Prisoners across California’s state prison system launched a hunger strike on Monday in protest of their conditions, which include long-term solitary confinement, a practice considered by many to be an act of torture.

The strike was initiated by prisoners within the Security Housing Unit (SHU) in Pelican Bay State Prison, but news quickly spread and is now said to include prisoners in facilities across California. Thousands are expected to participate in the hunger strike, which also includes a work stoppage.

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On June 20 prisoners from Pelican Bay’s SHU released a statement describing their actions and intentions:

According to Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity, the California prison system currently holds over 10,000 prisoners in solitary confinement units, “with dozens having spent more than 20 years each in isolation.”

The hunger strike is not the first of its kind in Pelican Bay. In 2011, prisoners in the SHU sparked a massive statewide hunger strike that grew to include 12,000 prisoners in a third of California’s 33 prisons.