Inmates stage hunger strike, work stoppage over bad conditions
Conditions allegedly include insects and vermin on their food
Inmates at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin began a hunger strike and work stoppage Wednesday over allegedly unsanitary conditions inside the jail, including insects and vermin on their food.
Attorney Yolanda Huang, who represents the men, announced the strike Wednesday morning in front of the jail. The strike was fueled by an incident Oct. 18 when some people jailed in the 31 E housing unit did not receive any food until 5 p.m. that day.
The strike also began because of the way the Alameda County jail treats inmates with opioid or other drug additions — putting them in general housing while they are undergoing withdrawals, the attorney said. The men have “loose bowels” and get sick in a cell with other inmates. With cleaning supplies hard to come by, that means inmates have to live with the stench for days at a time, she said.
“Everyone is breathing it, living with it, and it’s a horrible, horrible situation,” Huang said.
On Friday, an inmate died because of an apparent overdose from an opioid drug, according to the Sheriff’s Office. It’s been at least the eighth jail-related death in the past year.
There are about 60 inmates in the housing unit, but it’s not known exactly how many are taking part in the hunger strike and work stoppage, which could last until at least Friday.
Alameda County sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. J.D. Nelson said he was unaware of exactly how many inmates were on the hunger strike, but it was less than half of the housing unit.
“In my 30 years of experience, the vast majority who do a hunger strike do not do a commissary strike,” Nelson said.
That means they may not eat the jail food but still buy things from the commissary, which has a variety of food such as oatmeal, lasagna, ramen, chips, etc.
Huang described unsanitary conditions in the jails, including a swarm of gnats that has made it difficult for the men to eat their food. Inmates also have found vermin droppings in their food.
Inmates are allowed to access cleaning supplies for only 15 minutes a week and can have up to 30 men in one dormitory-style cell, she said. Nelson said such dorm-style cells, used for minimum-security inmates such as those with misdemeanors, have at least two toilets and do hold up to 30 inmates.
“You can imagine what that bathroom looks like with 30 people using the bathroom every day for 24 hours a day,” Huang said Wednesday.
The conditions also have been exacerbated because of a recent lockdown, where the inmates are held inside for 24 hours a day. Huang said the inmates were told the lockdown was because of a staffing shortage resulting from deputies being sent to help in the Kincade
fire in Sonoma County.
Nelson confirmed that some staffers have been sent to help in evacuations in Sonoma County in mutual aid response, or in the past week to assist with power outages throughout Alameda County. That has resulted in inmates staying indoors for longer, but he said that the minimum jail requirements of at least three hours outside per week still are being met, if not exceeded.
The men are planning to stop working at their jobs inside the jail as part of their strike. As of Wednesday afternoon, Nelson was not aware of any work stoppage.
“This jail runs on slave labor. Everyone who works in this jail works for free,” Huang said.
She said the inmates do laundry, clean, cook and package food, all for no pay or privileges such as time off their sentence. Because they are working eight hours a day, that leaves less time for other privileges inmates receive, such as taking classes or exercising.
“They get food treats. They’re like little dogs,” Huang said.
Huang also represents a group of female inmates in a federal lawsuit regarding allegedly inhumane conditions, also at Santa Rita. The lawsuit is undergoing mediation. It alleges that at least one female inmate was forced to give birth alone in her cell, screaming in pain for hours.
Huang said the male inmates who asked her for help in putting out the word about their hunger strike also are considering filing a lawsuit.
The hunger strike list of 26 demands from the inmates includes better food, fair prices at the commissary and for telephone calls, access to the law library, ability to clean their cell pods at least twice a week, personal disinfectants added to the commissary, mandatory meal times and the use of body scanners instead of strip searches, among other things.
“Santa Rita needs to evolve its system and methods away from this punitive justice system and demoralizing, inhumane treatment of citizens and drug addicts to a modernized system and methods of restorative justice!” the demand list states.
“We need to build people up, make them productive and restore their health and vitality,” the note said.
Representatives from the advocacy group Ella Baker Center for Human Rights also were present Wednesday at the news conference. The organization has been vocal in calling for a full audit of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office after persistent controversies regarding its jail operations.
On Wednesday, Ella Baker senior organizer Jose Bernal said they are concerned about retaliation against the inmates who stop work or are on the hunger strike.
“We are encouraging folks to call the sheriff, and the board of supervisors office to make clear to them that it would be unacceptable and immoral to retaliate against any person currently incarcerated demanding their human rights and their human dignity.”