01-05-2025
People behind bars work, too, but often they're denied basic rights
(Stock photo by)
As workers around the world unite this May Day to celebrate hard-fought rights and demand justice in our workplaces, let us not forget those who are too often left out of these conversations: people in prison.
People behind bars labor every day — cooking, cleaning, maintaining prison facilities, even fighting wildfires. Yet unlike other workers, they have few rights, are paid pennies or nothing at all, and are without access to the most basic human needs and at the mercy of others with little to no recourse.
In Colorado, people in prison can be denied family visitation — calls, video chats, or in-person visits — if they choose not to participate in a prison work program. This practice is cruel, coercive, and completely out of step with the values May Day represents.
The Right to Family and Community Connection Act, House Bill 25-1013, would enshrine the right to family visitation as a matter of law — one that cannot be stripped away for refusing to work.
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Prison labor is already a form of economic injustice. But when you tie a worker's ability to see their children or speak to a parent to their willingness to work under these conditions, it's not just economic coercion, it's inhumane.
Coloradans — regardless of party — know that family isn't a reward. It's a lifeline. It's also one of the most powerful tools for rehabilitation. Research shows that people in prison who maintain strong family bonds are less likely to reoffend and more likely to successfully reintegrate into society.
This isn't just smart public policy. It's basic humanity.
We don't have to look far to see the human cost. David Turner, a 24-year-old father of two, was placed on Restrictive Privileges status for 'failure to work' — punished after being marked absent on days he wasn't scheduled and for a shift he missed while receiving medical care. For 43 days, David was confined 22 hours a day, cut off from his family — not even allowed to send letters to his children.
As David put it, 'Getting out of prison and back to my family is very important to me, and knowing I can be kept in prison longer if I attempt to choose not to work coerces me to work against my will … I feel like a slave being forced to work against my will by CDOC. Everybody does.'
No one should be forced to choose between enduring forced labor or losing all contact with the people they love.
May Day reminds us that the dignity of labor must be fiercely protected — and that includes the dignity of those whose rights are denied and whose voices are often silenced.
This May Day, let's extend our solidarity to all workers, including those behind prison walls. Let's fight for fair wages, safe conditions, and freedom from retaliation — and for the fundamental human right to stay connected to the people we love.
Every person — no matter where they are – needs the right to stay connected to their loved ones without fear of retaliation or exploitation. The Right to Family and Community Connection Act would guarantee that right.
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