Returning citizens are being funneled into exploitative temp jobs that pay poverty wages, deny them basic labor protections, and deepen the state’s control over their lives long after they’ve served their time. This week, Mansa Musa speaks with Katherine Passley and Maya Ragsdale, Co-Executive Directors of Beyond the Bars, about how Florida’s temp industry traps the most vulnerable workers and operates as a profitable and punishing extension of the prison system.

Guests:

• Maya Ragsdale is the founder and co-executive director of Beyond the Bars, a worker center in South Florida building the social and economic power of workers with criminal records and their families.
• Katherine Passley is co-executive director of Beyond the Bars. Passley was named the 2025 Labor Organizer of the Year by In These Times magazine.

Additional links/info:

• Beyond the Bars website, Substack, and Instagram
• Beyond the Bars, The Temp Trap Report

Credits:

• Producer / Videographer / Post-Production: Cameron Granadino

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rattling-the-bars--4799829/support.

Help us continue producing Rattling the Bars by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.

Sign up for our newsletter

Follow us on Bluesky
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Donate to support this podcast