MON MAR 11, 2013 AT 07:47 PM EDT

Nevada Ways and Means Committee Weighs in on Prison Industry Battle

byBob SloanFollow

 
 
 
 

The Result of Bureaucrats’ Operating as Businessmen

In the continuing saga of Nevada’s Silver State Industries (SSI), the Legislature’s Ways and Means Committee held a hearing this past Friday, March 8th to discuss the budget of the Nevada DOC which includes state prison industry operations.

Critics of the industry program have found traction with the discovery that Alpine Steel, a private company, had access to inmate labor, subsidized facility leases and even with those subsidized benefits owed the state more than $400,000 in accrued debt.  In late 2012 when this story first broke, it was discovered that Alpine also owed inmate workers back wages to the tune of $78,000.  Because inmates are “assigned” to industry jobs by the NDOC, they were prohibited from simply quitting or asking for a reassignment due to not being paid.  They worked for an extended period without receiving any compensation for their labor – or if they were paid the wages did not come from their employer, Alpine Steel.

On Friday morning Committee members had an opportunity to question two top NDOC officials, Director Cox and his Deputy Director in charge of prison industries, Brian Connett.  Those in attendance described the meeting as tense between lawmakers and corrections officials.

Once this story broke in the media, Alpine made the necessary back wage payments to the inmate workers – but continues to owe the state for delinquent lease payments and NDOC staff salaries.  One Assemblyman asked the Deputy Director if the state had paid those salaries, and if so had Alpine repaid the outstanding wages.  The response was a half-truth, with Connett responding, “The back wages have all been paid.”  In fact those wages are part of the total $415,000 owed by Alpine.  The wages already paid are those owed to inmate workers – not NDOC staffers, which remain outstanding.

At times lawmakers displayed exasperation as they attempted to extract factual answers from Cox and Connett, who had difficulty answering direct questions related to prison industry operations; failing industry programs, financial losses and low cost leases of public facilities to private companies.

Cox and Connett were even less open about the situation involving Alpine Steel’s use of inmate labor to compete against other businesses in Southern Nevada, or the huge sum owed by Alpine to the NDOC for back lease and DOC staff payments.

Though lawmakers voiced concerns of the impact upon workers in the private sector and competing businesses, Cox and Connett did not seem to share those concerns, instead advocating that inmates need training while incarcerated to help reduce recidivism.  The irony of turning prisoner training over to a company with a history of questionable business practices - IRS tax liens ($668,000+), $415,000 in back lease and DOC staff salary obligations, unpaid state taxes (new Nevada Dept. of Taxation lien for $37,000 filed within the past month against Alpine’s owner, Randy Bulloch), lawsuits for money owed to creditors (F&M Steel and Pierce Aluminum) and is in litigation over unpaid worker’s compensation claims ($84,716 owed to Explorer Insurance Co.) – was apparently lost on Director Cox.

After all the controversy, debt owed to the state and concerns of both Nevada’s organized labor, workers and private businesses, Cox appeared openly insensitive to both issues by advising Committee members if Alpine’s business picked up, he would reopen the metal fabrication shop at High Desert State Prison to the company! This is indicative of a bureaucrat who genuinely believes he can make such decisions without consulting higher government or legislative authorities.

The general attitude of both was that inmate training was more important than the possible loss of jobs to Nevada’s unemployed steel workers, the potential for lost tax dollars or the impact upon businesses competing with Alpine Steel – or any of the half dozen other companies operating under joint venture contracts with Silver State Industries.

At one point Connett indicated that some of those complaining had been offered a chance to “partner” with the prison industry and had declined, seeming to suggest those businesses shared responsibility for any damage resulting from competition from prison industry operations…because they didn’t take him up on the offer.

Some answers provided to the Committee were enlightening, if incomplete.  Director Cox stated,”the cold hard facts are now that we have to aggressively look at what industries are not turning a profit.”

In addition to losses sustained by prison industry operations, the administrative office is operating in the red ($165,000+ over past two years), the industries’ furniture and metal, auto, upholstery and drapery shops have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars during the past few years.  Collectively Silver State Industries lost $81,597 in 2011 and $237,793 last year overall.

In 2010 the prison industries turned over more than $800,000 in accounts receivable to a collection agency and currently SSI’s past due AR account is in excess of $600,000.  In the budget discussion it was disclosed that the prison industry arm of the NDOC had a reserve fund of $1.5 million which due to continuous losses has been reduced to half a million.  If forced to absorb Alpine’s debt, the reserve fund will be exhausted.

In response to the dwindling reserve, Assemblyman David Bobzien, D-Reno voiced concern that when that reserve is exhausted, the prison industry would begin to dip into the general revenue fund, saying, “This is a clear track into the dirt, and without substantial retooling, it’ll be in the hole”

Bobzien and Assemblyman Michael Sprinkle, D-Sparks, questioned Cox about whether industry programs would be cut and what the department would do to get its industry program on a sustainable track.

Cox said he’s “very pessimistic” about future revenues and that “when resources go, of course programs will go.”  They were unable to get Cox to provide them with definitive responses or propose solutions to cure the industry’s financial woes.

“It appears that at some point the reserves are going to run out, but in the meantime, it’s a loss-loss across the state,” Assembly Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick, D-North Las Vegas, said, weighing in.

Kirkpatrick also had difficulty getting straight answers to some of her questions on business management issues and as to whether the prison industry program is really about training or rather a work program, putting inmates to work for privately owned companies at the expense of non-inmate workers.

In supporting the prison industry operations, Connett pointed to the “Big House Chopper” program.  An industry created by Howard Skolnik when he was in Connett’s position.  While using that program as an indicator of the work inmates were capable of and alluding that this industry was successful, he failed to advise the Committee thathe closed that program two years previously:

“Mr. Magnani said some time ago the motorcycle production was shut down, there was some motorcycles that Prison Industries was attempting to sell online. Mr. Magnani requested an update to the status of the built motorcycles. Mr. Connett informed the Committee that three motorcycles were for sale. Prison Industries was looking at reducing the price based on the current market. The motorcycle operation has been discontinued.”

Prison Industries manufactured a total of five motorcycles.  Two of those were sold in a “sweetheart deal” to one of Connett’s other prison industry companies, Thomson Equipment.  Despite vigorous advertising on eBay and other outlets, the remaining three have now sat for several years without any interest shown by potential buyers.  Another example of funds wasted to advance a prison project that has eaten away at the profits generated by other industries – both in dollars spent for materials as well as advertising.

Clearly referring to the motorcycle industry, the Deputy Director exhibited these half-truths to the Ways and Means Committee in an attempt to justify the need and usefulness of continued “training” of prisoners – whether the industry providing the training is viable or not.  In the case of Big House Choppers, it is long gone.

Examinations of the financial statement(s) for SSI for 2011-12 reflect that traditional prison industries such as farming, ranching, license plates, prison garment(s) and printing were all profitable.  It is the industries operating in partnership with private companies that are failing; metal shop (Alpine), drapery, automotive and upholstery for example.

Not only are these failing industries losing money, they are the ones negatively impacting upon private workers, potential workers and suppressing expansion of competing Nevada businesses.  These are also the industries that have been receiving substantial tax and lease benefits that are denied to competing businesses, resulting in an unfair advantage.  Companies using inmate labor do not appear to be paying Nevada’s Modified Business Tax, which further depletes the tax base while increasing potential corporate profits and disadvantaging their competitors.

Another issue of contention was the lease agreement between SSI and Alpine.  In 2011 Alpine was in arrears yet Connett authorized a lease contract that provided 19,000 square feet of manufacturing space at the unbelievable rate of $.26 cents per square foot ($5,000 per month).  The Nevada average for such space has been depressed due to the recession, but is currently at $.68 cents per square foot.  For the same square footage a private company would pay $12,990 per month in the “free world.”  This saved Alpine as much as $95,000 a year in operating expenses.  Assemblyman Bobzien called the Alpine lease an “unfair subsidy”.  There was no question as to how many of the other companies partnered with SSI were receiving similar low cost leases.

