Incarcerated workers: overlooked as essential workers.

OBJECTIVE: To use the example of COVID-19 vaccine prioritization for incarcerated workers to call attention to the need to prioritize incarcerated workers' health. METHODS: From November to December 2020, we searched publicly available information (e.g. Department Of Corrections websites and press releases) for 53 US prison systems, including all states, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and Puerto Rico. Coders reviewed if states had prison labor policies, if states had COVID-19 specific prison labor policies, the location of work, industries both pre- and during the COVID-19 pandemic, the scope of work, and hourly wage. Findings were compared to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's occupational vaccine prioritization recommendations. RESULTS: Every facility has incarcerated individuals working in some capacity with some resuming prison labor operations to pre-pandemic levels. All but one prison system has off-site work locations for their incarcerated population and many incarcerated workers have resumed their off-site work release assignments. Additionally, every state has incarcerated workers whose job assignments are considered frontline essential workers (e.g. firefighters). In at least five states, incarcerated workers are participating in frontline health roles that put them at higher risk of acquiring COVID-19. Yet, no state followed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended vaccination plan for its incarcerated population given their incarcerated workers' essential worker status. CONCLUSION: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that incarcerated people be prioritized for vaccination primarily due to the risk present in congregate style prison and jail facilities. Furthermore, our review found that many incarcerated people perform labor that should be considered "essential", which provides another reason why they should have been among the first in line for COVID-19 vaccine allocation. These findings also highlight the need for incarcerated workers' health to be prioritized beyond COVID-19.

Sentidos do trabalho prisional: uma revisão da literatura / The meanings of prison labor: a literature review

Este artigo tem o objetivo de realizar um levantamento da produção bibliográfica relativa ao tema "Trabalho prisional", que vem ganhando espaço na área de estudos organizacionais. Para tanto, foi realizada uma consulta ao Portal Capes, Scielo, Spell e Anpad, sendo incluídos artigos de revistas, bancos de dissertações, teses, notícias de jornais, livros, capítulos de livros e monografias, todos escritos e publicados nas Ciências Sociais aplicadas. Após os recortes empíricos, restaram 27 artigos para analisar e para compreender o trabalho prisional em sua totalidade. Na tentativa de apresentar os sentidos do labor encarcerado, o tema foi reorganizado em subtemas, quais sejam: o trabalho como meio de sobrevivência, o binômio da educação e trabalho, os egressos e o mercado de trabalho, e, por fim, os trabalhadores do sistema prisional brasileiro. A revisão da literatura permite concluir que a produção acadêmica, voltada para a compreensão dos significados do trabalho dentro do sistema prisional, destaca três elementos bastante proeminentes na teoria marxista: a humanização, a exploração e a alienação dos trabalhadores.

This article aims to carry out a review of the academic production related to the theme "Prison Work", a subject that has been gaining space in organizational studies. In order to fulfill this aim, a query was made in Portal Capes, Scielo, Spell and Anpad in search for journal articles, dissertations, theses, newspaper articles, books, book chapters and monographs, all written and published in applied social sciences. After reviewing the material gathered, we have discovered 27 articles to analyze in order to understand prison work as a whole. To present the meanings of the incarcerated labor, the theme was reorganized into sub-themes, namely: work as a means of survival, the binomial of education and work, graduates and the labor market, and, finally, prison system. The review of the literature allows us to conclude that the academic production aimed at understanding the meanings of work within the prison system highlights three very prominent elements of Marxist theory, namely: humanization, exploitation and alienation of workers.

Origem e relação do trabalho com o ser humano e as limitações do trabalho na prisão / Origin and work relationship with human being and labor limitations in prison

O presente trabalho se propõe a analisar a origem e a relação do trabalho com o homem, elucidando a realização do trabalho prisional e os entraves para seu funcionamento, a fim de conciliar as diretrizes da Lei de Execução Penal que estabelece o trabalho como forma de (re) socialização na prisão à realidade apresentada àqueles que cumprem pena restritiva de liberdade. Considerando a categoria trabalho como determinante na vida humana ao longo da história, relegando status de homem trabalhador valorizado pela sociedade, a identidade profissional acaba, muitas vezes, confundida com o próprio indivíduo no meio social. Portanto, torna-se necessário pensar no lugar que o trabalho ocupa na vida do homem, sobretudo de pessoas que passaram pelo sistema prisional, uma vez que a identidade do sujeito se atrela, geralmente, ao trabalho que exerce no meio social.

This study aims to analyze the origin and relationship between man and work, elucidating the realization of prison labor and barriers of its functioning, especially to reconcile the guidelines of the Prison Law establishing the work as a way to social rehabilitation in prison and reality presented to those who meet strict sentence. Considering the category of labor as crucial in human life throughout history, relegating man worker status valued by society, professional identity ends often confused with the individual himself in the social environment. Therefore, it is necessary to think about the place that work occupies in human life, especially people who passed through the prison system, since the identity of the subject often hooks up to work he plays in social environment.

Trabalho penitenciário-saúde-formação a comunidade ampliada de pesquisa como dispositivo / Prison labor-health-education the extended research community as a device / Trabajo penitenciario-salud-formación la comunidad ampliada de investigación como dispositivo

Este artigo relata aspectos da experiência de extensão e pesquisa que estamos desenvolvendo em parceria UFRGS e SUSEPE pelos quais visamos à tríade trabalho penitenciário-saúde-formação. Tendo como referenciais a ergologia e a clínica da atividade, apresentamos a concepção do projeto de extensão que consistiu, ao mesmo tempo, no desenvolvimento da primeira etapa da pesquisa, seus objetivos e estratégias, além de comentários relativos ao processo que tem, nas comunidades ampliadas de pesquisa, um dispositivo.(AU)

This paper describes features of the extension and research program experience we have been developing in partnership with UFRGS and SUSEPE in which we address the triad prison labor- health-training. Considering ergology and clinical activity as references, we present the conception of the extension project which consisted, at the same time, of developing the first stage of the research, its objectives and strategy, as well as producing comments about the process which can find in the extended research communities a device.(AU)

Este artículo describe aspectos de la experiencia de extensión e investigación que estamos desarrollando en colaboración con la UFRGS y SUSEPE por los cuales nos direccionamos hacía la tríada trabajo penitenciario-salud-formación. Al considerar la ergología y la clínica de la actividad como referenciales, presentamos la concepción del proyecto de extensión que consistió, al mismo tiempo, en el desarrollo de la primera etapa de la investigación, sus objetivos y estrategia, además de comentarios relativos al proceso que posee, en las comunidades amplias de investigación, un dispositivo.(AU)