CHAIN GANG INDUSTRY

They work for 25 cents to 55 cents an hour, show up at the job every
day, and chances are they aren't going to strike. No need to exploit
labor in Third World countries. Right in our backyard, the state's
66,000 prisoners are a workforce without the problems that often
plague private industry. "We are suggesting that companies taking a
look at offshore labor look at us first," said Pat Foote,
communications' director for the non-profit Prison Rehabilitation
Industries and Diversified Enterprises, Inc. (PRIDE),that runs
industries inside state prisons. "We kind of have a Third World inside
our prisons." In 1998, state prison inmates working for PRIDE
generated over $81 million in sales, making it one of Florida's top
200 businesses. From its St. Petersburg headquarters, PRIDE has
managed 51 industries, including the production of modular office
furnishings, cushy executive office chairs, inmate uniforms, citrus
and dairy products, mattresses, decals and shoes.

Of the $81 million earned from inmate labor in 1998, $300,000 was
spent on victim compensation, $2.4 million was spent on inmate support
programs, $1.2 million went to the state to help pay the cost of
caring for inmates and $1.9 million was spent to pay the inmates for
the labor.

Profits from the company are channeled into expansion of the program,
Foote said, which includes training and job placement after leaving
prison. While products produced by PRIDE are available only to
government entities and non-profit companies, products made by
prisoners are also being marketed to the general consumer through
contracts with private industry. Inmates are paid at least minimum
wage for their labor when working for private industry, Foote said.