All of the losses described above, lead to more than an “appearance” of total mismanagement.  It is assumed that Greg Cox was chosen as the Director of the NDOC based upon an ongoing career in corrections.  He wasn’t chosen for his business acumen.  Putting him in charge of overseeing contracts, leasing arrangements and other commercial business decisions appears to be well outside his expertise.  Between them, Cox and Connett have made decisions that have negatively impacted taxpayers, private businesses and Nevada’s workers – yet when called before a legislative body to explain those decisions, they exhibited their lack of actual knowledge and experience in business practices.  Making matters worse they demonstrated they were willing to blunder through and by making statements claiming they would reopen the prison metal industry to Alpine Steel…and claiming Alpine Steel deserved a lower lease rate because of the difficulties of getting materials in and out of the prison and transportation logistics.

Again it needs to be said that those are matters for someone higher along the government chain to consider and make the final decision on.  It is unrealistic to allow a Deputy Director or Director to enter into binding contracts and leases that reduce the revenue streams from leasing state owned property or facilities.  It is also unrealistic to give Cox or Connett the authority to waive payments owed for leases, salaries or materials owed to the state.  By assuming these duties, these bureaucrats were gambling with taxpayer money, betting on Alpine Steel and similar companies to ultimately become viable and repay debts owed – debts they allowed to accrue and are now having difficulty justifying.  All can now see they lost that wager, with Alpine Steel and other companies owing NDOC more than $600,000 collectively.

In the public discussion period following the questioning of Cox and Connett, Danny Thompson, executive secretary treasurer of the Nevada AFL-CIO discussed the impact upon non-inmate workers on the outside from contracts such as that between SSI and Alpine.  He brought up the issue of safety to Nevada citizens that travel over or under a bridge spanning Interstate 15 that was constructed using prisoners in a “training program”. He said Alpine Steel produced steel girders for the construction project at the North Fifth Street Bridge in North Las Vegas and he questioned whether strict certification requirements for such projects were complied with in the training of inmate workers.

Thompson also called into question whether the materials used in the project met strict industry, state and federal specifications as to stress, weight and other factors involving materials used in the project – and wanted to know if inspections were conducted properly.  He also expressed concerns over the Wet ‘N’ Wild theme park project where Alpine was the structural steel contractor, saying he worried about the safety of children and families who would be visiting the park where inmates in training made many of the steel components.

A member of the Iron Workers Union, Local 433, Robert Conway also spoke, stating he had three hundred and fifty qualified iron workers without jobs, while the state was helping provide inmate welders for Alpine at wages far below the prevailing wage.  He also voiced concerns over the safety issues raised by allowing inmate steel workers to fabricate steel components used in public projects.

In response to criticism from Committee members and the public, Alpine owner, Randy Bulloch appeared via teleconference from Las Vegas and issued a statement in response to Thompson’s concerns, claiming that inmate workers were in fact certified as required.  He denied the use of structural steel components manufactured by Alpine in the bridge project and added that he had copies of material inspections and specs.  Bulloch spoke about his company in general terms but made no effort to defend the use of prison labor in the manufacture of structural steel used in his business.  It should be noted that Alpine Steel makes no mention on their website of the use of prison labor in manufacturing steel components, or that the company is involved in helping train prisoners.  That factoid is noticeably absent – as it is with TJ Wholesale and Jacob’s Trading, two other companies partnered with SSI and leasing facilities from the NDOC.

What wasn’t posed to Connett and Cox in the questioning by the Assembly Committee was the issue of a potential conflict of interest involving Nevada’s prison industry and compliance oversight.

The trade group,National Correctional Industries Association (NCIA) provides oversight over all prison industries in the U.S. and of late, internationally.  The NCIA does this under a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

This trade group advocates and lobbies on behalf of companies, corporations and organizations involved in prison industry operations, supplying those operations or benefiting from the labor of inmates.  Connett is currently serving as the Chairman of the NCIA and thus able to make determinations as to whether his actions and thus SSI are in compliance with prevailing laws.

This trade group advocates and lobbies on behalf of companies, corporations and organizations involved in prison industry operations, supplying those operations or benefiting from the labor of inmates.  Connett is currently serving as the  and thus able to make determinations as to whether his actions and thus SSI are in compliance with prevailing laws.

Many of the questions posed to Cox and Connett by the Committee members arose due to a comprehensive study I conducted for the non-profit Voters Legislative Transparency Project(VLTP) organization. As Executive Director with an interest in prison industries, I have been involved in researching and investigating prison industry programs for more than a decade.  In January VLTP submitted the studyof Nevada’s prison industries to members of the Nevada legislature, Governor Sandoval, AG Masto and Secretary of State, Ross Miller.

In that report many of the deficiencies and issues discussed Friday were presented along with documentation supporting the conclusions and recommendations made.  The questions posed by Committee members indicates they had all read the study and wanted answers to the questions raised by the research.

One observation made during the research phase of compiling the study, is that it appears that Cox, Connett and the NDOC are attempting to run the state department of corrections as a “business” rather than a state agency.  Partnering with businessmen and women who deal daily in matters of profit/loss and market share, the NDOC is woefully unprepared, as the accounts receivable and low-cost lease to Alpine demonstrate.  Director Cox, Connett and the NDOC seem not to understand that any losses arising from these partnerships between SSI and private companies are ultimately borne by Nevada’s taxpayers.  This already happened in 2010 when Cox’s predecessor, Howard Skolnik applied for a Supplemental appropriation from the Legislature due to losses incurred from recession and reductions in prison industry income.

With more than a million in uncollected debt since 2010 and lost streams of revenue due to sub-par leases, industries losing hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, the NDOC is being critically mismanaged.  As a state agency, it is the taxpayer who will be left making up the lost revenue from this lack of management.

One recommendation made directly to the Governor was that Nevada adopts the in-place mandatory guidelines of the Prison Industries Enhancement Certification Program (Pie Program).  This program allows joint ventures between private companies and state prison industries.  It provides a way for private enterprise to have access to inmate labor and to distribute products across state lines, sell to the U.S. government in amounts exceeding $10,000 and to sell those goods in consumer markets.

The Pie Program has nine mandatory requirements and four of those developed by Congress for this program include:

Wages. Authority to pay wages at a rate not less than that paid for work of a similar nature in the locality in which the work is performed.

Non-inmate worker displacement. Written assurances that PIECP will not result in the displacement of employed workers; be applied in skills, crafts, or trades in which there is a surplus of available gainful labor in the locality; or significantly impair existing contracts.

Consultation with organized labor. Written proof of consultation with organized labor prior to program startup.

Consultation with local private industry. Written proof of consultation with local private industry prior to program startup.

Nevada is already participating in this program and has Pie Program operations running in the prison industry.  Those businesses appear to be operating without financial losses to the state or SSI, in compliance with the mandatory requirements and thus, not exhibiting any of the problems the non-Pie Program involving Alpine is.

Adopting these regulations would ensure consultation with competing businesses, labor groups, and unions ensuring inmates are paid the required prevailing wage.  Since the NDOC deducts 24.5% of the gross wages paid to inmate workers, the amount taken through this deduction would increase and those funds would be used to offset the costs of incarceration. Combine adopting these guidelines with genuine oversight provided by the Nevada Board of Prison Commissioners, chaired by Governor Sandoval and I believe this is a solution to the existing problems experienced by the NDOC.

Continuing to allow a private non-profit trade association to oversee the state’s prison industries in the face of the controversy that has erupted while they had such oversight duties, is asking for more trouble.  As the head of the NCIA Connett has demonstrated he lacks the desire to enforce compliance and he is willing to put the interests of that organization above his responsibilities to the state.

ALEC, Koch and the Conservative led "War on the Middle Class"...

I've written extensively about the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the likes of Charles and David Koch, the Council for National Policy, the Heritage Foundation, Reason Foundation, CATO Institute, Freedom Works...etc, etc., and their involvement in starting, funding and advancing similar agendas targeting legislation beneficial to their corporate interests.

