Here in 2024, the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution still states; “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction”.  This year, on the California ballot, was Proposition 6, a ‘yes’ vote would amend the California Constitution and prohibit the state from punishing incarcerated individuals with involuntary work assignments AND from disciplining those who refuse to work.  Prop 6 didn’t pass and so slave labor may continue within the California prison system.  Nicolas Tirado, of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, spent 11 years in various California prisons, working at jobs that would have no transferrable skills, back in the community, and making $.86 a day, PRE tax and restitution. His recent online op-ed, in Teen Vogue, was an eye opening article about ending “modern-day slavery” and well worth the read.