Beyond the Bars

We are workers with records transforming the industries that rely on our labor and opening pathways into industries we've long been excluded from.

[keith bb @TRAILSANDWAYS]

I've seen "union contract first, organize later" approaches fail to build a living union in construction and home care. I was skeptical of that approach for bus factories.

glad to say the badass welders and assembly line organizers of Alabama and Kentucky proved me wrong

[Beyond the Bars @beyondbars_mia]

Thank you, @bernardlocal79 for the feedback! We drew a lot of inspiration from @LaborersFight awesome work in New York.

[Laborers Fight Back @LaborersFight]

"The Temp Trap: A Blueprint for Organizing Workers with Records in the Temp Industry...with contributions and/or feedback from Bernard Callegari, Laborers’ International Union of North America, Eastern Region" @beyondbars_mia
https://t.co/CWTfT6q0YP

[Laborers Fight Back @LaborersFight]

Laborers attended the 2026 National Convening on Real Reentry hosted at Columbia University with @beyondbars_mia to talk about building worker power in the carceral state. @ColumbiaSoc @LiUNAEasternReg @MasonTenders

[Beyond the Bars @beyondbars_mia]

Shout out to folks doing this work: @LIUNA, @TheIronworkers, @1199SEIU, @JobsMoveAmerica, @RaiseUptheSouth, @FWDus, @GLO4Workers, @BlackWorkers215, @P2ATrades, @local79nyc, @ChiFreshKitchen, and many more

[Beyond the Bars @beyondbars_mia]

“The carceral system is a labor market institution.”

On April 3rd, we brought together labor leaders, organizers, and workers from across the country to ask:

What would it take to build a labor movement serious about ending mass incarceration? 🧵

[Beyond the Bars @beyondbars_mia]

But across the country, people are building real strategies to change that:

** pathways into union jobs and leadership
** legislation + enforcement to raise standards
** organizing in temp, construction, manufacturing
** union worker co-ops

[Beyond the Bars @beyondbars_mia]

One thing was clear:

From prison labor to temp work

the system funnels 114M people with records into the lowest-wage, least protected jobs in the economy.

[Beyond the Bars @beyondbars_mia]

@freedomworkers Hi Sabrina! I tried to reach you re: your handle—would love to connect if you’re open. Happy to compensate. Please DM me!

[Glenn E. Martin 🐐 @glennEmartin]

Building Bridges and Erasing Jail Debt: Katherine Passley - In These Times by ⁦@GrimKim⁩ https://t.co/8Wx5kzYOFw

[Inquest @_inquest_]

For formerly incarcerated people with work requirements, "the carceral system and the temp industry reinforce one another, forming a closed circuit where punishment and profit blur." Maya Ragsdale, co-exec. director of @beyondbars_mia on the "temp trap" https://t.co/u1SEmNFflr

[Inquest @_inquest_]

"Decarceral and labor organizing are inseparable." —Maya Ragsdale of @beyondbars_mia on how the temp labor market exploits formerly incarcerated people, to the detriment of all workers. https://t.co/u1SEmNFflr

[McKenna Schueler @SheCarriesOn]

Florida lawmakers unanimously advanced a bill Wednesday that would expand protections for temp workers after hearing public testimony from workers organized with @beyondbars_mia https://t.co/1BQjTNIps9

[McKenna Schueler @SheCarriesOn]

This came after a group of worker-advocates with @beyondbars_mia publicly testified in support of the bill, sharing how additional protections for Florida's temp workers (many of whom are formerly incarcerated folks w/ few other job opportunities) would benefit society at large.

[William Murphy @420GHz]

Temps and the carceral system aren’t just “issues”—they’re the levers capital uses to keep workers divided and powerless. Fixing one without fighting the other won’t build real labor power. #LaborPower #WorkersUnite

[Oliver Larkin for Congress @OliverALarkin]

Happy 5th birthday to @beyondbars_mia an incredible organization fighting against mass incarceration and building economic power for workers with records. We must fight for unions for all workers, including temp workers.

[Beyond the Bars @beyondbars_mia]

Workers coming home from prison and jail keep the economy running, often as forever-temps. That temp trap hurts them and drags down union standards. In @labornotes, we share what we can do about it.

[Labor Notes @labornotes]

Workers returning from prison and jail load trucks, stock shelves, fix roads, prepare food, and build cities... usually as forever-temps. The "temp trap" is bad for them, and bad for union standards. Unions are starting to do something about it. https://t.co/wXARECQhjH

[Beyond the Bars @beyondbars_mia]

If we want a stronger labor movement, we can’t ignore the temp industry or the role the carceral system plays in disciplining the workforce. In @labornotes, we lay out strategies we can use to raise temp standards + move workers into union jobs:
https://t.co/S9mW6utm2v

[Beyond the Bars @beyondbars_mia]

“Bring temp workers into the union so they can’t be used against the union.”

Our Co-ED, Kat, said it best.

Interview below ⬇️

[The Real News @TheRealNews]

“Historically, temp workers and prison labor… [have] been used to bust union strikes,” Katherine Passley of @beyondbars_mia says. “Well, what would it look like if we were to bring those people into the union so that they can’t bust these union efforts?”
https://t.co/t4FT9qN5wr

[Beyond the Bars @beyondbars_mia]

Thank you @WorthRises for sharing. Honored to be in this work together.

[Worth Rises @WorthRises]

Excellent new report from @beyondbars_mia exposes how temp agencies have become the default and often only employers for millions of folks with criminal records, and lays out a roadmap for organizing workers with records to win dignified work. Read it: https://t.co/DVAINfMlZ6