BERKELEY CAMPAIGN CENTER
In Solidarity: Prison Labor Strike
We stand in solidarity with the prisoners rising up across the country who are refusing to work and engaging in other methods of resistance against long term isolation, wage slavery, inadequate healthcare, violent attacks, overcrowding, and inadequate food. These uprisings are in honor and in memory of the Attica Prison uprising in 1971 on Sept 9th.
We stand in solidarity for prison reform and against modern day slavery. The prison system is a continuation of slavery fueled by capitalism. Which is why people of color are disproportionately incarcerated for non-violent drug offenses. Prisoners are forced to work for functionally nothing making corporations massive amounts of money at no cost to them.
The U.S. continues to build prisons and jails across the country and hire more police while crime is not affected at all... with clear proof of the CIA flooding urban inner city areas with crack to fund illegal military operations.[1]
Meanwhile, the State of California has built 22 prisons but just 1 UC since the 1980s.[2] In Oakland's Santa Rita Jail, prisoners are paid less than 19 cents an hour, and the food provided is not fit for human consumption.
This is not just a national issue but also a issue of pivotal importance for the Bay Area. Unlike city councilmember Kriss Worthington (who has endorsed and was endorsed by city councilmember Jesse Arreguin for mayor), RunningWolf does not believe that the "ethical" and "financial" aspects of the City of Berkeley's investments in private prisons can be weighed against each other. RunningWolf stand unequivocably against private prisons, prison slavery, and mass incarceration as a whole.
[1] See "Dark Alliance" by Investigative Journalist Gary Webb
[2] http://tcenews.calendow.org/blog/do-the-math:-schools-vs-prisons