Modern Day Slavery
Leave a CommentAs Kevin points out in his concise commentary on Rell’s proposed budget cuts to inmate medical services posted on the HIMC blog, “…the state of Connecticut spent $44,165 per year per inmate in 2006, an amount which has likely increased since then. Almost 20% of all criminal offenses in CT are drug offenses, which is over 3,800 inmates. Doing the math, that’s an estimated 168 million dollars annually. Yet, Rell fixates on cutting services at a variety of agencies.” (http://hartfordimc.org/)
And you could add to the list of wrongful convictions another 12.3% who are charged with Violation of Probation or Conditional Discharge—which very often relates to substance use as well or to not contacting their probation officer at a specified time. This adds up to an additional 106 million state dollars for a combined total of 275 million state dollars wasted on jailing people rather than creating better jobs, education, healthcare, childcare, addiction treatment.
The Prison Industry is a modern form of slavery!!!
Just look at the disproportionate incarceration rates for Blacks and Hispanics. “More than 60% of the people in prison are now racial and ethnic minorities. For Black males in their twenties, 1 in every 8 is in prison or jail on any given day. These trends have been intensified by the disproportionate impact of the ‘war on drugs,’ in which three-fourths of all persons in prison for drug offenses are people of color.” (http://www.sentencingproject.org)
And in addition to all those who are locked up, consider the vast numbers who are on probation. According to a 2006 CT Gov report, the ratio of probationers to prisoners (those sentenced for a year or more) was an obscene 397%. The DOJ reports About 1 in every 45 adults in the U.S. was supervised in the community, either on probation or parole, at year end in 2007. – “Among offenders on probation, about half had been convicted for committing a misdemeanor (51%), 47% for a felony, and 3% for other infractions. The most common type of offense for which offenders were on probation was a drug offense (27%).” (Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Probation and Parole Statistics” 2008)
And consider that according to attorney Tina D’Amato of Bridgeport, CT, probation violation is used to bully people into pleading guilty to a new arrest charge.
“An important thing to remember about probation violations is that court prosecutors often use the threat of a violation of probation to get you to plead guilty to the substantive underlying charges of a new arrest. If you don’t plead guilty, they go forward with a violation of probation hearing where there are few rules of evidence. For instance, hearsay is generally allowed and generally speaking, the exclusionary rule is inapplicable. So if evidence was seized unlawfully, it is admissible.” (http://www.tinasypekdamato.com/PracticeAreas/Probation-Violation.asp)
How much more evidence does one need to be convinced that we are living in an era of modern slavery?
Is there a mathematician in the house? MDC’s $1.5 billion project = 200 jobs.
by David Schultz
On Thursday, February 12th, Hyacinth Yennie, longtime Hartford activist and leader of the Maple Ave. Revitalization Group (MARG) called her meeting to order polling the 100-125 people sitting in the St. Augustine Church basement. “How many of you live in Hartford,” she asked. Almost everyone did. When she asked how many were unemployed – the sight of so many hands going up was eerie. It’s clear the economic depression has a home in Hartford.
Yennie’s meeting featured Bill Dibella the head of the MDC, accompanied by MDC’s diversity officer. They were discussing their 1.5 billion dollar Clean Water Project. There was “good news and bad news” said the diversity officer:
“The good news is
The work is non-union
The contract bids are competitive because of the economy.
The bad news is
Contractors are coming from out of state.
They’re bringing their own workers.”
When Yennie opened up the meeting, Dibella fielded the first question with a slow rambling response that went into great detail about the superiority of the pipes that will be used in the project. He was interrupted by another longtime Hartford activist who began diplomatically: “Mr. Dibella,” Jackie Maldonado said, “I appreciate the quality of your answers, but some of us have been waiting a long time.”
For Maldonado it was ten years. For ten years she had participated in community/labor organizing to pressure city and state government to make sure that money coming in would create jobs– the kind of jobs that would help to build careers for people living in Hartford. “I’m not ashamed to say that these kinds of jobs are union jobs,” she said. “And now you’re telling us that the jobs are going to people out of state!?!” The impassioned Maldonado received the biggest applause of the night.
Dibella response didn’t satisfy many: “We had no choice. We had to get the lowest bid.”
But Dibella’s explanation was trumped by his diversity officer. “Really there aren’t that many jobs anyhow. We expect there will only be about 200 people working on this project at any one time.” A man in the crowd did some computing. ‘I’m not a mathematician, but that would mean they’re spending $2.4 million a year in jobs, for a 1.5 billion dollar project (if each worker receives $40,000). That’s horrifying! Where’s the rest of the money going to?”
One previously incarcerated man noted as he was leaving: “It looks like you’re going to have to know someone to get one of these jobs.” A Jamaican woman agreed. “My husband has been calling for six months about a job or training for this project—he’s worked for years as a plumber. They’ve given him the run around. He still doesn’t know where to go to inquire.”
As Obama signs a bill for billions to be spent for job creation through public works projects you have to wonder – with this kind of planning—how many will be coming this way.
“Think outside the Box” Ordinance proposed to city of Hartford
The Hartford Clean Slate Committee is working on a proposal to “ban the box” on job applications for city jobs, as well as private firms on city contracts.
“The box” is the section of a job application in which people are asked to mark whether they’ve been convicted of a felony.
The city’s removing that box from applications will give ex-offenders a fair chance at being considered for a job based on their qualifications for the position, not their past record (for which they have already served time).
RJo Winch recently spearhead a resolution that changes the process through which job applications are vetted by hiring supervisors, removing the page of the application with the box until a conditional job offer is provided. Hartford’s director of Human Resources, Santiago Malave, is currently drafting a report with the new policy stemming from this resolution. However, the resolution does not carry the weight of law and does not apply to vendors who are contracted by the city.
The Clean Slate Committee Hartford is working to get an ordinance passed in Hartford, which will require not only that the city remove the box from the initial application process, but also for this procedure to be required of city vendors. Hiring supervisors must refrain from asking applicants about their criminal history during job interviews. If the city decides to offer an applicant a job, only then will the human resources office do a criminal background check. If a conviction shows up, then the job offer may only be recinded in writing, if the crime committed was directly related to the requirements of the position…e.g. robbery and the position is to manage finances.
The ordinance also requires private companies contracted by the city to follow these same hiring procedures. Various versions of the “ban the box” ordinance have been passed in some cities in CT and in other states such as Massachusetts.
Ban the Box Passes in New Haven
On Feb 7, 09, the New Haven Board of Alders voted 22-1 to Ban the Box! Clean Slate helped push forward this initiative and was present at the vote with about 20 members.
Initial concerns on the part of companies about possible increases in law suits resulting from “ban the box” were put to rest by New Haven Community Services Administrator Kica Matos and a report by the National Employment Law Project, which found no litigation resulting from ban the box measures adopted by cities such as Boston.
Check out these articles on the New Haven passage of the bill:
Box Banned by Melissa Bailey, Feb. 18, 2009
