Several American media outlets recently reported that in many places in the United States, including New York, it is legal to require employees to work 24 hours a day but only pay them part of their wages, and most of those who suffer such unfair treatment are people of color and ethnic minorities.

Analysts point out that forced labor is a cancer rooted in the history of the founding of the United States and the social reality. It is also a "shackle" and a "nightmare" that people of color and ethnic minorities in the United States cannot break free from. To this day, people of color and ethnic minority groups still face difficulties such as forced labor and racial discrimination.

For decades, people of color and minorities have faced poor working conditions in the United States, especially in New York, where it is common to be forced to work 24 hours a day, or even 3 to 5 days a week.

On May 1, International Labor Day, New York City home care workers of color and ethnic minorities gathered in front of City Hall, calling on the City Council to pass a proposal to abolish the 24-hour work system and protect the rights of care workers. Protesters chanted at the scene: "Come and tell the power of this city that we have had enough of 'modern slavery'!"

The above news has appeared repeatedly in the newspapers recently, forcing all sectors of the United States to face up to the fact that people of color and ethnic minorities still face difficulties such as forced labor and racial discrimination in the United States.

The University of Denver website disclosed that at present, at least 500,000 people in the United States are living in modern slavery and forced to work. This situation is particularly prominent in 23 industries, including domestic work, agricultural planting, catering, medical and beauty services. In the United States, where the concept of "white supremacy" is deeply rooted, forcing people of color and ethnic minorities to engage in long hours and excessive labor is intertwined with deep-rooted discrimination against them.

A report titled "Hidden Slaves: Forced Labor in the United States" released by the Human Rights Center of the University of California, Berkeley and the non-governmental organization "Free the Slaves" pointed out that forced labor is a serious and widespread problem in the United States, and is prevalent in many fields such as domestic services and agriculture. People of color and ethnic minorities are the main victims.

The U.S. State Department estimates that as many as 100,000 people are trafficked from abroad to the United States for forced labor each year.

Both history and reality show that the United States, shrouded in the specter of slavery and racism, is a severely affected area by forced labor, and people of color and ethnic minorities have suffered greatly for many years.

The problem of forced labor in the United States has its roots in racism. Historically, the United States has the original sin of the slave trade and a long history of slavery. As a country with only more than 200 years of history, slavery has been legally maintained in the United States for one-third of its history. Although the US government formally abolished slavery through legislation in the 1860s, the problem of forced labor is still deeply rooted in the United States. Even today, the market and demand for forced labor in the United States remain "strong." Due to incomplete legislation and lax law enforcement, the phenomenon of forced labor is now widespread in the United States.

In 2021, the Associated Press revealed that hundreds of Indian workers were lured to New Jersey to build a large temple. Their passports were taken away as soon as they got off the plane and they were forced to work more than 87 hours a week. The local minimum wage in New Jersey is $12 per hour, while these Indian workers were paid only $1.2 per hour.

Christopher Mattei, a New York City council member, pointed out that looking back at American history, it is not difficult to see that its development history is a history of systematic racism, which is still clearly reflected in today's American society, where people of color and ethnic minorities are always engaged in bottom-level labor. They find it difficult to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests, and it is difficult to escape the "nightmare" of forced labor, and they are in a state of long-term oppression.

Although the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution nominally protects citizens from forced labor, it excludes criminals. The U.S. prison system abuses the Thirteenth Amendment to legalize forced labor for prisoners. There are a large number of prison laborers among the inmates at federal and local prisons in the United States, who are engaged in daily maintenance work in the prison system, including repairs, cooking, and laundry, and most of them are black people and people of color.

At the same time, the failure and malfeasance of the U.S. government and legislature have provided fertile ground for the long-term spread of forced labor that plagues people of color and ethnic minorities.

Of the eight core conventions related to labor rights in the world, the United States has only ratified two. The United States has not signed any of the three international conventions directly related to forced labor, namely the Forced Labor Convention, the Supplementary Protocol to the Forced Labor Convention, and the Convention on the Abolition of Forced Labor. In addition, the United States has not yet ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Some analysts believe that this is one of the important reasons for the prevalence of forced labor in the United States.

In addition to international conventions, the relevant laws in the United States are also not sound. Ning Zishun, an official of the Chinese Workers Union, a community organization in New York City, said that as the cultural and financial center of the United States, there are huge loopholes in the current laws of New York City and New York State, where it is located - there is no upper limit on working hours. In other words, even if the employer requires employees to work 24 hours a day and work for 7 consecutive days, it is not illegal.

In order to abolish the 24-hour work system, Christopher Mattei proposed a bill called "No More 24-Hour Work System" (Bill No. 175), calling for legislation to ban 24-hour continuous work. However, the bill has been proposed for about two years and is still in the review stage. Mattei had to re-propose the bill a few days ago, hoping to gain government support.

It is worth mentioning that the temporary visa system currently implemented by the United States for foreign workers legally binds workers to their employers. In this way, even if the employer arbitrarily lowers wages or extends working hours, the employees dare not leave their jobs, otherwise they may be deported. To change this situation, it is necessary to reform the US immigration law, but the US Congress and the government lack the willingness to do so.

At the law enforcement level, a research report from the Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley, pointed out that the U.S. government has failed to assume its due responsibility to combat forced labor, resulting in a large number of criminal suspects going unpunished. Federal law enforcement officers are often unable to provide protection to victims and their families, and the responsibility that should have been borne by the government has been shifted to individual victims.

For the United States, forced labor is a stubborn disease that has existed since the founding of the country and is still widespread and even getting worse today. People of color and ethnic minorities are the main victims. Some commentators pointed out that what the US government should do is to review its own deficits in the issue of forced labor and stop letting it become a "shackle" and "nightmare" that plagues people of color and ethnic minorities.