Most of those incarcerated in Washington state currently make less than a dollar an hour doing jobs such as janitorial work, maintenance, laundry or cooking in the correctional system.
The wages may change depending on the job, with some being paid slightly more, but none of the inmates in the state come close to making minimum hourly wages while incarcerated.
One lawmaker with experience in the correctional system in Washington wants that to change.
Earlier this month, Rep. Tarra Simmons, D-Bremerton, a formerly incarcerated lawmaker, prefiled House Bill 1024, otherwise known as the “Real Labor, Real Wages Act,” which would require incarcerated individuals to be paid minimum wage while working.
“This really was because of my own experience of working for 42 cents an hour while I was in prison and realizing that if it’s not the incarcerated people working, the state would have to pay Teamster or union jobs to do this work,” Simmons told McClatchy.
Before becoming a lawmaker, Simmons was sentenced to 30 months in prison for theft and drug charges in 2011. Though she struggled to find housing and employment after her release, she graduated from Seattle University School of Law in 2017 with honors, eventually challenging the Washington State Bar Association after being denied to take the exam because of her record.
The state Supreme Court later unanimously decided to allow Simmons to take the bar exam, and today she is a lawyer as well as co-founder and director of the Civil...
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