Corporate profits vs. prison reform: the truth behind Props 36 and 6

OPINION – In a few weeks, California voters will decide the future of our state’s criminal justice system. Proposition 36 looms as a threat to the significant strides we’ve made in reducing overcrowded prisons and focusing on rehabilitation. This ill-conceived measure doesn’t just risk reversing crucial reforms, it also threatens to reinforce a system that fills corporate bank accounts by exploiting the labor of incarcerated individuals. The stakes are high, and the choice we make will have far-reaching consequences for justice, equality, and human dignity in our state.

Last week, alongside other justice reform activists, I led a protest outside a Walmart in San Leandro to shine a light on the corporate interests driving Prop 36. Walmart, the largest funder of this regressive measure, exemplifies how major retailers stand to profit from increased incarceration. The connection between corporate interests and the prison system is why we need Proposition 6, another reform initiative on next month’s ballot, which would abolish forced prison labor in California.

To understand Prop 36 and its potential impact on incarceration rates, we need to look back to 2014, when California voters passed Proposition 47—the landmark reform that reduced prison overcrowding and prioritized rehabilitation. It has not only saved taxpayers more than $800 million by decreasing incarceration rates, but it has also paved the way for innovative reentry programs. The success of these programs is striking: participants have a remarkably low recidivism rate of 15%, a stark contrast to the 35-45% rate seen in the general prison population. Yet, Prop 36 threatens to dismantle these hard-won gains, potentially reversing a decade of progress in criminal justice reform and fiscal responsibility.

Proponents of Prop 36 wrongly assert that Prop 47 has sparked a surge in theft and drug offenses, but the facts tell a different story. Official data from the California Department of Justice shows a decrease in reported shoplifting since Prop 47’s implementation. The Little Hoover Commission recently reported that retail theft rates are at historic lows, while overall property crime remains near a 40-year low. Research consistently demonstrates that increased incarceration is both costly and ineffective in combating crime. It costs a staggering $132,860 annually to incarcerate one person in California.

So why are retail giants like Walmart, Home Depot, and Target investing millions in the Prop 36 campaign? Follow the money. An Associated Press exposé revealed that these and other corporations profit directly from prison labor by exploiting a captive workforce paid pennies an hour. Incarcerated individuals are compelled to work in fields and factories, producing a wide range of items from food to furniture, often under hazardous conditions with minimal protections.

By increasing incarceration, Prop 36 would expand this system of what many rightly call modern-day slavery. More bodies in cells means more nearly-free labor for corporations. This is where Prop 6 becomes crucial. By ending forced labor, Prop 6 would create space for more meaningful vocational training, education, and rehabilitation programs, which are proven to be more effective at reducing recidivism and preparing individuals for successful reentry into society. It also would remove the profit incentive that drives mass incarceration and fuels measures like Prop 36.

The real motivation behind Prop 36 isn’t public safety—it’s money and control. It would undo years of progress toward a more just and rehabilitative approach to criminal justice in the service of further bolstering the bottomline of some of our country’s wealthiest corporations.

Instead of embracing failed “tough on crime” policies, California should double down on what’s working. That means opposing Prop 36 and supporting Proposition 6.

George Galvis is the executive director of Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (CURYJ), a leading voice in criminal justice reform working to unlock the leadership of young people to dream beyond bars.