios. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
  4. ^ a b McCray, Rebecca (28 August 2018). "Prison Work Is Work". Popula. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
  5. ^ Tabor, Nick (2018-08-23). "The Improbable Story of How the National Prisoner Strike Came Together". Intelligencer. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
  6. ^ a b "Activists Urge Florida Democrats to Return Donations From Private Prison Contractor". Fortune. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
  7. ^ Speri, Alice (September 16, 2016). "The Largest Prison Strike in U.S. History Enters Its Second Week". The Intercept. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  8. ^ Kim, E. Tammy (3 October 2016). "A National Strike Against "Prison Slavery"". The New Yorker. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  9. ^ Hylton, Antonia (October 3, 2016). "We spoke to the inmate in solitary who inspired a national strike against 'modern-day slave conditions' | VICE News". VICE News. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  10. ^ "Inmate strikers enter the fray for US prison reform". BBC News. 2016-10-03. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
  11. ^ Hitt, Tarpley (2018-08-24). "Prisons Retaliate Against Inmates Protesting 'Modern Slavery'". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
  12. ^ a b Bauer, Shane (2018-10-02). "Why Do Inmates Fight Wildfires for Dollars a Day? The Origins of Prison Slavery in America". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
  13. ^ "Prison Strike 2018". Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee. 2018-06-19. Retrieved 2018-09-11.
  14. ^ "ACLU Statement on Nationwide Prison Strike". American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved 2018-09-11.
  15. ^ "September 11 strike update". Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee. 2018-09-11. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  16. ^ "A local government stops using prison labor, saying it's morally wrong". Florida Phoenix. 2019-02-01. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
  17. ^ Hess, Corrinne (2019-03-27). "Wisconsin Inmates Refuse Food To Protest Solitary Confinement". Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
  18. ^ Marohn, Kirsti (8 December 2020). "As COVID-19 spreads in Minn. prisons, loved ones worry". MPR News. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
  19. ^ Woolston, George. "Family members, advocates speak out as COVID-19 spreads inside FCI Fort Dix". Burlington County Times. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
  20. ^ Mueller, Chris. "COVID-19 has infected more than 2,900 people in Wisconsin's prisons. Should certain inmates be released to stop the spread?". The Post-Crescent. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
  21. ^ Pross, Katrina (2020-11-29). "'Is it a death sentence being here?': COVID sweeps through Stillwater prison". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
  22. ^ "About". Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee. 2016-09-28. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
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