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52 Harbinger 1 (2025)

handle is hein.journals/harbg52 and id is 1 raw text is: LESSONS FROM THE POST-JONES PERSISTENCE OF IMPRISONED PEOPLE'S LABOR ORGANIZING CLARE HEINE* ABSTRACT People in prison have been critical laborers throughout the history of the United States yet suffer extremely poor working conditions. The Jones v. North Carolina Prisoners' Labor Union, Inc. Supreme Court decision in 1977 dealt a firm blow to incarcerated workers' labor organizing by holding that these workers do not have a First Amendment right to join a labor union. However, the standard account of Jones overstates its impact. Imprisoned people have continued to organize around working conditions, particularly in the 2016 and 2018 nationwide prison strikes. This Article highlights the persistence of post-Jones labor and political organizing by people in prison and considers how this history informs potential reforms supporting incarcerated workers' organizing. I. INTRODUCTION: THE HIGH IMPORTANCE AND HARSH CONDITIONS OF IM PRISONED PEOPLE'S LABOR .............................................. 2 II. THE STANDARD LEGAL ACCOUNT OF IMPRISONED PEOPLE'S O R G A N IZIN G .................................................................................... . 4 A. A Brief History ofPrison Labor through the Jones Decision.. 4 B. The Jones Case: Background and Court Decision .............. 6 C. The Academic Reaction to Jones....................................... 11 III. POST-JONES LABOR ORGANIZING IN PRISONS ................................ 14 A. Labor Organizing in Prisons Following Jones.................. 14 B. The 2016 Nationwide Prison Strike .................................. 15 C. The 2018 Nationwide Prison Strike .................................. 17 D. Labor Organizing in Prisons Since the 2018 Strike .......... 20 E. Takeaways from Post-Jones Labor Organizing in Prisons.... 22 IV. RETHINKING JONES AND THE FUTURE OF IMPRISONED PEOPLE'S LABOR ORGANIZING ........................................................................... 23 A . C abining Jones .................................................................. . 23 B. National Level Reforms Supporting Imprisoned People's Labor Organizing ........................................... . 24 C. State and Local Level Reforms Supporting Imprisoned People's Labor Organizing............................................... . 27 V . C ON CLU SION ................................................................................. . 29 Clare Heine is a 2023 graduate of NYU School of Law. She works in civil legal services as a welfare rights attorney. 1