We are workers with records transforming the industries that rely on our labor and opening pathways into industries we've long been excluded from.
Joined December 2020
- Tweets 220
- Following 300
- Followers 253
- Likes 438
10 Photos and videos
Beyond the Bars retweeted
Jun 1
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
May 29
What does it take to unionize factories today, especially in the South? In the last two years, bus manufacturing workers secured first union contracts and a national master agreement across New Flyer facilities in three states. @TRAILSANDWAYS reports: labornotes.org/2026/05/bus-f…
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Thank you, @bernardlocal79 for the feedback! We drew a lot of inspiration from @LaborersFight awesome work in New York.
"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
beyondthebars.org/publicatio…
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Beyond the Bars retweeted
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
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“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? 🧵
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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
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Shout out to folks doing this work: @LIUNA, @TheIronworkers, @1199SEIU, @JobsMoveAmerica, @RaiseUptheSouth, @FWDus, @GLO4Workers, @BlackWorkers215, @P2ATrades, @local79nyc, @ChiFreshKitchen, and many more
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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.
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Beyond the Bars retweeted
1 May 2025
Building Bridges and Erasing Jail Debt: Katherine Passley - In These Times by @GrimKim inthesetimes.com/article/lab…
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Beyond the Bars retweeted
Feb 5
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" inquest.org/i-was-just-a-bod…
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Beyond the Bars retweeted
Feb 6
"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. inquest.org/i-was-just-a-bod…
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Beyond the Bars retweeted
Florida lawmakers unanimously advanced a bill Wednesday that would expand protections for temp workers after hearing public testimony from workers organized with @beyondbars_mia orlandoweekly.com/news/flori…
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Beyond the Bars retweeted
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.
Stunned. A panel of Republicans & Democrats in the Florida Legislature today unanimously advanced a bill (SB 1112) that would expand opportunities for temp workers and establish certain accountability measures to help prevent bad actors in the industry from exploiting them.
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Beyond the Bars retweeted
18 Dec 2025
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
17 Dec 2025
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:
labornotes.org/blogs/2025/12…
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Beyond the Bars retweeted
17 Dec 2025
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.
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17 Dec 2025
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.
17 Dec 2025
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. labornotes.org/blogs/2025/12…
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17 Dec 2025
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:
labornotes.org/blogs/2025/12…
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1 Dec 2025
“Bring temp workers into the union so they can’t be used against the union.”
Our Co-ED, Kat, said it best.
Interview below ⬇️
1 Dec 2025
“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?”
therealnews.com/prisons-and-…
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21 Nov 2025
Thank you @WorthRises for sharing. Honored to be in this work together.
20 Nov 2025
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: Bit.ly/TheTempTrap
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21 Nov 2025
Thanks for sharing!
20 Nov 2025
A 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: Bit.ly/TheTempTrap
ALT The Temp Trap: A Blueprint for Organizing Workers with Records in the Temp Industry
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