Minnesota Advocates Push to End Prison Labor Loophole
Minnesota’s prison labor system faces mounting criticism after a June 2025 audit found MinnCor Industries undercharged private companies while paying incarcerated workers little to nothing. At a panel hosted by End Slavery MN, advocates urged lawmakers to repeal the state’s constitutional loophole allowing involuntary servitude as punishment. Proposed legislation would classify incarcerated people as workers entitled to minimum wage, union protections, Pell Grants, and wage security. Supporters say reform is both a moral and economic necessity, ending practices that degrade people while enriching corporations at public expense.
Minnesota’s prison labor system is under increasing scrutiny after a June 2025 audit found that the state-run program MinnCor Industries has been undercharging private companies while paying incarcerated workers little to nothing. The audit revealed, for example, a $2.4 million undercharge in a contract with Anagram International and a $6.70-per-hour shortfall in the state’s agreement with Plastech Corporation.
At a recent panel hosted by the group End Slavery in Minnesota, advocates called for legislation that would reclassify incarcerated individuals as workers entitled to minimum wage, union protections, wage security, Pell Grants, state scholarships, and even remote work opportunities.
“Slavery is still in the Constitution,” said Chauntyll Allen, co-executive director of End Slavery MN. “Until we remove that, there’s always going to be a loophole that sends folks back into this system. Right now, that system is mass incarceration.”
The proposed legislation, sponsored by Sen. Clare Oumou Verbeten (DFL–66) and Rep. Cedrick Frazier (DFL–43A), would repeal the constitutional clause permitting involuntary servitude as criminal punishment, effectively ending forced prison labor in Minnesota.
Panelists highlighted the economic implications of the current system. “Why does it cost more to imprison someone than to educate them?” asked Haben Ghebregergish. “If incarcerated people are paying for everything, except maybe the bed they sleep on, where is the money going?”
Erin Sandsmark added: “We are literally enslaving people to build corporate profit. If people don’t care about those being exploited, maybe they’ll care that this labor is enriching private companies at public expense.”
The discussion also examined systemic factors pushing youth into the criminal justice system. Shvonne Johnson cited historical parallels: “It was the slave codes that got transferred to the Black codes, which demonized perceived Black behavior. Students could be punished in school, then face criminal charges outside.”
End Slavery MN has pointed to recent policy wins as examples of incremental change, including the 2023 law eliminating fees for prison phone calls under SF 2909. “People used to go into debt just to stay in touch with their family,” said organizer David Boehnke. Still, telecom companies profited nearly $3 million in 2023 from other services, raising questions about ongoing exploitation.
Boehnke emphasized the distinction between prison abolition and labor reform: “People are not sentenced to five years of slavery, but that’s what’s happening. We can address labor abuses without abolishing prisons entirely, and it would be a huge step forward.”
Panelists also underscored the broader societal impact of reform. Ghebregergish described the physical and psychological effects of the current system: “You have to physically bow to leave your cell. That was designed to keep people in a submissive position. This isn’t rehabilitation, it’s degradation.”
End Slavery MN is inviting the public to a Summer Block Party on Saturday, September 6, from noon to 4 p.m. at 1101 W. Broadway, Suite #105, providing an opportunity to learn more about the legislation and its potential economic impact.
For more information, visit www.mnendslavery.org.
Clint Combs welcomes reader responses to ccombs@spokesman-recorder.com.