Shift

In 1985 one out of every 320 Americans were in jail.

In 1995 one out of every 167 Americans were in jail.

Between1980 and 1994, the number of people in federal and state prisons increased 221%.

Today, 2 million Americans are in prison.

1.2 million are African-American men.

While there is debate over their underlying causes, these staggering statistics are generally thought to result from rigid drug laws, mandatory minimum sentences and increasingly tough legislation— such as California’s "three strikes" law. One fact remains undisputed: prisons have become big business.


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The United States has the highest incarceration rate on earth.

The Business of Prison Labor
A prison-industrial complex has emerged. The increased prison population, a strong economy and the tightest labor market in 30 years have given rise to prison privatization and the expanded use of prison labor. Big name corporations compete with each other to underwrite prison construction with private, tax-exempt bonds and without voter approval. More and more states across the country are implementing mandatory labor for inmates, necessitating partnerships with outside industry. These developments fuel a national debate over prison labor practices in the U.S.

Historically, federal and state governments instituted prison labor programs as a means toward prisoner rehabilitation. A 1950’s law dictated that goods produced by inmates could only be used inside prisons or sold to government agencies, thereby eliminating the possibility of competition with private business or labor. While the law itself hasn’t changed, the political climate and the economy have, radically shifting acceptable practices where prison labor is concerned.

Prison Partners
In the tiny town of Lockhart, Texas a private prison run by Wakenhut (a for-profit private corporation) does business with a company called LTI. In this partnership the prisoners assemble circuit boards bound for hi-tech corporations. For LTI, moving manufacturing to the Lockhart prison was a no-brainer. There they found a captive workforce that did not require benefits or vacation pay, major tax incentives and a brand new assembly plant rented for only a symbolic fee. As a result, LTI’s plant in Austin, Texas was shut down and 150 people lost their jobs. In Michigan, through a similar arrangement, the majority of Brill Manufacturing Company’s workforce lost their jobs to state prison inmates.

The Debate
A number of questions remain unanswered and hotly debated:

Is prison labor a help or a hindrance to inmates?

Is prison labor truly an economic benefit or a force holding down wages on the open market?

Those on each side of the discussion vehemently disagree on the answers. Business groups support the inexpensive, flexible and dependent workforce. Union organizations and activists protest the loss of work and wages for outside workers, defiance of labor laws and the potential for flagrant human rights abuse of a workforce behind bars with no representation. Even the inmates view the situation in different ways. While some inmates would rather work—preferring being active in a work environment to the alternative—others regard prison factories as a form of slave labor.

Both sides of the discussion agree on the need for job training programs and safer environments to aid inmates with rehabilitation and to help reduce recidivism. How to accomplish these goals, at what cost and to whom remain hotly contested issues in prison yards, corporate boardrooms, union halls and legislative chambers across the nation.