> Published Tuesday, July 20, 1999, in the Miami Herald
>
> McCollum pushes bill to expand prison labor
>
> By DAVID ROYSE
>
> Associated Press Writer
>
> TALLAHASSEE -- (AP) -- Mary Watkinson doesn't mind that she's
> only getting paid $1.35 an hour to do computer work for the U.S.
> Patent Office -- it breaks up her daily prison routine.
>
> Watkinson, an inmate at the Federal Correctional
> Institution at Tallahassee, is one of a few federal
> prisoners who is able to work while doing her time.
>
> U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum wants more federal inmates
> to be able to get prison jobs.
>
> He believes the low wages they earn will lure back
> companies that now go overseas for cheap labor.
> He said working cons could help pay some of their
> keep and learn valuable skills.
>
> ``These programs are beneficial for everyone involved,''
> McCollum, R-Altamonte Springs, said during a tour Monday
> of the working-area at the federal women's prison here.
>
> McCollum used the prison as a backdrop for introducing
> federal legislation to allow private companies to use federal
> inmate labor. Right now, their products and services are bought by federal
> agencies. The bill is expected to come up this fall on Capitol Hill.
>
> It was an unusual foray into an area outside McCollum's
> central Florida congressional district. McCollum is seeking
> the Republican nomination for the
> U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring
> U.S. Sen. Connie Mack.
>
> McCollum said allowing private businesses to use
> cheap prison labor instead of cheap foreign labor
> would mean more money for prisoners to help pay
> their room and board, instead of having taxpayers
> foot the bill.
>
> Not everyone favors expansion of the program.
> The AFL-CIO will likely oppose McCollum's bill, said
> Jay Power, the labor group's legislative representative
> in Washington.
>
> Although McCollum said there will be provisions built
> into the bill to protect domestic workers from
> losing their jobs, Power said that has been the result
> of prison labor in the past.
>
> ``The federal prison industries program is out of control
> and any legislation that could expand the
> program is of great concern to the AFL-CIO,'' Power said.
>
> Prison officials say labor is an important tool for keeping
> inmates occupied and out of trouble while
> they are behind bars.
>
> Watkinson, in the fourth year of a 5-year drug sentence,
> said they're right.
>
> ``It has saved my sanity,'' said Watkinson, who has an
> offer from a private company to do similar work
> when she gets out.
>
> It is also a training tool, that cuts down on the
> number of prisoners who return to the system,
> McCollum said.
>
> ``Someday, most of these prisoners will be
> released,'' McCollum said. ``The question is will they
> have the job skills and work ethic to find a job and
> engage in a productive life, or will they return to
> a life of crime?''
>
> McReynolds 2000 Committee
> "Building a Movement for Jobs, Peace and Freedom"
> P.O. Box 91, Floral Park, NY 10012
> http://votesocialist.org/