Usually I write about involvement of this core group related to incarceration, prison privatization and prison industries. I know to many this is simply not considered a "Hot Topic" - either in personal, business or political terms. This diary is published to show why it should be a hot topic and how the mechanics employed in this one ALEC led initiative is demonstrative of their agenda regarding pursuit of even more important issues facing us today.

I'll begin by saying that over the past decade we have been involved in a huge class war here in the U.S. It has been mostly ignored by many, because the skirmishes have been small scale when compared to larger issues that dominate our media and thus our minds. However, each of these tiny battles have led us to the situation today where the entire middle class is in a battle for it's very existence. The battle is brought upon us by the corporate elite representing the wealthiest segment of our society.

Criminal justice is but one of those "skirmishes" in this war. It is an important one though, for several reasons. The most important aspect is the huge financial windfall realized by these corporatists from our state and federal budgets for incarceration. The billions spent by the middle class on incarceration, is siphoned off through prison privatization of those incarcerated and by companies profiting off of incarceration in general; privatized health, food services, canteen operations, transportation, banking services, phone contracts and of huge importance - privatized prison industries.

Reports by independent and informed sources, provide statistics that as of 2007, American taxpayers spent $74 billion annually on incarceration, an increase of 72% since 1997 (Tracey Kyckelhahn, Justice Expenditure and Employment Extracts 2007, Table 1(Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2010) as reported by the Justice Policy Institute this week. Out of this huge sum of tax dollars, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and Geo Group (Geo) jointly reported $2.9 billion in revenue for 2010 alone (Corrections Corporation of America, 2010 Annual Report, 2011; The GEO Group, 2010 Annual Report (Boca Raton, FL): The GEO Group, 2011).

In addition to these "earned" profits by CCA and Geo, another $2.4 billion was taken in by companies through the sale of prisoner made goods in 2009. Together the private companies involved in private prison operations and prison industries are realizing more than $5 billion in income per year. This amount does not include peripheral income such as the profits made by Bail bond agents and insurers, medical, food service, banking or sale of products used in prison; chemical sprays, security equipment, construction of new prisons and expansion of existing ones. Altogether an estimated $11 billion dollars changes hands annually from U.S. incarceration and prison industries.

To anyone suffering through the economic situation over the past two or three years, this is a HUGE sum of money - and most of it paid out of state and federal appropriations set aside for correctional services and operations. Conservatives would have us believe that all these incarceration costs are because we as a society demand that we be made safe by locking up every possible individual that commits an offense against us - personally or upon our property. We're told it is because of these demands that so many are imprisoned and the cost of that imprisonment so expensive. These arguments have been used by Republicans since 1980 to increase incarceration by more than 650%, while putting into place legislation that allows their corporate masters and benefactors to realize the most profits possible from locking up everyone and throwing away the key.

Now lets take a close look at how this was done, why and the "mechanics". By doing this I'll demonstrate how these same manipulations and tactics are being used in a similar manner to win the "skirmishes" and ultimately this Class War - that is not even recognized as happening by many Americans...

From 1980 ALEC has been involved in writing model legislation involving criminal justice at the state level (lauding such efforts at their web site). Simultaneously through their huge number of Alumni who have gone on to posts within the federal government, or have been elected to the U.S. Congress, they also have pushed for federal legislation that comports with their state efforts; three strike laws, minimum mandatory drug and gun laws, truth in sentencing laws, replacement of government programs to provide bonding for those charged with, abolishing parole and similar legislation. These efforts have resulted today in more than 2.4 million of us incarcerated.

Also from 1980 on, ALEC developed and pushed their Model Legislation to expand privatization of state and federal prison facilities. Their Model Legislation's such as:

Targeted Contracting for Certain Correctional Facilities and Services Act
Resolution on Prison Expenditures
Inmate Labor Disclosure Act
Housing Out-of-State Prisoners in a Private Prison Act

have all been designed to benefit their long time members, CCA and Geo Group.
From 1993 ALEC has also been actively pursuing involvement in prison industry legislation. Their model legislation titled the "Prison Industries Act" is based upon exploiting the federal Prison Industries Enhancement Certification Program (PIECP) to allow private sector corporations, businesses and companies access to and use of prisoner labor as a cheap workforce and a means of increasing profits.

Through their legislative efforts, ALEC helped create our huge prison population of today. They were able to implement their model legislation on privatization of prisons in many states and on the federal level, creating a huge business niche with substantial profits for CCA and Geo. ALEC's efforts of privatization of prison industries - or allowance of the use of prisoners for corporate labor were equally successful, again resulting in huge profits to manufacturers and other member companies.

Now let's look at how they accomplished all of this so easily...

The criminal justice legislation mentioned above created the "workforce" for their prison industry initiatives. What needed to be done next was to expand prison industry operations state by state to create cheap jobs for inmates and high profits for their corporate membership.

Along came Ray Allen. Allen was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1993. As a "freshman" Conservative Republican lawmaker Allen was attracted to ALEC and joined their ranks. In 1993, legislation sponsored by Allen offered tax credits to corporations, encouraging them to engage in prison industries. In1997 he introduced ALEC's Model Prison Industries Act as proposed legislation in Texas and it became law. In 1999 he introduced more legislation on the state prison industry program and subsequent legislation amendments to his original legislation. While Allen was working so diligently on behalf of ALEC and prison industries, he became Chairman of the House Corrections Committee and ALEC's Criminal Justice and Homeland Security Task Force Chairman. In those capacities he assisted prison privatization efforts on behalf of ALEC members CCA and Geo side by side with his prison industry work.

In 1998 Allen participated in a meeting in Washington, D.C. titled: "Policies and Programs In Prison Industries". Key Note speaker was AG Janet Reno and other speakers included Pam Davis, PRIDE CEO and Chairman of the NCIA, FL. U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Crime (that just months before chaired a hearing on expansion of the federal prison industries). Also present as moderator was Warren Cikins, a representative of the Brookings Institution, another Koch and ALEC affiliate. Allen was also secretly lobbying on behalf of the National Correctional Industries Association (NCIA). As you can see from the articles and links, ALEC, the NCIA, Ray Allen and Koch affiliated Brookings Institution all came together at that meeting to promote expanding the PIECP program so that more corporations could take advantage of prison labor.

The U.S.Department of Justice issued the PIECP final guideline within 6 months of this "workshop meeting" attended by all of the above. Once the federal law was in place, prison industry in the U.S. exploded exponentially - along with the access to that labor by private corporations, many of which were members of ALEC or affiliated with Koch, Heritage or similar Conservative organizations and individuals. The results of the coordinated legislative and lobbying efforts of these lawmakers, corporations, individuals and organizations such as ALEC is today's estimated $2.5 billion dollar prison industry operation.

Just last October Attorney General Holder issued a memo applauding the continued growth of the federal prison population, and urged all federal procurement officers to "open their UNICOR" catalogs and buy - buy - buy products from them so they could expand the prison industries and put more inmates to work. With first Janet Reno and now Holder supporting this exploitation of prisoners as a workforce, the corruption has escalated to the highest office of law enforcement in the U.S. Such is the pervasive nature of this beast - fed by ALEC.

From the profits garnered from prison industries, and privatization, corporate members of ALEC contributed huge sums back to ALEC and affiliated right wing PAC's and political organizations. Conservatives have used both of these "Initiatives" to enrich themselves and to help fund other political efforts of ALEC and the likes of Koch through the Heritage and Reason foundations, etc. In plain terms, this money is being used to promote today's Republican initiatives: repealing healthcare, voter disenfranchisement, privatization of more jails, prisons and state operated facilities. Privatization and prison industry of the past is fueling ALEC and Koch's efforts against the middle class today.

Until this past year many of us had no idea there was even a "war" ongoing against the middle class. We perceived the machinations of the Bush administration and Republicans as simply more of the same political rhetoric between the parties that had been continuing for decades, and chose to ignore it and we did it at our own peril. By our ignorance we allowed this cabal to amass a huge - almost insurmountable - financial war chest, which they used in 2010 to push many Democrats and moderate Republicans from office. With a majority in state governors, state assemblies and ALEC Alumni (Boehner, Cantor, Kasich, Walker and others) holding U.S. and state positions of power and influence they believe they are now in a position of minority strength. They're using that influence to push ALEC's agenda over the top.

