Why has the deployment of firefighters to put out fires in Los Angeles made people talk about slavery? – First message

Hundreds of imprisoned firefighters are battling the widespread fire in Los Angeles, California.

As high winds and dry conditions fuel multiple fires in the region, the dangerous work firefighters are doing is necessary.

However, online it has ignited a discourse about slavery.

“Government officials use legal slavery to combat the effects of climate change (caused by their billionaire friends),” a user calling himself @somegr8feeler posted on social media platform X.

The prisoners will be on the front lines of the Los Angeles fires. Government officials use legal slavery to combat the effects of climate change (caused by their billionaire friends). There are two current bills in Congress to end legal slavery and close the 13th Amendment loophole. pic.twitter.com/5Ht3n8lzoU

– diamond dam (@somegr8feeler) January 8, 2025

Another user, who goes by @Tim_Chatterton, wrote: “Hmmm…. It seems that the property of the rich is being protected by (almost) #SlaveLabor…. What other pleasures will our #ClimateFuture bring us?”

On Reddit, one user wrote: “And these prisoners who are saving lives and risking their own to do so are paid like ten dollars a day. “There needs to be some uproar and demands from the public to change the prison slave labor that is allowed to occur.”

But why is slave labor mentioned in this context?

It’s because of the 13th Amendment.

The 13th Amendment

The Thirteenth Amendment says:

“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime of which the party has been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States or any place subject to its jurisdiction.”

This clause has allowed convict leasing, something critics have called a new form of slavery.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) reported Thursday (Jan. 9) that 783 incarcerated people have been deployed to help nearly 2,000 California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) personnel combat the fires, according to a recent report by the Guardian.

CDCR operates more than 30 “fire camps” across the state, where incarcerated people serving prison sentences receive firefighting training and are sent to emergencies, including wildfires, floods and other disasters.

Historically, these teams have represented up to 30 percent of California’s wildfire response force, making them an important component of the state’s strategy amid increasingly severe fire seasons driven by the climate crisis. .

Underpaid volunteers: Slavery by another name?

In defense of this practice, it is often cited that firefighting positions are voluntary and require participants to meet specific criteria. Incarcerated people are not assigned these roles without their consent.

However, currently, incarcerated firefighters are paid extremely low wages: a maximum of $10.24 a day, according to Forbes— for dangerous and physically demanding work.

Critics argue that the meager salaries and lack of long-term benefits (such as paths to employment as firefighters after release) are emblematic of the systemic inequalities in prison labor.

Broader context of prison labor in the US.

The debate over the use of prison labor extends beyond firefighting. Nationally, incarcerated workers contribute approximately $11 billion a year in labor, often receiving pennies an hour.

Their work included producing hand sanitizer, digging mass graves during the COVID-19 pandemic and cleaning up hazardous materials.