An Alabama clothing-maker recently found out just how hard, according to the Myrtle Beach Sun-News: American Apparel of Selma had to lay off 225 workers after it lost a contract for U.S. Army jackets to UNICOR, a $900 million behemoth with 89 factories around the U.S. Its workforce consists entirely of convicts.
If you thought prisoners made only license plates, think again.
UNICOR's workers, according to the government-owned corporation's website, make custom draperies and curtains, mattresses and bedding; furniture, lighting systems, catwalks; fences, towels, shelving, eyewear (both safety and prescription), and trophies. They run help desks and call centers. They process credit cards and provide fleet management services. Oh, and they make license plates.
Federal law requires government agencies to buy products from UNICOR without competitive bidding.
The company, also known as Federal Prison Industries (FPI), is enjoying the kind of growth that might make some for-profit companies envious.
Created by Congress in 1932, it historically has been forbidden from selling goods and services to any customers except federal agencies and departments (e.g., UNICOR-made jackets to the Army). But company spokesperson Julie Rozier explains to ABC News that these strictures have lately been relaxed. "In December, we obtained new authorities," she says. "Under very limited circumstances, if an item is being made off-shore, we can compete for that."In some cases, UNICOR now can manufacture and sell items to private customers in competition with private companies. The list of permissible items, Rozier says, includes tents, aprons, fabric shopping bags and baseball caps. Plead read on at:http://abcnews.go.com/Business/prisoners-stealing-us-jobs/story?id=17263420#.UFpMaLLN-zI