If you look at what's been happening on the front lines in Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio - to name just the top three states - and compare what's happening today to what has transpired in privatization and prison industry efforts in the past, we can easily discern the same pattern. ALEC member, the American Bail Coalition has used ALEC lawmaker members in Wisconsin to slip through a budget amendment to make way for a return of commercial bail bonding in that state. Previous legislative efforts to do that failed, so this time Rep. Robin Vos instead squeezed a last-minute provision into the state budget to enable the ABC to regain commercial bonding in Wisconsin. Of Course, Vos also serves as ALEC's Wisconsin State Chair.

A similar budget manipulation in Florida resulted in more than $100 million being slid to ALEC member GEO Group to build an unnecessary private prison facility in that state in 2008-09. This was accomplished by then ALEC member (and Alumni) Marcos Rubio and FL. House Speaker, Ray Sansom who has already resigned due to corruption and faces indictment for:

Perhaps the most notable individual charged to date is former Rep. Ray Sansom (R-Destin), who while serving as Rubio's budget chief inserted language into the Florida's 2008-2009 budget for what was to become Blackwater CF.

The FBI just issued subpoenas and is fully investigating that entire incident, looking particularly at the campaign contributions and lobbyist payments by Geo Group and to Rubio and Sansom. The fact that Florida has been forced to close up to five state run prisons to accommodate Geo's thirst for more prisoners in their beds, has been ignored by Governor Scott - another corporate hawk looking to fatten his own pocket. In fact Scott just supported legislation to privatize 18 counties in South Florida (home to Geo Group's headquarters) that will put another 15,000 state inmates in Geo's control at the taxpayer expense - a move even some Republicans oppose.

This, I think, clearly demonstrates the vast money being funneled into the pockets of legislators by corporations determined to have their way regarding access to taxpayer money. Today the President is faced with the challenge of repulsing the Republican's demands for no tax increases (actually rescinding the tax breaks given by Bush) while they go after Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and other safety nets important to the middle class. President Obama must be made to see that he has to draw the line on cutting important programs for the middle class and stand firm on repealing the tax breaks that he extended just last year. We have to begin to slow the until now uncontrolled flow of money into the corporate coffers and from there into the campaigns and special interest projects of ALEC's alumni serving as U.S. lawmakers or Conservatives. Repealing these corporate tax breaks to corporations and the wealthy will begin to diminish that flow. Repealing the PIECP laws - or even just enforcing the mandatory laws of the program - will turn that tap another full turn and lessen access to the $2.5 billion prison industry by private companies and ALEC's corporate members. Doing both would severely limit the funding of the Conservative efforts in their unstated open war against the middle class.

Make no doubt, we are in fact under attack from all angles by these efforts. The media owned primarily by conglomerates and corporate masters such as Fox, Bloomberg and Gannett won't report on this war or the battles being fought on all these fronts. Instead they fill their shows, papers and radio reports with inane topics and when something surfaces that points to this war, they downplay the incident, and convince their readers, watchers and listeners that the story is simply more left wing rhetoric that should be ignored...

...and it has been ignored and for far too long. The future of our country and society hangs in the balance today. If we continue to wring our hands and do nothing that future is bleak indeed. Instead we should be taking part in the many demonstrations and protests taking place across the country. Since the exploitation began months ago in Wisconsin and spread like a Republican fueled wildfire across the Midwest, thousands have been speaking out, protesting, demonstrating and fighting for worker's rights, defending voter rights, fighting to stop defunding or our education and similar issues.

Collectively we must come together and for once present a united front against these attacks and the war itself. Join us in Protesting ALEC in August in New Orleans. If you can't come, donate to the effort. You can join or donate here: http://protestalec.org/. You can also join the Brave New Foundation in their efforts of exposing the Koch influence, opposing prison privatization and incarcerating immigrants for profits by Geo and CCA.

Please take a few seconds and sign my petition that will be sent to your state legislative members and Governor, asking that ALEC legislation be identified and their state members exposed.

I'll be in New Orleans in August and hope to see some of you there joining arms with us in this ongoing war against the middle class. If our President continues to capitulate to the demands of the minority over the needs and demands of the middle class, we must stand up and speak out for ourselves and our neighbors...just sayin'...

Slave Labor - Koch Links to Greenberg Traurig, Palin and the theft of our jobs!

With the tanking economy of late, many municipal, county and state authorities are looking for ways to reduce their budgets. At the top of the list of ways to save money is the replacement of civil service workers and contractors that traditionally maintain public buildings, facilities and grounds. While corporations try and hide their use of prison labor from their customers and consumers in general, politicians are trumpeting their reliance upon cheap slave labor provided by prisoners to reduce taxpayer funded jobs.

Today we have a situation where the new "slavery" is in fact the "old slavery" under a new name and with a diverse ethnic makeup. Before and during our civil war, slavery was the major cause of the secession of the Confederate states from the Union. Southern states wanted to continue to use humans as chattel and slave to work their fields, small industries and for other cheap labor. It is funded and supported by many within the Tea ("Traitors Enslaving Americans" thanks to the wife for this definition) Party and their funders.

Our nation fought a war over this concept that resulted in the loss of millions of American lives. Sadly slavery is still alive and well in the U.S. but it has had it's name changed since that dark time. Now it's called "prison labor" and has its roots in using prisoners to provide cheap - and in many instances, free - labor in many public sector areas. The use of this new form of slave labor is so profitable that in 1979 the U.S. Congress was swayed to enact legislation to allow private companies to use inmates in the manufacture of products or to provide their services. This is the Prison Industries Enhancement Certification Program (PIECP) and simply stated it exists to allow for the "training" of prisoners while incarcerated to make them more employable upon release back to their communities.

While this is a genuinely necessary and needed tool in reducing recidivism, as with most other programs or laws that have attracted the attention of corporate entrepreneurs and CEO's, those interested about this program began finding ways to participate and get free or cheap prison labor. They weren't satisfied with the mandatory requirements of the legislation, so they formed the National Correctional Industries Association (NCIA, sort of their "union") to represent the themselves, participating corporations, prison industries and the vendors and suppliers involved in the PIE program. Then they managed to get the NCIA "chosen" as the enforcement and compliance arm of the program. Part of the compliance aspect is the "policy advisory" position, whereby the NCIA suggests amendments to or new policy initiatives to the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and the DOJ who actually have responsibility for the program.

Using their policy advisor position, participants have been able to overcome many of the mandatory sections of 18 USC 1761(c); reducing prevailing wages to minimum wage rates, prohibition of using training programs and setting "entry level" wages at below prevailing wages, worker's compensation and the requirement that packaging have clear markings identifying the shipper, consignee and the prison industry where the products were manufactured. In addition the corporations saw no reason why allowed deductions taken for room and board should be given to the states to offset the costs of incarceration paid for by taxpayers. They lobbied for and received state laws or regulations that allowed all that money to be retained by the prison industry that deducted the money from inmate wages, to use those funds to offset the costs of running the PIE program operations.

Today PIECP and prison labor bears no real resemblance to the program as it was enacted and the legislative intent behind the law. It has been so manipulated that any company wishing to make use of free or cheap prison labor can do so with little effort or public notoriety. I wrote last week about a situation in Montana whereby this program is being used to provide a financial advantage of one company over another by the use of prisoners paid between $2.00 and $7.00 per day. I now have a copy of the legislation proposed by Montana Congressman Ed Greef to address this situation there in Montana. Of course the Bill died after being tabled in the Judiciary Committee. Rep Greef (R) has probably drawn the ire from fellow Republicans by his presentation of this legislation that brought attention to the contract he wanted stopped and PIECP.

