Inmates across eight Florida prisons have announced a protest in the form of a work stoppage dubbed Operation PUSH set to start on Jan. 15, advocates say.
“Every institution must prepare to lay down for at least one month or longer: No prisoners will go to their job assignments,” prisoners said in a lengthy statement, compiled from a series of letters they wrote in November.
The statement, which details the upcoming work stoppage, was posted on social media by Supporting Prisoners and Real Change (SPARC), a Facebook page for Florida inmates and their families. Prisoners say the protest could last for more than a month.
Their main points of protest? Payment for labor instead of time deducted from prison sentences; a reduction in canteen prices that they describe as sky high; and the reintroduction of parole incentives for those serving life sentences as well as those with release dates that are very far off.