So all we need to do is find a way to put people in prison!
Win-win!
Thats disturbing. I have no words…
A large force of inexperienced indentured servants fighting the blaze, yet so much coverage about the horror of a handful of female hires.
A lot of them are experienced though. They’ve been using prison labor for wildfire fighting for years.
I mean…if you’ve got a trained firefighter, someone who understands fire science…do they need to be the ones holding every hose? Why not just a bunch of muscle holding the hose (or digging the trenches) under the guidance of a pro?
Same with immigrants
What is this…some kind of Suicide Squad?
Also keep in mind that they are getting charged by the day to be in prison and if ever released will owe a large bill. Usually this results in immediate bankruptcy which further increases chances of future incarceration. By design
Yo, what?? I need to do some research apparently, because I was under the impression that their stay was paid by for taxes. It can’t be both, and if it is I may need to change careers.
Yeah I was very surprised when I heard this too. Absolutely despicable. https://www.npr.org/2022/03/04/1084452251/the-vast-majority-of-states-allow-people-to-be-charged-for-time-behind-bars
Ooof, that hurt to read.
They’re slaves, not incarcerated firefighters.
So go free them. Be the next John Brown. Follow in the footsteps of that Luigi guy.
I think one of the absolute stupidest things about this when it comes up is that when these same people get let out of prison they can’t even get the job of fire fighter because of their criminal record.
Slavery is alive and well in the United States Of America.
(As a side note it’s funny how, with a century of delay, the US pretty much followed the UK in making slavery “illegal” by just making chattel slavery illegal and, not long after, replacing it with indentured servitude. The non “funny” side is that Britain has already dropped indentured servitude but the US is busy actually expanding their variant of it with things like 3-strikes legislation)
The 13th Amendment to the US constitution makes slavery illegal except for prisoners.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penal_labor_in_the_United_States
The 13th Amendment to the US constitution makes slavery illegal except for prisoners.
Exactly my point.
The type of prisioners made to work like this in the US tend to be people who are in prison for crimes directly or indirectly related to poverty, not things like murder, making it it a lot like indentured servitude worked in Britain were people who couldn’t pay their debts were used as slaves.
I already thought this was bad when they were
askedmade to work fast food jobs.AskingMaking them to risk bodily harm is an entirely different idea. I think I want my first responders to feel fairly compensated when I call for help.Wasn’t this the thing as well where once they are released they cannot legally work as firefighters
No, I’ve spoken with CalFire guys about it. Apparently a bunch of departments actually will take note of prison crews they like working with and will hire out of that pool when their prison term is up. I think people who are ineligible to be firefighters due to their record are generally not permitted to be out on prison crews.
Any billionaire is free to step in and properly compensate these heroes, but they won’t
Also, many of them are ineligible to become actual firefighters after their release from prison due to their criminal record. I would be slightly more okay with this system if it translated into a guaranteed position as a firefighter following release if they agree to go to an area in need like in smaller communities that have trouble recruiting firefighters.
Public work is one thing if we had a fair justice system (we don’t)
Private work is absolutely indefensible.
Da fuq? This is just plain wrong.
I wonder if the Alethi pay their slaves better. What’s the normal hourly rate for a firefighter?
I can confirm, Alethi slaves are better paid.
