On September 9, 2016, prisoners across the country marked the 45th anniversary of the Attica prison uprising by launching a nationwide labor strike calling for the end of legalized slavery in America's prisons.

Inmate labor is mandatory. It is also paid at insultingly low wages, as low as 8 cents per hour. Up to 80 percent of these meager earnings is lost to exorbitant taxes and deductions. And some states including Texas, Georgia, and Arkansas do not pay at all for mandated labor.

Sign the petition: Stand with prison strikers and demand an end to legalized slavery.

Being incarcerated should not nullify a person's rights and protections under the law. Yet the 13th Amendment - which abolishes slavery - makes an exception for those convicted of crimes.

Prisoners are not considered employees, so they are not protected by fair labor regulations. They have no legal avenue through which to seek better wages or safe working conditions. Prisons are known to intentionally hide conditions which threaten the safety of inmates, but nothing is being done to fix it.

Incarcerated people are grossly exploited. Their forced and nearly free labor is used to bolster the profits of top-dollar companies like McDonald's and Wal-Mart, all while they are denied basic rights as workers.

This is a travesty. Being convicted of a crime should not equal an automatic forfeiture of one's body and human rights.

Sign the petition: Stand with prison strikers and demand an end to legalized slavery.