BP Earns Thousands In Tax Credits By Exploiting Prison Workers (Video)

Remember how compassionate BP seemed when, in the first few days of the Gulf oil spill, they offered clean-up jobs to out of work fisherman and other locals affected by the crisis?

Slowly but surely, those residents in crisis have been edged out for cheaper labor options that are far less likely to ask questions and blow the whistle on dangerous clean-up practices.

As the video below describes, it has been discovered that BP is reaping thousands of dollars in tax credits by using mostly African-America prison laborers to pick up and dispose of oil deposits that have made it to shore.

These workers are forced to work 12 hours a day in dangerous conditions, and can lose “earned good time” if they refuse to accept BP’s offer for “employment.”

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Image Credit: Flickr - deepwaterhorizonresponse
U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Emily F. Alley.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Judith E.

10:07AM PDT on Aug 16, 2010

ORCOO (www.orcoo.org -- OurRealCostOfOil -- a HoustonTX group) is holding a FUNERAL & MEMORIAL SERVICE for the GULF OF MEXICO this THURSDAY, 19AUG, 4-5pm (Funeral procession from City Hall to Chevron/Transco/Exxon/Shell,etc., dwntown) 5-6pm Memorial Service at City Hall. Y'all Come!

send a green star

Jane L.

4:01PM PDT on Aug 9, 2010

I'm not against using prison workers to help clean up the spill, but it should be done reasonably (not 12hrs a day, 6 days a week) and safely (with proper equipment and gear). They are humans too and should be treated with respect and dignity no matter what their offence was that got them in prison in the first place.

david w.

9:18PM PDT on Aug 7, 2010

BP Know how dangerous the area is it's not the oil but the (vocs)
volatile organic compounds chemicals and gases coming ashore along with the oil. You require a full face respirator with appropriate VOC Filter Cartridges. Or yess you with get lung problems and quite possibly Cancer! They must think Who will care it so prisoners get sick and die. They won't complain and if they do who will listen? Evil Bastards All you Globalists!

Juan Pablo d.

3:32PM PDT on Aug 4, 2010

BP knows the game too well. They will always get what they want.

Karen C.

6:29AM PDT on Aug 3, 2010

BP should be forced to use local workers if they want to work and only allowed to use prisioners who volunteer. There should be no penalty if a prisioner refuses BP's offer. I'm not sure I would be able to work at the oil spill.

Jennifer M.

2:28PM PDT on Jul 28, 2010

Figures... I don't know if I can hate BP anymore!! Ugh, they need to be shut the eff down

Craig C.

11:59PM PDT on Jul 27, 2010

The reason you won't find that amount in china is that they don't go through the same court system as ours. They have big ditches there.

Loreto V.

2:43PM PDT on Jul 27, 2010

I am ashamed. I do not know what to say. Someone has to do the dirty work, however. Thanks to these guys (prisoners) the dirty work is being done.

Lynn A.

1:49PM PDT on Jul 27, 2010

As a former prison administrator, I can say that most inmates would rather being doing this than sitting in a cell block so I have no problem with them being on clean-up detail. As far as BP goes, does anything these charlatan thieves do surprise us?

Kimberlee W.

9:48AM PDT on Jul 27, 2010

How the hell can I comment here?? I have read a number of idiot responses on various subjects here, but the folks who believe that these non-violent violators SHOULD be our slave labor-force are among the worst. They really don't know what they're talking about.
Thankyou Heidi for the information you presented. I may make that the basis for an article.
As for those who think using the prison labor is a good idea, I don't want someone for a neighbor who believes that that the penalty for smoking pot or floating a check should be cancer.
You folks are cruel AND stupid and should be deported somewhere else. You're not what I think of when I think of an American!!