They probably are referring to prison labor. Five states can still force prisoners to work without pay. While a vile injustice that must be fought and extinguished, it is very far from the system of slavery we fought to eradicate in the Civil War.
It’s kinda disingenuous to not also mention that in most (all?) states in which they do get paid minimum wage doesn’t apply, and they get paid laughably little and get way overcharged for basic stuff and telephone use such that they may as well not be paid.
They probably are referring to prison labor. Five states can still force prisoners to work without pay. While a vile injustice that must be fought and extinguished, it is very far from the system of slavery we fought to eradicate in the Civil War.
It’s kinda disingenuous to not also mention that in most (all?) states in which they do get paid minimum wage doesn’t apply, and they get paid laughably little and get way overcharged for basic stuff and telephone use such that they may as well not be paid.
I do mention that in another comment.