PRISONERS MAKE PENNIES AN HOUR - MAJOR COMPANIES PROSPER FROM ESSENTIALLY FREE LABOR

Today's front page of Chicago's Sun Times discusses how our convicted-felon politicians are treated like everyone else; how they make just pennies an hour while behind bars. WARDENS DON'T CARE THAT YOU USED TO BE THE GOVERNOR:

     "Betty Loren-Maltese, former Cicero town president, says that, since she went to prison in 2003, she's cleaned pots and pans and washrooms, and buffed and waxed floors. Loren-Maltese also worked as a landscaping clerk in the Dublin, Calif., prison's greenhouse. Now in prison in Victorville, Calif., Loren-Maltese got $5.25 a month for her first job and has made 12 cents to 23 cents an hour for most of her prison duties."

But what is NOT discussed is the other side...WHO is paying the prisoners just pennies an hour?  The answer is major companies are getting essentially free labor in the prisons.  According to www.motherjones.com, In the 1990s, subcontractor Third Generation hired 35 female South Carolina inmates to sew lingerie and leisure wear for Victoria's Secret and JCPenney. In 1997, a California prison put two men in solitary for telling journalists they were ordered to replace "Made in Honduras" labels on garments with "Made in the usa." 

The list goes on: Starbucks, Boeing, Microsoft...numerous Fortune 500 companies PROFIT from the Prison INDUSTRY!Their thinking seems to be, "No need to export labor to China...it's cheaper to have our own American prisoners work for pennies."

The issue is not that prisoner's should necessarily make money while in prison.  Granted, they are being punished; however, I don't think it's the "American Way" for prisoner labor to be the new form of slave labor.

The issues are
1) What do we do with the working inmate's family as he or she is in prison, making pennies and hour? 
2) And what do we do with the working inmate's learned skills once he is released from prison?

Kurt Kamm of the American Chronicle recently wrote an article, Female Inmate Fire Camp in LA County, about Camp 13, a  prison camp in Malibu, CA where female inmates are paid just $2.70-4.60 to monitor the forest and to fight fires. He goes on to say,
     "I have been out in the field with these women. They are proud of their work and work hard at it. It can be exhausting. They are encouraged and complimented by the firefighters who supervise them. It may be the first time in their lives they are accomplishing something and are getting positive reinforcement.   While the work at Camp 13 clearly helps build the self-esteem of the inmates, it is unfortunate that two-thirds return to the prison system."

REALLY?  NO KIDDING!  But why is it that the recidivism rate is so high?  Are the inmates really bad people?  No.  The reason many return to prison is because when they are released, they cannot put on their resume that they were firefighters for LA County.  Instead, they must disclose their felony background which leaves them with little to no options for gainful employment.  Mr. Kamm even mentions how there is a waiting list of inmates at the prisons who want to join the Camp.  AGAIN, NO KIDDING! THE WOMEN WANT TO WORK!

And what about the families who are left behind as their loved one is incarcerated?  Does the family benefit from the incarcerated person's menial wages?  Of course not.  The "employee" does not get benefits, the opportunity to participate in a 401k, insurance benefits, etc.  And again, the person doesn't get to put on his or her resume that they had a corporate job, nor does the inmate get the opportunity to work for that corporation upon release.

The article mentioned above properly shows one thing: you give people the opportunity to work and they will take it.  People don't change upon their release from prison.  The only thing that changes is their ability (or lack thereof) to work and provide for their family; hence, recidivism.

Finally, I suggest we find a way for the families of incarcerated "employees" to receive some kind of benefit.  With the person not at home, many families are living off of public aid and welfare.  Maybe we can get these companies to start a program for the families of incarcerated people as a form of payment for the work they have received.  If you don't like this idea, then I guess you are ok with families struggling financially when, in fact, their loved one IS WORKING behind prison doors.

Our prison industry must change because right now it looks a lot like modern-day slavery cloaked in "punishment."

www.xpunged.com and www.tamaraholder.com