The 2018 U.S. prison strike was a series of work stoppages and

hunger strikes A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

in prisons across the United States that began on August 21 and ended on September 9. The strike was conducted at least in part in response to the April 2018 prison riot at

Lee Correctional Institution Lee Correctional Institution is a high-security state prison for men located in Bishopville, South Carolina. On April 15, 2018, seven inmates were killed in the Lee Correctional Prison Riot. It was the deadliest U.S. prison riot in the past 25 ...

, which killed seven inmates and was the deadliest prison riot in the U.S. in the past 25 years. The start and end dates of the strike have symbolic meaning as they were planned to coincide with the 47th anniversary of the death of George Jackson, who was shot in an escape attempt on August 21, 1971, and the

Attica Prison riot The Attica Prison Riot, also known as the Attica Prison Rebellion, the Attica Uprising, or the Attica Prison Massacre, took place at the state prison in Attica, New York; it started on September 9, 1971, and ended on September 13 with the high ...

, which occurred on September 9, 1971. It was claimed that suspected strike participants and leaders were punished with

solitary confinement Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which the inmate lives in a single cell with little or no meaningful contact with other people. A prison may enforce stricter measures to control contraband on a solitary prisoner and use additi ...

, removing communication privileges, and prison transfers.

Organizers

The prison strike was called for and organized primarily by Jailhouse Lawyers Speak and

Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee The Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee (IWOC) is a prison-led section of the Industrial Workers of the World. Its purpose is 'a union for the incarcerated,' with the goal of abolishing prison slavery, as well as fighting to end the exploita ...

, which is a prisoner-lead section of

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines genera ...

. Millions for Prisoners and The People's Consortium are some of the other groups involved.

Demands

The following were the demands of the prison strike according to the official page: # Immediate improvements to the conditions of prisons and prison policies that recognize the humanity of imprisoned men and women. # An immediate end to prison slavery. All persons imprisoned in any place of detention under United States jurisdiction must be paid the

prevailing wage In United States government contracting, a prevailing wage is defined as the hourly wage, usual benefits and overtime, paid to the majority of workers, laborers, and mechanics within a particular area. This is usually the union wage. Prevailing ...

in their state or territory for their labor. # The

Prison Litigation Reform Act The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), 42 U.S.C. § 1997e, is a U.S. federal law that was enacted in 1996. Congress enacted PLRA in response to a significant increase in prisoner litigation in the federal courts; the PLRA was designed to decrea ...

must be rescinded, allowing imprisoned humans a proper channel to address grievances and violations of their rights. # The Truth in Sentencing Act and the

Sentencing Reform Act The Sentencing Reform Act, part of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, was a U.S. federal statute intended to increase consistency in United States federal sentencing. It established the United States Sentencing Commission. It also abol ...

must be rescinded so that imprisoned humans have a possibility of rehabilitation and parole. No human shall be sentenced to Death by Incarceration or serve any sentence without the possibility of parole. # An immediate end to the racial overcharging, over-sentencing, and parole denials of Black and brown humans. Black humans shall no longer be denied parole because the victim of the crime was white, which is a particular problem in southern states. # An immediate end to racist gang enhancement laws targeting Black and brown humans. # No imprisoned human shall be denied access to rehabilitation programs at their place of detention because of their label as a violent offender. # State prisons must be funded specifically to offer more rehabilitation services. #

Pell grants A Pell Grant is a subsidy the U.S. federal government provides for students who need it to pay for college. Federal Pell Grants are limited to students with financial need, who have not earned their first bachelor's degree, or who are enrolled i ...

must be reinstated in all US states and territories. # The

voting rights Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

of all confined citizens serving prison sentences, pretrial detainees, and so-called “ex-felons” must be counted. Representation is demanded. All voices count.

Timeline

Pre-Emptive censorship & repression (June - July 2018)

Ronald Brooks was transferred from

Angola Prison The Louisiana State Penitentiary (known as Angola, and nicknamed the "Alcatraz of the South", "The Angola Plantation" and "The Farm"Sutton, Keith "Catfish".Out There: Angola angling. ''ESPN Outdoors''. May 31, 2006. Retrieved on August 25, 2010. ...

to the

David Wade Correctional Center David Wade Correctional Center (DWCC) is a Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections prison located in an unincorporated area of Claiborne Parish, between Homer and Haynesville, Louisiana. The prison is located near the Louisiana-Arka ...

in late June 2018 after he made a pro-strike video. In late July,

Siddique Hassan Siddique may refer to: Mononym *Siddique (actor), Indian actor *Siddique (director), Indian director and script writer Given name * Siddique ul-Islam (1970–2007), Bangladeshi terrorist *Siddique Salik (1935–1988), Pakistani general and author ...

was reported for five violations of prison rules, including “Rioting, or encouraging others to riot”. This was most likely a way to prevent him from speaking to the media during the strike as he had during the 2016 Prison Strike.

Strike activity begins early (August 2018)

On August 9th, the first confirmed strike activity began at the

GEO Group The GEO Group, Inc. (GEO) is a publicly traded C corporation that invests in private prisons and mental health facilities in North America, Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, the company's f ...

prison in response to administration cutting family visits, harassing families, strip searching elder family members, and STIU targeting, harassing, and abusing inmates. Three housing units joined in the work stoppage. In response,

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

prison officials put all state prisons on lockdown on August 20th as a preemptive measure. On August 19th, prisoners in the Burnside jail in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, Canada held a protest and released a statement in support of the strike and with their own list of demands.

Strike begins

While most news on strike activity didn't reach the outside on the first day, the strike received widespread attention from numerous news outlets including

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

and

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

. At least 200 detained immigrants at the

Northwest Detention Center Northwest Detention Center is a privately-run detention center located on the tide flats of the Port of Tacoma in Tacoma, Washington, USA. The detention center is operated by the GEO Group on behalf of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ...

in Tacoma, Washington engaged in a hunger strike and/or work stoppage, releasing a statement stating that they are "acting with solidarity for all those people who are being detained wrongfully, and stand together to help support all those women who have been separated from their children, and to stop all the family separations happening today for a lot of us are also being separated and we have U.S. citizen children.” Heriberto Sharky Garcia, incarcerated in

Folsom, California Folsom is a city in Sacramento County, California, United States. It is commonly known for Folsom State Prison, the song "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash, as well as for Folsom Lake. The population was 80,454 at the 2020 census. Folsom is pa ...

, declared a hunger strike. There were also unconfirmed reports of 11 out of 143 prisons in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

being affected, although the

Florida Department of Corrections The Florida Department of Corrections operates state prisons in the U.S. state of Florida. It has its headquarters in Florida's capital of Tallahassee. The Florida Department of Corrections operates the third largest state prison system in the ...

claimed that they had no stoppages, protests, or lockdowns related to the strike.

Alleged retaliation

It was claimed by strike participants and their families that suspected strike participants and leaders/organizers were punished with