Fighting for California’s Prop 6 to Eliminate Forced Labor in Prisons

(FONTANA, Calif.) — With the November election approaching, California’s Proposition 6 has become a key issue in the criminal justice reform debate, focusing on involuntary labor for incarcerated individuals. In a recent interview with The Click, Josh Pynoos of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition discussed the ballot measure’s potential impact on the justice system and the lives of those seeking a second chance.

The Click: What motivated you to get involved with Proposition 6, and what do you believe will be its most significant impact?

Pynoos: We’ve been working for the last four years to get this on the ballot as part of a nationwide movement to remove the forced labor exception from constitutions. Doing all the menial tasks takes time away from programming. There’s also a link to slavery, working in inhumane conditions for almost no pay and being forced to do so. [This is] allowing people more options for liberation.

You mentioned the group you work with. Can you tell me more about that?

I work for a nonprofit advocacy group in California called the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, and we are an organization that tries to empower currently and formerly incarcerated people. We provide in reach services, a lot of mentoring, a lot of connecting with people. We [also] have people on the reentry process with jobs, housing and case management.

What marketing strategies are being used to educate voters on this proposition?

We’ve been using trend(s) but also just configuring them to get our message out there. Our own content creator who is formerly incarcerated, who has lived under these conditions, but is engaging, using the algorithm to spread our inspiring and hopeful messages out there. It’s just using the power of social media to amplify our message. People have really positively engaged with that and really sort of enjoy the kind of fresh content that is coming from people with lived experience.

If Proposition 6 passes, what long-term effects do you anticipate on the state’s prison population and recidivism rates?

We hope they will reduce recidivism rates and stop people from going back to prison, knowing that once they’re inside, the time is a valuable resource, [they can now] maximize that time and not be working under these involuntary services and slavery conditions. And their incarceration will be a less traumatic time for them.

What would you say to those who are undecided or hesitant to support this proposition? 

This effort will… reframe rehabilitation as the focus of our carceral system, knowing that right now, California has a high risk as I believe is over 40%. People come back because they are not able to maximize their time inside. The goal is to keep people safe when they come out, to make sure that [they] have a positive trajectory. Forced labor really takes away from so much of that… so little is actually being invested in their long term future. This is making sure that our prison and incarceration system is focusing on rehabilitation, not dehumanizing people.

So beyond this election, how do you think this proposition could influence the future criminal justice? Criminal justice reform in California or even at the national level? 

People look towards California, it has always been leading on criminal justice reform. Having this will hopefully inspire other states and even federally to really look at the Constitution. I think many people see rehabilitation in second chances as a way that we should actually prioritize, rather than a system built on forced labor and punishment, especially for brown and black folks.

Thank you so much for your time.