Food Fight: MIC vs. PIC
The Military Industrial Complex is pissed the Prison Industrial Complex can produce stuff more cheaply than they can:
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2012/10/19/industry-upset-over-prison-defense-contracts.html?comp=1198882887570&rank=9
Industry Upset Over Prison Defense Contracts
Oct 19, 2012
Military.com| by Bryant Jordan
Business owners are crying foul over the number of clothing contracts -- including those for military uniforms -- awarded to Federal Prison Industries, also known as UNICOR.
From UNICORs web site:
http://www.unicor.gov/
Mission Statement
It is the mission of Federal Prison Industries, Inc. (FPI) to employ and provide job skills training to the greatest practicable number of inmates confined within the Federal Bureau of Prisons; contribute to the safety and security of our Nation's federal correctional facilities by keeping inmates constructively occupied; provide market-quality products and services; operate in a self-sustaining manner; and minimize FPI's impact on private business and labor.
About FPI Inmate Programs
FPI is, first and foremost, a correctional program. The whole impetus behind Federal Prison Industries is not about business, but instead, about inmate release preparation.... helping offenders acquire the skills necessary to successfully make that transition from prison to law-abiding, contributing members of society. The production of items and provision of services are merely by-products of those efforts.
FPI Program Benefits...
to society - Rigorous research demonstrates that participation in prison industries and vocational training programs has a positive effect on post-release employment and recidivism for up to 12 years following release. Inmates who worked in prison industries or completed vocational apprenticeship programs were 24 percent less likely to recidivate than non-program participants and 14 percent more likely to be gainfully employed. These programs had an even greater positive impact on minority offenders, who are at the greatest risk of recidivism.
to the courts, crime victims, and inmate families - In FY 2011, inmates who worked in FPI factories contributed almost $1.8 million of their earnings toward meeting their financial obligations, e.g., court-ordered fines, child support, and/or restitution. Many inmates also contributed to the support and welfare of their families by sending home a portion of their earnings.
to thousands of incarcerated men and women in federal prisons - For many inmates, working in Federal Prison Industries represents an opportunity to learn a marketable skill and gain valuable work experience that will substantially enhance their ability to successfully reintegrate into society following release from prison. The program teaches inmates pro-social values including the value of work, responsibility, and the need to respect and work with others. Many inmates gain a sense of dignity and self-worth that they had lost or never before experienced.
to private sector businesses - During FY 2011, FPI purchased more than $640 million in raw materials, supplies, equipment, and services from private sector businesses. More than half of these purchases were from small businesses, including women and minority owned and disadvantaged businesses.
to the Bureau of Prisons - FPI contributes significantly to the safety and security of federal correctional facilities by keeping inmates constructively occupied. Inmates who participate in work programs and vocational training are less likely to engage in institutional misconduct, thereby enhancing the safety of staff and other inmates.
FPI is an integral component of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (Bureau or BOP), and the Director of the Bureau serves as Chief Executive Officer "of FPI." The Assistant Director for the BOP’s Industries, Education and Vocational Training Division serves as Chief Operating Officer and Corporate Secretary for FPI.
A Republicon pushes back against the PIC:
http://huizenga.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=307727
More Jobs Lost After The Government Decides To Have Military Uniforms Made By Convicts
Business Insider - September 7, 2012
By: Michael Kelley
Small businesses are struggling to stay afloat because they have to compete with super cheap prison labor.
Federal Prison Industries (FPI), a corporation owned by the federal government, employs more than 13,000 inmates at wages from 23 cents to $1.15 an hour, making everything from military apparel to call center and help desk support to solar panels and selling the products to the Pentagon and other federal agencies.
FPI, also known as UNICOR, operates inside 83 federal prisons and made more than $900 million in revenue last year.
In March Tennier Industries, which also makes military clothing, fired more than 100 employees after losing out to FPI on a new $45 million contract from the Defense Department.
And another Republicon jumps in with Rep. Huizenga:
http://www2.dothaneagle.com/news/2012/sep/27/roby-supports-bill-limit-use-prison-labor-ar-4640763/
Roby supports bill to limit use of prison labor
By: Lance Griffin | Dothan Eagle
Published: September 27, 2012
The closing of two Alabama apparel plants that lost work to prison labor has prompted Congresswoman Martha Roby to support a bill designed to limit the practice.
Roby, R-Montgomery, said Thursday that she plans to co-sponsor the Federal Prison Industries Competition in Contracting Act, sponsored by Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich.
According to Huizenga, the bill would end a provision in current federal law that gives a federal corporation known as Federal Prison Industries (or UNICOR) first right of refusal for certain government contracts. It would also prohibit the company from utilizing prison labor to sell products commercially.
One apparel plant in Selma has closed and another in Fayette has announced plans to close after losing contracts to FPI, which pays inmates at some federal prisons between 23 cents and $1.15 per hour. The plant in Fayette lost a military uniform contract to FPI. The corporation manufactures several other items.
unhappycamper comment: It looks like we have a conundrum here. 
= new reply since forum marked as read
