ID: Prison Labor Replaces Immigrant Labor

"I've got several potato warehouses that would love to have a crew of 15 to 20 inmates to offset the labor shortages. We don't have enough inmates." That quote is from Lt. Jim Woolf whose job is to oversee prison labor in Idaho. Six years ago eighteen prisoners worked in potato plants. Now, 120 prisoners work in plants.

With the U. S. focus on militarizing the southern border and on punishing undocumented workers in this country, the agricultural industry from New York to California is facing severe labor shortages. First Colorado and now Idaho have turned to prison labor to harvest and process the food we eat.

This news brief is based on a story in the Idaho Statesman, ID Potato Fields: Cons Replace Migrants. If the link is broken, check the newspaper’s archives.