Abolition Labor chronicles the national movement to end the exception in the 13th Amendment that permits forced labor in U.S. prisons. Based on extensive interviews (in New York, Alabama, Texas, and Georgia) with formerly incarcerated men and women, along with movement activists, the book also offers a holistic picture of what it looks like to perform forced work—for no pay or for penny wages— behind bars.

Abolition Labor provides a wealth of insights into the vast underground economy where many prisoners have to hustle to survive, and the connection between these illicit activities and the precarious economy on the outside. Drawing on field interviews in Alabama, in particular, the authors describe the efforts behind the new prisoner rights movement that began with system-wide work strikes in the 2010s. The book argues that, far from being quarantined off from society, prisons and their forced work regime have a sizable impact on the employment market and the economic life of tens of millions of American households.