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RE: ALEC, Prison labor IS the same as slavery in the modern age.
This system is so shocking, and I think we have it in the UK too, though I'm not sure of the exact details. I was reading a feature online a few months ago, and this sentence jumped out at me:
All he has in the world is a debit card with $978.33 on it and a plastic tub filled with personal items. The money comes from three decades spent making furniture in the prison for 30 and later 80 cents an hour.
Yes, the man they're talking about committed murder, but you certainly don't have to commit murder to end up in jail in the US or the UK. I would be interested to find out which companies benefit from this cheap labour.
Here in Oregon many of the prisoners make furniture which is used in state facilities, including universities and state office buildings.
I know that private companies can buy blocks of prisoner's time in labor auctions. There are schedules out there, if you need cheap labor... and are ok with fascism.