Carceral Labor in the Auto Industry

Active Project

Team Adam Reich Suresh Naidu Dongwoo Park Aaron Sojourner Susan Helper
In Partnership with Jobs to Move America

Alabama's automobile supply chain employs incarcerated workers alongside traditional employees, creating a complex labor ecosystem with unclear effects on working conditions.

In partnership with Jobs to Move America, the Columbia Labor Lab is conducting the first comprehensive study examining how incarcerated labor affects wages and working conditions in Alabama's automobile supply chain—a key hub for automotive manufacturing in the non-union South.

Our research makes use of original survey data of incarcerated and non-incarcerated workers collected by Jobs to Move America. The project analyzes how prison labor affects wage levels and working conditions throughout the supply chain, and develops a new model of employment in imperfectly competitive labor markets. This research will inform advocacy efforts and contribute to academic understanding of how prison labor systems – and other forms of coercive labor systems – interact with traditional employment markets.

We are currently finalizing a comprehensive public-facing report, with an academic publication to follow.

More Projects

go to Tunisian Transition Oral History

Tunisian Transition Oral History
Documenting the transition to democracy in Tunisia from the perspective of prominent transition leaders in the technical government and in civil society. Funded by Columbia University's Office of the President
go to All in Favor

All in Favor
All in Favor is a first-of-its-kind research project capturing the voices and oral histories of foundation trustees across the country. At a moment when philanthropy faces growing political scrutiny, All in Favor opens a door into this world and invites trustees to reflect on the social and political contexts of their service. Funded by the Ford Foundation
go to Refugee Cities

Refugee Cities
Bringing urban studies and refugee studies scholars together to examine how refugees settle and live in urban spaces.
go to Afro-Nordic Feminisms

Afro-Nordic Feminisms
Establishing a space for Afro-Nordic scholarship, identity, culture, social movements, and social justice organizing.