Prisoners take jobs from law abiding civilians

industriesinside Florida's state prison system, that will develop prisoner’sskills (Harrell par 1). Unlike the traditional idea of prison labor,when fully-trained PRIDE inmate workers leave prison, they carry withthem credentials and job skills that meet the requirements of today'sbusinesses. Some argue since they are ex-convicts it will still be ahard uphill battle to find a job. Although attaining useable jobskills will certainly give them a helping hand finding a job oncereleased. Ex-convicts need all the help they can get. As the greatfree society that we are, we should put forth all we can for the lessfortunate individuals who made mistakes in the past. PRIDE is relatively successful, but some state programs are evenbetter such as a two-semester program that has been offered for thepast 10 years through the Central Carolina Community College. Inmatesapply what they learn from the electronic repair program and refurbishold computers from North Carolina state surplus. They then sell themto local schools for $20. Some say this competes with privatebusiness but if the inmates did not do this for the school, the schoolwould not be able to afford much more than the $20 that a privatebusiness would require. (Harry par 1-3) If the inmates have accessto higher education they will be more marketable once released. Although, it is hard enough for our government to help law abidingstudents attain a degree. At least a two-semester program willhopefully motivate some to reach for higher goals once released. Someprograms only teach marketable trades such as lens making, computerdata input, printing, or computer repair that will help them seekemployment once released.Supporters of convict labor believe convicts are an untapped resourcethat can help stop the flow of jobs going overseas. For example whenGEONEX, a computer mapping company based in Florida, was competing fora major project for an international telephone company recently,executives considered hiring workers in Pakistan or India to inputcomputer data. Instead, GEONEX went to Liberty CorrectionalInstitution near Tallahassee, keeping the jobs in America. It is awin win situation if corporations look at 1.5 million prisoners aspotential national assets rather than liabilities, we can helpconvicts by training them with marketable skills that will give theman advantage in the evolving job market they did not have beforeincarceration, and corporations can utilize cost effective labor. Ourcountry needs more exports and less imports and convict labor canhelp. (Zalusky par 5) Also, because of this the money stays in thecountry and the convicts will be able to help victims, their ownfamily, and pay off debt. It would be great to see other countriesfor once hire Americans instead of going to China or some other thirdworld country. In addition to training and a regular paycheck, theyalso can expect to make at least $25,000 or more a year doing asimilar job once released. (Richey par 5)Supporters of prisoner labor’s most important and effective argumentis those involved in industry programs are less likely to becomerepeat offenders, which of course is the most important goal of allprison systems. Florida, which has a strong post-release program inplace, found that only 17 percent of inmates involved for at least sixmonths in its correctional industries program such as PRIDE, wererecommitted within two years from the time the study began in 1996.The national average recommitment rate is approximately 40 percent,according to PRIDE's 1998 Annual Report. (Cochran par 18) If this istrue, correction facilities could increase labor in prisons anddecrease crime and the rising cost of housing convicts.Although opponents of prison labor believe it is inhumane to requireconvicts to work at such low wages, federal minimum wage law does notapply to government employed prisoners. Some government employedprisoners are only paid 23 cents an hour, and up to 50% of that isallowed to be deducted to pay for taxes, room and board, familysupport, and victim restitution. Some argue that this low of wageshould not be considered a wage at all. Also according to AFL-CIO in21 states one’s sentence could possibly be lengthened if they do notwork for the low wages they set. (Slaughter par 9-10) Many arguethis is essentially forced labor with no significant pay comparable toslave labor, even though slave labor has been nationally outlawed postcivil war. Then again since they did break the law some support laboreven with out pay at all.Some argue prisoners take jobs from law abiding civilians. However,under the 1979 Prison Industries Enhancement law, private companieswho want to operate in jail must pay the prevailing wage but this doesnot apply to governments local or national. Private companies mustconsult with union leaders in the area, local industry must not beeffected and have no unemployment in that industrylocally. Unfortunately this law has been ignored in many cases. Forexample, a glove maker in Wisconsin cut wages and outside jobs by 40percent after hiring inmates at the Green Bay CorrectionalInstitution. (Slaughter par 21) On the other hand, according to theAmerican Bar Association, only about .00056 percent of the nationalcivilian work force consists of inmate labor. Since the labor forceis so small, it is not a significant hazard to the national workforce, unlike outsourcing, but it is a threat to small localfirms. Also, inmate labor as of now has little impact to the civilianwork force, particularly because most of them still do not competewith local industries. (Cochran par 27) Although prison labor has asmall impact on the national work force, if convict labor spreads itcould cause more law abiding civilian jobs.Overall prison labor could be positive for both convict and privatebusiness if reform is made. Correctional facility employment programsare not designed to train prisoners for gainful post-confinementcareers. The manufacturing of goods that would otherwise be producedoffshore is inappropriate training. Furthermore, training inindustries such as textiles and apparel, which already compete withlow-cost imports, is of small value. Modifications within the system are needed to help the prisoners whilenot harming the private sector. Although this goal is lofty andcomplex it is still very much obtainable by enhancing trainingprograms within prisons, as long as prison labor programs are notdestroying American jobs. If production of goods must continue as anelement of prison industries, such production should be only of thoseproducts for which there is no commercial market. Prison labor reformis needed to fulfill three valuable outcomes: prisoners would receivetraining; important goods, which are not commercially viable, would beproduced; and law-abiding Americans would no longer face unfair andpredatory competition from prison labor initiatives. If reforms arenot enacted, some prisoners will continue to learn unmarketable skillswhich may lead to unemployment and possible re-incarceration. Also ifreform is not made soon more law abiding citizens will continue tolose jobs to our national liabilities because companies seek thelowest possible labor expense and lowest cost goods even if it ismanufactured in a prison.