Firefighters from Mexico and what Trump calls "shit hole countries." And the incarcerated.
The horrific L.A. fires continue to burn.
Joining the efforts to contain them are firefighters from Mexico.
Mexico is one of the many countries Donald Trump has continuously defamed and insulted.
And still they came.
Remember back during the first Trump term. Trump said of countries in Africa, "Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?"
In spite of Trump’s racist insults, this past week South African firefighters arrived in LA to join in the battle to save the city.
And then there are those firefighters who are incarcerated.
According to the NY Times,“More than 900 prisoners are battling the deadly flames ripping through the Los Angeles area. Their presence provides much-needed manpower to depleted fire crews but has also revived criticism of the practice, including over their low pay for dangerous work.”
For this dangerous work the prisoners are paid $10.24 a day plus a dollar extra hazard pay.
The practice of prison labor in the United States goes back a long ways.
Some refer to it as a vestige of slavery.
Modern day prison labor descends from the enslavement of Black people. After the Thirteenth Amendment abolished race-based slavery, the criminal legal system was used to replicate its oppressive structural framework, through convict leasing, chain gangs, and forced “public works” projects.
The concept began at Auburn Prison, founded in 1816, where hard labor was implemented to replace religious reformatory practices preferred by Quakers. Today, prison labor is a big business, and the profit margins are staggering. Between 2010 and 2021, Corcraft, the prison labor division within the state's Department of Corrections, made approximately $550 million by selling prisoner-made office furniture, cleaning supplies, and more. Corcraft jobs, which pay prisoners cents an hour for their labor, include making license plates, desks, chairs, soap, and many other products. These goods are then sold at a significant markup to state and local governments that are required to buy from Corcraft, even if they charge more than other suppliers.
One can find Corcraft products in court houses, the NYPD, and even higher education institutions such as the State University of New York system. That means a student studying criminal justice at a SUNY school sits at a desk made by a prisoner. Yet the wages earned are not enough for a prisoner to afford basic necessities. While inflation continues to rise, hourly wages have not changed for over 50 years.