Previous research has described the criminal justice system as a “labor market institution.” In recent years, however, research on the relationship between the criminal justice system and the labor market has focused primarily on the negative impact of criminal justice involvement on an individual’s ability to find work postrelease. This article explores how workers’ exposure to the criminal justice system is related to labor organization—a labor market institution through which workers in the United States have secured benefits for themselves and that, structurally, has mitigated income inequality. Across three analyses, we find a negative relationship between exposure to the criminal justice system and involvement in labor organizations. In a fourth analysis, we find evidence that this relationship results from employers’ increased power over those so exposed. Mass incarceration may discipline low-wage workers by decreasing their likelihood of participating in organizations through which they might gain economic power individually and collectively.

中文翻译：

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大规模监禁对劳工组织的惩戒作用

先前的研究将刑事司法系统描述为“劳动力市场机构”。然而，近年来，关于刑事司法系统与劳动力市场之间关系的研究主要集中在刑事司法参与对个人出狱后找工作能力的负面影响上。本文探讨了工人在刑事司法系统中的暴露与劳工组织的关系——这是一个劳动力市场机构，美国的工人通过该机构为自己获得利益，并且在结构上减轻了收入不平等。在三项分析中，我们发现接触刑事司法系统与参与劳工组织之间存在负相关关系。在第四个分析中，我们发现证据表明，这种关系是由于雇主对那些暴露在外的人的权力增加所致。大规模监禁可能会通过降低他们参与组织的可能性来惩罚低薪工人，通过这些组织他们可以单独和集体获得经济权力。