Also today we are faced with the situation in Wisconsin about right to work and union busting legislation offered up by the Republican majority and Governor Walker (a puppet with one or both of the Koch brother's hands up his ass). Wisconsin also enjoys a place within the PIECP program, having been certified in 1993 and currently certified as participating in the program. Many are not aware that the Junior Senator from Wisconsin, Ron Johnson (a Tea Party supported candidate) who beat Russ Feingold in the last election, himself uses prisoners in his privately owned and run businesses; Pacur Inc. and Dynamic Drinkware LLC, two companies run by Johnson. These companies employ up to nine inmates at a time through a state Corrections Department jobs program.

John McCain benefited from the use of prisoner labor during his campaign appearances in Alabama during the 2008 Presidential campaign.

Maybe now it is becoming clearer that many states and their politicians are actively pursuing replacing civilian workers with prison labor. Let's take a quick look at the evidence of this:

1) Georgia - Atlanta, Gwinnet and Clayton Counties.

"Clayton prison already sends about 180 prisoners per day out on work details, saving the county roughly $2.8 million a year – after housing and other costs are factored in – that it would otherwise spend on county payroll.

“It helps offset the costs of county government,” the warden said.

About a dozen inmates work for the Clayton County Water Authority, doing everything from grounds maintenance to equipment repair and maintenance, general manager Michael Thomas said.

The authority isn’t a county department, so it pays the county prison $30 a day for each inmate. Thomas said there are additional costs to supervise the inmates (none have escaped in the last five years said Smith), but it’s still worth it.

Each inmate costs half as much as a regular employee when such things as medical benefits are considered, Thomas estimated.

“Obviously, they’re a lot cheaper than hiring somebody,” Thomas said. “We’re always trying to squeeze a nickel. So it helps.”

2) New Jersey

"The Division of Corrections utilizes inmate labor in various work details to defray their cost of incarceration. Inmates are utilized in the jail laundry, kitchen and internal maintenance jobs. Inmates who are not security risks are also utilized on outside details such as mowing lawns, painting and other outside details as necessary.

"On May 13, 2008 the Division of Corrections instituted the Labor Assistance Program as an alternative sentencing option for qualified individuals. This program was designed to divert low risk offenders sentenced for motor vehicle violations, disorderly person’s offenses and non-violent crimes from the jail. All participants must undergo and pass a background clearance to be accepted into the program.

"Offenders sentenced to the Labor Assistance Program pay an application fee that defrays the cost of processing and a background check. In addition, participants are required to pay a per diem fee for each day of sentence.

"The Labor Assistance Program operates on Saturdays and Sundays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The program participants are required to report to the jail property at 7:45 am to prepare for the day's work and are returned by 3:30 pm to clean and put away any equipment used. All work details are supervised by an officer who directs the inmate work and insures compliance with all rules and regulations.

"Request for Labor Assistance are accepted for County Departments, Courts, Schools, Municipalities and their respective agencies as well as non-profit organizations within Hunterdon County.

"An online calendar has been set up from which you may view the types of work currently being done by the inmate work programs and request a work detail. All requests for work details must be scheduled through the online calendar using the “REQUEST WORK DETAIL” button located beneath Division’s Logo. You may access the calendar at the following web address:

http://www.calendarwiz.com/laborassistance

3) Kansas -

"The Kansas Department of Corrections is considering putting inmates to work constructing low-income housing.

"He added that the type of housing inmates would build is not the kind being built by construction companies in Kansas right now. Instead, inmates would work on manufacturing homes inside the prison gates that would be sent out after completion.

“What has been under discussion previously has been building small, single family housing units,” Miskell said. “I’m not aware of anyone in Kansas in the private sector who is building these houses.”

"But Martha Smith, with the Kansas Manufactured Housing Association said they favor employing prisoners in work release programs while they serve their terms. A work release program would employ inmates within private industry instead of producing homes within prison walls.

“At this point in time with jobs so scare, there really isn’t a need for that kind of a program,” Smith said. “The work release program is a better program for everyone because it doesn’t take jobs away, it still provides training and if it works out, the prisoners have a job after they’re released,” Smith said.

"Last year, through a partnership with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, inmates constructed small cabins that were placed at Scott Lake and Prairie Dog State Park. The program is looking to expand this year and build five cabins.

“It’s a solid structure with bedrooms, kitchen and dining room but it’s a relatively small structure and they have been transported for placement at one or more of the state parks,” Miskell said.

The benefit of using inmate labor is two-fold, he said.

“It is helping teach extremely marketable skills for when they are released and it is designed to fill a niche for housing that doesn’t currently exist in communities that need this kind of housing,” Miskell said."

4) Maryland -

"Something like this is bound to make Lou Dobbs' head explode: A shortage of foreign crab-pickers in Maryland is forcing the seafood industry there to consider using state prisoners to do the hard, nasty, low-paying work.

"At issue is finding workers willing to spend their days picking the meat from pile after pile of steamed crabs so the product can be packaged for sale in little plastic tubs," writes the Baltimore Sun's Stephanie Desmon."

5) Nevada -

"CARSON CITY -- The Division of Forestry could save hundreds of thousands of dollars on approved and pending construction projects if it used more prison inmate labor, an audit released Tuesday said.

The Division of Internal Audits said a conservative estimate puts the savings at $620,000 if selected portions of the work on several proposed projects, from nursery renovations to dispatch center repairs, was done by inmates at state conservation camps."

6) New York -

"Two busloads of prisoners from Rikers Island — wearing matching red- and white-striped jumpsuits — have been setting up and breaking for Borough President Markowitz’s controversial concerts in Coney Island’s Asser Levy Park.

The inmates aren’t a threat to public safety, according to the city — but they are a heck of a bargain for Markowitz.

“It saves me money, that’s the motivation for having them!” said Debra Garcia, who is in charge of the Beep’s concerts. “It saves about a few thousand dollars a week.”

"Under the “Cool Hand Luke”-style program, the inmates set up 2,000 seats at the front of the park’s bandshell near Surf Avenue and West Fifth Street hours before the show. The next morning, the inmates are returned to the spot to collect the chairs.

"The work detail for prisoners — which also takes place at Wingate Field in Crown Heights as part of Markowitz’s Martin Luther King Jr. concert series — appears to be the only one of its kind in Brooklyn.

"A Department of Correction official said that there are only two other chain gang-style work crews in the city — both near Rikers Island.

7) WA. State

The foregoing represents only a small number of articles on this issue and the loss of thousands of public sector jobs to inmate workers. It's been happening all over American for several years now, but has become a plague of late. This is simply part and parcel of those with an agenda of cutting employment in the private sector markets by replacing workers with prisoners to save money and drive down wages and eliminate Unions and that terrible term "collective bargaining."

During the 2010 elections we all heard about Meg Whitman's use of illegal aliens at her residence. Of course, she later claimed no knowledge of the illegal status of her "maid" or housekeeper. Time and again Conservatives like Whitman and Ron Johnson in Wisconsin have been caught exploiting prison labor...then there's Texas state lawmakers. This article is from the Dallas Morning News. The link is no longer accessible from their archives (wonder why) but I have it and a link to where part of it is found. Here is an excerpt from it:

"Perk of public office: discount furniture
Critics fault officials' exclusive deal with prisons"

10:10 PM CST on Tuesday, February 7, 2006By DAVE MICHAELS / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN – When Sen. Eddie Lucio built his South Texas dream home in 2003, he chose an unusual place to shop for furniture: Texas prisons.

For the dining room, inmates fashioned a table with the state seal on it, 10 chairs and six bar stools. For a private chapel, they constructed four kneelers, 12 chairs, a holy water font and two altar chairs. Total cost: $6,319.

"I liked the idea of getting things done handcrafted and by prisoners," said Mr. Lucio, a Democrat. "That is unique. It is a subject of conversation when people come visit me. I say, 'I ordered it from our own prisoners here.' "

"Mr. Lucio is one of dozens of lawmakers to buy items over the last three years from Texas Correctional Industries, a division of the state prison system that manufactures, among other things, furniture, signs and clothing. It gives inmates a chance to develop a trade or skill and saves state agencies money because, with no labor costs, items sell for far less than those from private businesses.

