Re: Prison labor, free labor

Russ Bulluck (lrbulluc@unity.ncsu.edu)
Mon, 15 Mar 1999 10:22:08 -0500

I've been watching this thread with much interest. Many of you have some very
good points. I live (and work/go to school) in North Carolina, where prison
labor is used in many different ways. Here prisoners are only allowed to work
for the state, which comes in handy when I need to harvest tomatoes at one of
the two research stations I did research on. As for how the prisoners are
compensated, the way it was explained to me (by a prisoner) is that there are
several levels, based on security risk. Level five prisoners make ~$0.75 a
day. These are prisoners often seen in "chain gangs," at least 2 guards, with
shotguns, feet shackled, etc. There are gradations to level 1. A prisoner
must work his way up (get promoted if you will) to a level 1. These prisoners
make ~$5.00 per day. They are more like work-release prisoners, and several
of the ones I've worked with, I wouldn't hesitate to hire. They are mainly
hard workers, many of whom can operate heavy equipment expertly.

While I don't believe prisoners should be forced to work (and I don't believe
_any_ of the prisoners in North Carolina are forced to participate), I also
don't think that these people should be able to sit in an air-conditioned cell
and watch TV all day. It costs a large amount of money for each prisoner (I
can't remember the latest figure I heard, but I'm sure it was more than
$30,000 a year) to house, clothe, and feed them. By allowing them to work
(that's right allowing them to _choose_ to work or not to work) we can offset
some of those costs, save money for the state in other ways (i.e. our tax
dollars), and possibly provide a work ethic for someone who didn't have one.

One more factor. Prison laborers are often released early (either by through
early parole, or because pay was not only $5.00 a day, but also a day off the
sentence).

By the way, in 1997, we harvested approximately 2000 lbs of organically-grown
processing tomatoes (made a great sauce). Since they were produced at a
State-owned research station, we couldn't sell them. Several hundred pounds
went to the state prison where several of the inmates were housed.

I realize that this probably only adds fuel to the fire, and hopefully
everyone will read this far before getting generally annoyed at a grad student
with an attitude. I am opposed to prison labor being used by the general
public or corporations. I do believe, however, that prisoners should be
allowed to work for the state, and contribute to their own room and board.
Last year, after a hurricane, level 1 prisoners were sent to farms to set up
tobacco plants. I'm sure they cost less than the National Guard. . .Just my
two cents worth. . .

(okay. . .maybe a buck's worth). . .Russ

--
Russ Bulluck
Ph.D. Student
Department of Plant Pathology
North Carolina State University
PO Box 7616
Raleigh, NC  27695-7616


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The soil population is so complex that it manifestly cannot
be dealt with as a whole with any detail by any one person,
and at the same time it plays so important a part in the soil
economy that it must be studied.
--Sir E. John Russell
The Micro-organisms of the Soil, 1923
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