>
>>My question for you is what do you think of this idea broadly, and
>>specifically, do you have any suggestions for wording of a
>>resolution that would tie together higher ed and prisons. Do you
>>think it's bad to have rivaling unions?
>
>Normally I'd say yes, but the prison guards are pretty awful, and the
>relative pay of guards and teachers reveals a lot about state
>priorities. I think if it's done right, the public would be open to
>the argument. So I say goforit.
>
>Doug
Yes. I wish I knew where I could get better numbers for prison guard pay in different states. I know that guard's in Alabama make about $17,000 per year, and many other states offer just above minimum wage. Everyone deserves a decent wage, but I would envision $30,000/y or so as being fair. One halfway good effect of the guard's union in this state is their suppression of private prisons, - although Christian Parenti was explaining that the private prisons really aren't doing so well and investors have pulled their money out of Wackenhut and so forth and really reduced their stock value. It's hard to make a profit at a private prison because the reason that states would contract with them is so they could pay substantially less money per prisoner. It turns out that they best areas they can cut in order to be more 'efficient' than public prisons is in food and medical care, and then they end up with lawsuits and troubles.
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