Orange-Collar Labor: Work and Inequality in Prison Test Bank

A Critical Examination of Modern Prison Labor

The United States is home to the most expansive prison system on Earth, with nearly a quarter of the world’s legal captives. This nation puts them to work, with close to two-thirds of those held in U.S. state prisons holding some sort of job while incarcerated.

The World of Work Behind Bars

Through 18 months of ethnographic observations and 82 interviews with currently-incarcerated men and institutional staff members, this book paints a picture of daily labors on the inside, showing that not all prison jobs are the same, nor are all imprisoned workers treated equally.

A Stratified Prison Employment System

The result is a stratified prison employment system in which race, ethnicity, nationality, and social class help determine one’s position in the labor hierarchy and, as a result, their experiences of incarceration and ability to prepare for release.