"And for lawmakers, buying the discounted goods is a perk of office.
Mr. Lucio is one of dozens of lawmakers to buy items over the last three years from Texas Correctional Industries, a division of the state prison system that manufactures, among other things, furniture, signs and clothing. It gives inmates a chance to develop a trade or skill and saves state agencies money because, with no labor costs, items sell for far less than those from private businesses.

"Allowing lawmakers to take advantage of not having to pay what they would pay at a retail store, and using it strictly for personal use, does not look good," Ms. Woodford said.

"Rep. Tony Goolsby, a Dallas Republican who is close to Mr. Lucio, said there's nothing wrong with personal purchases. Mr. Goolsby has an $1,100 replica of a historic desk from the Texas Capitol in his apartment in Austin.

"We're all born the same way, but we're not equal," he said. "Everybody gets perks."

"Many of his colleagues used campaign funds to buy items such as barbecue grills and bedroom furniture at prices far below retail.

"Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, had a bed frame, a dresser and a nightstand refinished in November for $219. Mr. Williams did not return phone calls seeking comment.

"Nate Crain, whose wife leads the criminal justice department's board, placed three orders together worth about $1,000 from Texas Correctional Industries in 2004 and 2005. Mr. Crain, a former Dallas County Republican Party chairman who is exploring a run for the chairmanship of the statewide party, reported in campaign records that he bought items as gifts for his volunteers and a Republican women's group.

"Board Chairman Christina Melton Crain said it was acceptable for her to order the items for her husband.

"I am allowed to order them and, as my spouse, he is allowed to pay for them," Ms. Crain said."

It isn't just the private sector that is experiencing these job losses, the Federal Prison Industries had to close several prison factories last year and lay off civilian supervisors and thousands of inmates. I have no sympathy for them because they brought about the collapse by undermining our wages and taking our jobs at every turn since 1995. However the FPI have a very influential "lawmaker" on their side and since the closings they have managed to re-open some of the closed plants and put many of the inmates back to work. This is because of the efforts of getting all federal purchasing agents to rededicate their efforts of purchasing every possible product from FPI under a "request" from U.S. Attorney General Holder.

Now some have called me crazy for implying that slave labor can be taking place under the Administration of our first African-American President. I have to say I wish that were the case but several factors just keep that from being factual. First the above memo from AG Holder in October of last year. Secondly there is the connections between the Koch Industries and Secretary Sebilius going back to Kansas when she served as Governor and the Kochsuckers loaned her an analyst to help her cut government spending - and just last year when she approved their application for a large chunk of Early Retiree Reinsurance Program after fighting President Obama's healthcare initiative before and after that approval. When we factor in that this attack on wages and unionization is being conducted by those capitalizing off of using inmate labor for profits while wanting to reduce our wages and Union busting and the President's refusal to become involved in the discussion, the situation becomes darker with implication. The fact that many of us have written to the President requesting a review of PIECP and how it is being used to take civilian jobs - without an acknowledgement or response from him or his administration, one has to question why he is refusing to join in the battle as he said he would do when campaigning? Now he has picked a Daley for his staff after making many statements that he would not have lobbyists in "his" administration. Now after more than two years of office, D.C. and the Obama Administration is top heavy with lobbyists and those who clearly support and lobby for corporations and laws such as the ones being attempted in Indiana, Wisconsin, Ohio, Florida and elsewhere.

Sebilius made known the involvement of Koch Industries and Wal-Mart in donating to bringing some Kansas troops home for the holidays in 2007 and since then we see more and more indications that both Kochsuckers and Wal-Mart are involved in Conservative politics and their agenda. In Florida new Governor Scott chose a Wal-Mart executive, Bryan W. Koon as part of his staff (Emergency Management Chief). In addition Scott also chose a member of a high profile law firm as his Special Counsel to the Governor. Hayden Dempsey from the firm of Greenberg Traurig (Jack Abramoff's old lobbying firm) was chosen for this important position. Greenberg represents PRIDE Enterprises (the non-profit corporation that runs Florida's prison industries), lobbies for PRIDE and also lobbies on behalf of Koch Industries. How about this connection between John McCain, Koch Industries and Greenberg Traurig? It goes on and on with the Kochsuckers and their ilk such as Greenberg Traurig and Wal-Mart all interrelated and interconnected on a conservative agenda, with all of their names appearing linked to today's legislation, our lawmakers and of late...Wisconsin and the Union busting and RTW laws. Here's a Google Search that returned Koch Industries and Greenberg Traurig results (4,980 results).

Just what kind of law firm is Greenberg Traurig? Check out these links: Wikipedia (see controversies), Chicago Lawyer (GT) arrested for stealing $1 million. Then there's this about a Greenberg Partner under SEC investigation, just published last month.

How about connections to the Tea Party's favorite, Sarah Palin? Here's one link that says her career has been helped by a Greenberg Traurig partner and this one shows the involvement of GT in oil and gas issues on Alaska's north slope supported by Palin. This one reports the Koch brothers hiring Palin to help with PR after the Wisconsin demonstrations began. Here she spoke at an Americans for Prosperity event in April 2010, sponsored and funded by Kochsuckers.
______________

As can be seen from the foregoing, many states and municipalities are now replacing civilian workers with inmates. There are dozens of articles out there exposing this new concept and those implementing programs such as outlined above. A dozen here, a couple of dozen there...fifty or so here, a few private contracts there, they all add up to more and more jobs going away from the private sector and into prison. At the core of most of this are those I mentioned or linked to above. Some like GT and the Kochsuckers are the biggest names in their particular field or arena and have combined their efforts to reduce wages, expand use of prison labor and bust unions, as shown.

While corporations and companies exploiting prison labor make every effort to hide the fact that their labor or work force is made up of inmates from the public, those municipal, county and state agencies replacing civilian workers with inmates are quick to advertise this fact. They want the public to see them as being frugal with tax dollars and wisely spending only those dollars they have to on wages.

This ties in grandly with the ongoing demonstrations from coast to coast as conservatives push for more and more cuts to budgets, right to work legislation and an end to collective bargaining and unions. As my previous diaries - and those of other DK bloggers reveal - the Koch brothers (Kochsuckers) are funding most of these conservative wage and labor efforts through their foundations, along with other sympathetic PAC's and groups such as ALEC.

Conservative lawmakers belonging to ALEC and in the pockets of the Kochsuckers or others just like them, eagerly propose and support state legislation that benefits both their corporation and conservative agendas. Once these laws are put in place, they all profit from it - lawmaker and corporation alike - either through actual use of prison labor, lowered wages or from the dollars put in their pockets by lobbyists.

When all of this is put together we can see that slavery never vanished from the landscape of the U.S. The 13th Amendment left a loophole large enough to fly an Airbus 300 through it with plenty of clearance for each wingtip. It has simply been re-branded. Now it is no longer called slavery - its called "training." It still impacts upon African-Americans and other minorities especially. This training still allows the exploitation of other humans for the profit of individuals, companies, corporations and lawmakers nationwide. Our elections now have candidates taking advantage of "free" slave labor as John McCain did in Alabama in the '08 election cycle and New York's borough President Markowitz has more recently.

It is - as I've said numerous times - class warfare that is occurring and the "Haves" now have access to all the free or cheap slave labor they can use to increase the already substantial gap between the middle and upper classes in the U.S. Unless you're connected with the likes of the Kochsuckers you have no access to that free labor and the jobs some of us still have are in jeopardy of following those that have already disappeared inside prisons or overseas. Unless we as a working class society allow the Republicants and Kochsuckers to depress our wages and turn back the labor clock by 100 years, they're saying they'll take their ball and leave the game.

Those of you who have civil service jobs are in the most danger of being replaced with prisoners or being forced to accept substantial pay cuts. You and your jobs are the ones on the cusp of the abyss. You have to continue to fight for yourselves and the others in your community, while not as vulnerable as you, are still in jeopardy.

