Inside the Work-Release Program in Alabama
Nestled in a nondescript industrial park on the outskirts of Montgomery, Alabama, lies a manufacturing facility operated by Ju-Young, a key supplier of car parts for Hyundai. On a typical Tuesday in May, about half of the workforce at this plant — approximately 20 individuals — were inmates. These men were contracted through the Alabama Department of Corrections as part of a controversial “work-release” program designed for prisoners who have demonstrated a level of trustworthiness sufficient to allow them to work outside the confines of prison alongside free citizens.
The inmates are transported to the plant by the state, and they represent just one segment of the thousands of incarcerated individuals sent to labor for private businesses. These workers face the threat of disciplinary action if they refuse to participate in the program.
Among them, Carlos Anderson sat against a chain-link fence, seeking solace from the sun under the shade of a nearby tree in the company parking lot. Engaging in light-hearted conversation and sharing cigarettes with his fellow assembly line workers, Anderson expressed his viewpoint on the stark choices he faces. He articulated that his situation was quite straightforward: he could work a full 40-hour week for $12 an hour, yet only retain a small fraction of that wage after the state deducts transportation costs, laundry fees, and a hefty 40 percent cut from his pretax earnings. Alternatively, he could endure the harsher reality of working for nothing within the prison system.
Under Alabama’s prison regulations, the distinctions among work incentives, forced labor, and what could be deemed “involuntary servitude” are disturbingly thin. Although reforms to the Alabama Constitution in 2022 aimed to eliminate such practices, the reality for inmates like Mr. Anderson, along with more than a dozen others interviewed by The New York Times, remains painfully clear: the implicit message is unambiguous — comply with the program, or face the consequences.
