Prison Labor: Job Training or Exploitation?

Prison work can help people prepare for life after release. It can also turn people in prison into a source of cheap labor. Programs in Peru and the pay rates in U.S. federal prisons show both sides.

How prison work is paid in Peru

According to Peru's national prison agency, INPE, more than half of the country's incarcerated women have jobs. Peru's prisons hold nearly 5,000 women, and about 85% are mothers supporting families at home.

Some earn as much as $300 a month, about what an elementary school teacher in Peru earns. They make leather goods, clothing, and textiles for private companies that operate inside the prisons. New prisoners can get training in sewing, weaving, and other skills to prepare for these jobs and for release.

The companies involved

One company at the Cusco women's prison is Carcel, a Danish company. Its goal is to give women in prison jobs and training. Workers make high-end alpaca wool clothing in five-hour shifts, five days a week. Carcel also works in Thailand, the country with the most women in prison in the world, according to the original article. In both countries, it sets pay based on the national minimum wage.

Another company, Pieta, employs both men and women in some of Peru's largest prisons. They make shirts, sweaters, jackets, and sneakers. Pieta pays workers a share of each item's sale price. The company has five outlet stores in Lima, Peru's capital, and was considering expanding to other countries. It also offers jobs after release, or a reference for work elsewhere.

Prison labor in the United States

In the U.S., prison labor adds real value to the economy. The 1990s saw a boom in private companies using prisoners for work like telemarketing and making circuit boards. The Federal Bureau of Prisons runs Federal Prison Industries, known as UNICOR. In fiscal year 2017, UNICOR reported $483.8 million in net sales. Workers make products ranging from military gear to furniture and electronics, and provide services to both government and private buyers. According to the original article, private companies that have used prison labor include Walmart, Victoria's Secret, Boeing, Starbucks and Whole Foods.

Pay is low. According to the BOP, UNICOR workers typically earn 23 cents to $1.15 an hour. Workers in regular prison jobs earn 12 to 40 cents an hour (BOP). Workers for private companies in state prisons may earn more or less, but rarely anything close to minimum wage. Since regular prison jobs pay little or nothing, people in prison have few job options.

Helpful or exploitative?

People in U.S. prisons have gone on strike over forced work for very low pay. China reportedly has people in internment camps making sportswear. Some communities say low prison wages take jobs from local workers. And companies that use prison labor often face backlash on social media.

Peter McAllister, executive director of the Ethical Trading Initiative, put it this way:

On one hand, there are definitely well-intentioned brands with rehabilitation programs in place doing some good work all over the world. On the other hand, there are big questions to be asked around whether inmates should ever form the mainstream production of a profit-driven label, particularly given how many unacceptable cases of prisoner exploitation exist.

Carcel's work in Peru is one test case. After more than two years at the Cusco prison, prison officials called it a success. The prison's director, Virginia Matamoros, said Carcel is a formal company that pays good salaries and pushes others to improve pay and hours. The prison takes 10% of wages. Workers keep part for living costs, and the rest goes to their families' bank accounts. "More than anything," Matamoros said, "it is extremely positive for their self-esteem."

Source: Elizabeth Paton and Andrea Zarate, "Made on the Inside, Worn on the Outside," The New York Times, Feb. 24, 2019, A1 and A6.

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