Those aligned against us have all the money and influence on their side. We have our dignity, desire to work for a living and fair wage, the ability to collectively bargain and to cast our votes as we see fit. I believe the latter is what is needed to replace the lawmakers who serve as paid servants of the likes of Koch, GT and other large corporations to steal our jobs, way of life and fair wages. Democrats this is your sign to come together and form a united front against the exploitation - of politics and prison labor - to steal America's legacy and meaning from us. Time's a wasting folks. The GOP funded agenda is in high gear and already planning "big things" for the rest of us after the 2012 election cycle. We outnumber them in registered voters and American principals. It's time for the first to fight for the latter or all of us will have to polish up our Chinese so we will be able to communicate with the Kochroaches...

Slave Labor - A Calm Revolt in Georgia Brings This Issue to the National Spotlight

From my Dkos Diary post on 1/19/11

Last month a few inmates in several Georgia prisons stood up against being used as slaves by the state and private corporations involved in prison industry. Mainstream media mostly ignored the "strike" by prison inmates - as they so often do, being owned and run by large corporate interests that may or may not be involved in prison labor themselves.

Corporate interests saw this quiet protest as a challenge to the established order of prison for profits that have ruled for the past two or more decades now. If this protest was allowed to continue there was a possibility it would spread to other Georgia prisons - as well as a real likelihood that prisoners in other states working under the same conditions might see this as an opportunity to join in the protest.

This action in Georgia by inmates of all classes, race and ethnicity demonstrated two important points. First that inmates overcame the race separation that prison staffers have long encouraged and fostered, and; a willingness of prison and non-prison state authorities to use violence to enforce the slave-like conditions under which inmates are forced to live and work to produce profits for corporate interests.

The strike began on December 9, 2010. In the days leading up to the planned target date, quiet discussions via cell phones were made among those involved. Their main concern was that the demonstration be multi-racial and involve whites, blacks and Latinos and that the demonstration remain peaceful and non-violent.

What was the purpose of this "strike" by inmates in Georgia? They were calling for decent wages, better social services and respect for their civil liberties. The prisoners also were protesting the quality of the food and the lack of fruits and vegetables, the quality of medical care, the availability of education and job training programs, parole decisions and overall conditions including having to pay for medical treatment and care while not being paid for their work. Many of the things the rest of us take for granted but are being denied to 2.3 million of us incarcerated - mostly for drug and drug related crimes.

It was a demonstration planned for a single day but continued for six anxious and tense days until called off by the inmates themselves as more and more oppressive tactics were applied by their captors. Hot water was turned off, all phones in the cell block were switched off and prison guards began searches - apparently looking for the cell phones being used to coordinate the strike - and taking "contraband" they found in the prisoner's cells.

The strike ended on December 15th but during those tense 6 days the inmates - many who were not involved in planning or setting up the strike - paid a heavy price for being an inmate in the Georgia prison system:

"Though the protest has reportedly remained non-violent, guards have allegedly used violent measures to force the men back to work. Prisoners report that at the Augusta State Prison, several inmates were ripped from their cells by CERT Team guards and beaten, resulting in broken ribs.

‘At Telfair, the Tactical Squad roughed up prisoners and destroyed all their property. At Macon and Hays State Prisons, Tactical Squads have menaced the men for days, removing some to the “hole,” and the wardens turned off heat and hot water.'

Other reports came in naming some of the participating inmates and describing what had happened to them because of their "peaceful participation" in the strike:

"Like thousands of inmates scattered in prisons across the state of Georgia, Terrance Bryant Dean participated in an eight-day peaceful protest to highlight inhumane conditions in the prisons.

"Days later he was brutally beaten by guards at Macon State Prison, his family and a coalition of supporters charge.

"When his mother, Willie Maude Dean, and members of the Concerned Coalition to Respect Prisoners’ Rights attempted to visit him at the Atlanta Medical Center on Dec. 31, the hospital claimed her son was no longer there and the corrections department claimed he was moved to Jackson State Prison the night before, according to an alert The Final Call received from coalition co-chair Elaine Brown.

"Ms. Brown said the coalition found out about the beating during its second fact-finding visit to Smith State Prison on Dec. 30. Its first prison visit was to Macon on Dec. 20.The coalition asserts the beating was in retaliation for the protest, which began in early December.

"In addition, Ms. Dean said the Georgia Department of Corrections has given no information about her son’s condition or his whereabouts.

"The mother told coalition leaders after their latest visit that Macon State Warden Gregory McLaughlin told her that Terrance was in an isolation cell, but the mother believes he was already in the hospital.

"The family of a second inmate, Miguel Jackson, alleges he was severely beaten by upwards of 20 guards Dec. 31 during what is called a “shakedown” at Smith State Prison near Glennville, Ga. in which corrections officers search prisoners’ cells. Upon finding nothing, said Mrs. Delma Jackson, Miguel’s wife, the officers accused Mr. Jackson of having “something.” Mr. Jackson was pepper sprayed, handcuffed and beaten repeatedly with hammers resulting in a fractured nose and 50 stitches to his face, said Mrs. Jackson. Guards also attempted to throw him over the railing from the second floor, she said.

"And because the family has not been allowed to see him, his wife said they worry whether or not he may have a concussion or internal injuries. Upon seeing pictures of her husband, Mrs. Jackson said she and other family members drove New Year’s Day three and a half hours from Atlanta to check on his status.

"Their visit was denied by corrections personnel, she said. This was after the family waited 90 minutes to be given a sheet to fill out, requesting a visit. “We didn’t even want to sit there and visit, we just wanted to see that he was okay and they denied us that right,” Mrs. Jackson told The Final Call.

"When she asked prison officials why visitation was denied, all officials said was that there was an “incident” and the only one authorized to approve a visit would be the warden, who was not there, Mrs. Jackson continued. Mrs. Jackson said her husband’s fractured nose as of Jan. 3 still had not been reset and she worried the violent encounter will affect him psychologically.

"Coalition spokespersons said that beating occurred around the same time it was negotiating access to certain prisons to investigate conditions. And even as the delegation visited Macon State, the corrections department was apparently covering up the inmate’s reported retaliatory beating by several CERT (Correctional Emergency Response Team) members.

"Witnesses reported to the coalition that CERT officers restrained Terrance Dean after an alleged dispute with a guard, dragged him from his cell in handcuffs and leg irons, removed him to the prison gym and beat him unconscious.

"The beating remained unreported by corrections officials even though the coalition specifically raised questions about reports of retaliatory beatings, said the group. Questions were also asked about the status and whereabouts of 37 – or more – men the corrections department identified as strike “conspirators,” the coalition said."

The response by Georgia Corrections officials was the standard action taken when riots or other violent events take place. In the instant case, there was no violence by the inmates, merely a refusal to work for nothing, receive inadequate medical care (and forced to pay for it), a parole program that actually did what it was supposed to and proper amount and quality of food provided.

By planning this strike and making their intentions known to those on the outside, prison officials learned about the impending activity and they also began planning their response. Prison facilities were placed on lock-down to keep inmates confined to their housing units. Staffing was increased and the prison CERT teams put on standby. This team of officers Corrections Emergency Response Team are trained to handle most situations encountered in the prison environment - except response to non-violent protests. The standard response? Violent and immediate action to maintain control. In this instance it resulted in unnecessary brutality at more than one facility.

I write about this for many reasons; the racial disparity in prison populations, the real lack of adequate medical treatment, parole boards who receive huge salaries without actually granting more than a handful of paroles a year, poor food given to the inmates and for a dozen more reasons.

Chief among those remaining reasons is the basis for the strike in the first place - the slave labor atmosphere created by making those incarcerated labor for free or pennies on the dollar. They labor daily to manufacture products we use daily. Sure, many work to keep the prisons running; maintenance, food service, laundry, cleaning and other daily work that allows prisons to function. But a large segment of those imprisoned who have the skills needed by prison industries, are put to work making money for those industries and many corporations they're partnered with.

