One of the largest prison strikes in a our nation’s history is going on right now and you’ve probably had no clue because no one is talking about it. This labor strike started on Sept. 9, ironically, on the anniversary of the historic Attica prison uprising.
According to Paste Magazine, prisoners are fighting for better conditions and the right to unionize, better healthcare, solitary confinement, better pay for the work they do, and to stop the harsh treatment they receive from staff.
It’s been three weeks since the strike began and prisoners are showing no signs of dying down, the strike includes 40 prisons in 24 states.
The Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee reported that there were over 20,000 prisoners on strike at one point. Now we know that most strikes come with consequences and prisoners have definitely been getting harsh treatment for standing up for their rights.
Prisoners have been restricted to just their cells and have gotten their phone privileges taken away. Some have even found themselves in the tiny cramped cells that they were fighting against.
Now #Roommates if you thought I was playing just hear what Media co-chair of the IWOC Azzurra Crispino spilled to Democracy Now:
“Less than two days ago … at Kinross unit in Michigan … The warden had come out and was speaking to the inmates, over 400 of them, which had peacefully marched in the yard. But after the warden left, basically, a riot repression team came in and dragged prisoners out of their showers and out of their cells, zip-tied their arms behind their back and threw them out in the yard and left them out there for five to six hours in the rain without any access to bathroom facilities. So the repression that prisoners are facing around the country for having participated in the strike is real, and it’s very severe. So right now we’re really focused on responding in order to help get the word out and get people to call into those units, so that we can help to support those who are being repressed, as well as to continue supporting strike workers, whether that’s people who are continuing to be on work stoppages and rolling work stoppages or continuing to hunger strike.”
We will you updated on this story #Roommates!
Source: https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/09/the-largest-prison-strike-in-history-is-being-larg.html