As I've written previously, hundreds of corporations are involved in prison industries, prison privatization and peripheral profits garnered from canteen sales, clothing sales to inmates, healthcare contracts to provide "adequate" healthcare to inmates, food service, chemical spray agents, tasers, chairs to immobilize, pharmaceuticals, prisoner transport, data capture...and dozens more.

Because 40% of those incarcerated are African-American, they are the ones who are most adversely affected. Some say they've even been targeted by one of our political parties - Republicans. However the color or race of an inmate, though of important note, is not the issue. Rather it is the way in which all inmates are treated through imprisonment and from the attitude and actions of those who "guard" them:

"This mass incarceration comes out of racial politics stirred up by the Republican Party, attorney Alexander argued. Essentially, she said, the GOP exploited the fears and anxieties of poor working class Whites by launching a movement promising to “get tough” on “those people” and built a campaign around crime and welfare to mobilize poor and working class White voters to defect from the Democratic Party and join the Republican Party in droves.

“But now that the war on drugs and mass incarceration has gained such steam, there’s a whole range of interests that has found that they can profit from caging human beings. And it’s not just the private prison companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange, but it’s a whole range of corporate interests,” she said.

“You know, taser gun manufacturers, phone companies that gouge prisoners and their families, the private health care providers that provide typically abysmal health care to prisoners, and prison guard unions,” all of whom now lobby for harsh criminal justice policies to try to ensure their profits and jobs will continue for a foreseeable future, attorney Alexander said."

The Prison Industrial Complex (PIC)is a huge conglomerate comprised of industries, private prisons, food service, healthcare, commissary and other services related to and profiting off of prisons and the inmates they house. It has grown to such size in great part due to the labor they extract from those inmates they profit off of. As I've written previously, there are billions generated in sales of products made by these men and women we've imprisoned. Because of these profits those involved in exploiting prisoners to the fullest extent possible, were threatened by the actions taken in Georgia by the inmates.

This kind of an "uprising" by those working to ensure money is made for the corporate interests can not be allowed to happen! This was a direct threat to the corporate "way of life" they've grown used to. Thus it had to not only be put down, but quelled in such a manner that it set an example to inmates in Georgia and all other states. Profits and stock prices were put in jeopardy by this brief demonstration last month.

Because many corporations involved in prison industries, and peripheral operations are publicly traded, stocks are impacted by the smallest ripple affecting prison operations and privatization. One aspect most of us are not cognizant of is this; prison workers, staff, administrators, industry personnel and even the lowest guard working in prison, all have the benefit of employee stock options. Many buy stocks or receive stocks in CCA, Geo Group, Aramark, GE, Microsoft,and hundreds of other corporate stocks that are involved in profiting off of inmate labor and prison privatization. Guards who reduce food given to inmates, or deny necessary healthcare are not simply being hostile or vicious, he is protecting his stock prices. Sometimes it is not simply a matter of abuse, its a matter of profit that causes abusive behavior.

An inmate represents a number and expected profits for the length of his/her sentence to those profiting from incarceration. It is important to those playing this game to know precisely how long an inmate is expected to remain in prison and represent the potential for profits. This is why the "Truth in Sentencing" (TIS) laws developed by ALEC and proposed by their members to state legislatures was so important to ALEC corporate members such as Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and Geo Group. They wanted to be able to calculate the "life" term of the sentence of those they house for states. Truth in Sentencing made it mandatory that every prisoner serve "at least 85% of the sentence imposed" upon conviction of a crime.

Many also are unaware that in 1994 a federal law was passed that provides federal funding and grants to states that enact and enforce TIS laws. Thus we see the influence of ALEC and their lobbyists upon our federal lawmakers to get this kind of oppressive laws spread throughout the country. Currently 35 of the fifty states took advantage of and participate in TIS laws and receive grant funding.

"Follow the money trail" as I've been told over and over again has led me down many paths - from courts through prisons to the corporate interests involved from beginning to end. One of those paths led me to a site that claims prisoners are assigned product numbers and traded as individual stocks:

"Now that corporations with the help of the federal government had successfully converted prisoners into commodities to be traded globally, prisons saw an almost immediate end to actual punishment as prisoner labor was now sold to profit the corporation. Because the corporations owning and running prisons have only one duty, to make a profit, it is not uncommon for these prisons to be understaffed and for security to be less than desirable to keep costs down. Medical treatment is in short supply.

"Corporations have perpetuated a growth industry which must be profitable. To be profitable requires a continuously new population of prisoners sentenced to lengthy terms. In many cases these terms are drug related, or consist of other non-violent crime. With the extended sentences the prison population of the US has grown from 225,000 in the early 80’s to more than 2.5 million currently.

"Prisoners now answer phones for corporations, make 36% of all appliances sold in the US, license plates, road construction, and various other jobs, all performed for the profits of the corporation. The corporations also collect from the states and federal governments while at the same time profiting from the contracting out of prison labor. The higher the prison population the greater the number of prisoner bonds sold on Wall Street. This is organized crime perpetuated by private corporations who treat the prisoners as commodities.

"C.J.T.S. is a corporation dedicated to the tracking and coding of prisoners and provides the software to do it. Using this system and one called CUSIP:

'a nine digit number (called Ordnance Number) is issued for the Certificate of Stocks going internationally to ANNA (Lynn’s note: see link for ANNA which is in Brussels, Belgium at www.cusip.com ). These Securities are sold through the Commodity and Security Exchange. The bottom line is they are selling stocks in the prison system. The jails are referred to as Warehouses and the prisoners are called Goods.'

'From the moment a person is arrested for any reason, the prisoner cash register starts ringing. This can be for something as simple as a traffic ticket. The law enforcement department making the arrest assigns a pre-defined code to the charges being made. This code has a monetary value and the money starts rolling from this point on all the way through the system. Publicly traded prisoner stocks, took a tumble in 2008, but look as if they will rebound as the Obama Administration along with Senators McCain and Lieberman, and others such as Graham and Shumer devise plans to increase ever greater numbers of US citizens under the false flag of national security.'

Are U.S. Prisoners now being traded as public stocks? Are they being assigned a nomenclature number to identify them and to use in trading among stock brokers and investors? I haven't been able to completely research this claim, but from what I've discovered about corporate involvement in prison privatization, I would not dismiss this claim as not worthy of more investigation.

As all of the foregoing demonstrate, prison is big business in America. It has grown and spread as a disease while our attention was focused on other matters. Those involved in the PIC have purposely kept as much of their activities of manipulating our laws under the radar as possible, to avoid our objections and refusal to support such a system of abuse. From Microsoft and McDonald's to CCA and Geo Group,none of the corporate executives and their investors want any of this made public. God forbid...it would forever tarnish their image among the classes.

If inmates ceased to work behind those prison walls, this nation would be brought to a near standstill. Many of you find that hard to believe, I know but you have to understand the depth of the involvement of prisoners in our everyday lives. Millions of products sold on the open markets today are made by tens of thousands of inmates working for hundreds of profitable U.S. and foreign corporations. If inmates simply decided to quit working and stay in their cells...what would happen? Food would have to be brought to them by the corporation providing food service. Canteen sales would cease, production would grind to a halt. Trucking companies hauling the products from prison industries would stop running and commodities we buy for our homes and businesses would increase in price as they became more scarce.

In addition to all that described above...corporations would scramble to locate manufacturing facilities in the civilian markets and hire more civilian workers to replace the inmates they've used for years. Jobs would be created, money made and our economy - the economy of the people would grow exponentially as the corporate profits shrank due to the necessity to pay higher wages, benefits, vacation packages. In the end, our economy and some of the wealth that has handed over to the corporate elite would return to the working and middle classes of America.

How would this be a bad thing to all concerned - except of course those who have profited off slave labor for more than 30 years? For one single voice, I say we should encourage all inmates to cease working in the prison industries for pennies. If they do this it will cease to be profitable and force lawmakers and Courts away from incarceration, in favor of alternative programs, probation etc. The biggest winner would be us, as taxpayers who would gain our jobs and dignity back from those profiteers who have ruled for far too long.