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Whoa
hahahhaha yep, that’s right, your PT gear is exactly the same..
Well at least they’re doing something constructive while serving federal prison time. Better than out-sourcing to a foreign country. Made in the USA(behind bars). Lmfao
It’s amazing the things that UNICOR makes for the Federal Government. PT uniforms is the least of my worries, what about body armor made my inmates. Or the new stab proof armor being made by inmates who are masters at making weapons. Makes you wonder when cost savings trumps safety and quality…
I agree, but I would rather them be making PTs than be in the blocks where the inmate to staff ratio is 1/100.
The body armor is subpar and the only thing we are allowed to wear on DCT/SORT.
It’s all about the inmates and saving $$$!
You nailed it Jay.
I believe they were the first to introduce soap on a rope.
This is taking jobs away from law abiding Americans.
+1
Willing to bet law-abiding Americans won’t work for as little either, which is the whole point of using prison labor.
Still sucks.
No, Americans won’t work for under a dollar an hour. Might as well be slave labor.
+1
Prisons are big business and fight to keep their populations at max. People are doing time for not paying child support and driving without a license. I think the housing costs could be put to better use, but then again where would they find their labor force…
I would use the argument that their are a ton of frivolous laws, but then we would have to get into the statement a State Attorney once told me, “The Anti gun lobby is winning!” In that pretty soon everyone will have some sort of arrest record and only those with the $$$ to defend themselves properly (in court) will have firearms.
It’s all good until a you get hit or a family member is killed by someone without a license. BTW, unless you have a serious accident or are a repeat offender you aren’t going to jail for driving without a license. Ever wonder why insurance premiums are so high in some areas?
As for child support (who also have to have a pretty long record of not paying to go to jail) ever notice how many criminals don’t have fathers or grew up in poverty. Finally while that child support “criminal” is in jail he’s not knocking up more women…
Factories with fences. When You See It…
http://www.bop.gov/inmates/custody_and_care/unicor.jsp
FPI takes away 1,000’s of jobs from tax paying Americans.
It truly is. I watched it gut a small town in Pennsylvania when they were awarded a very large helmet contract. Not to mention even though their contract price was higher.
what a crying shame… instead of keep good honest hardworking Americans working the feds are suplimenting their own programs… It does not teach skills to prisoners… they should l continue to support US workers and close the loop hole for PR too!
I saw it gut a small plant in Alabama also. DLA gives preferential treatment to the Federal Prison System (aka UNICOR) over all honest, hard working US businesses (i.e. Small, large, Hub Zone, Veteran owned, etc…). Additionally, there labor rates are something like $.35 / hr. Not a fair playing field at all! Talk about a kick in nuts! The very punks who stole your purse, now get to steal your job! Below is directly from the DLA website:
“UNICOR is an indispensable component of the Federal Prison System and maintains first priority for production of supplies to the federal government.”
Insulting!
Nothing like a little slave labor to drive other companies out of business.
I seem to recall reading that it was eventually found that buying ACUs made in prisons cost more than buying them from traditional makers. However, from what I am aware, any sort of job program in prisons does reduce the rate of recidivism among the offenders. So there is something to be said for a program that reduces crime rates, improves prospects for employment and produces something of worth.
Still, I seem to recall my AF PTU had things like “proudly made in the USA” on the packaging, and the FPI sticker. That seemed like a bit of a contradiction.
Actually, recidivism isn’t positively altered by job programs–or any other programs for that matter. Part of the reason the “get tough on crime” mentality has taken such hold in America is precisely because virtually nothing we have attempted has produced a meaningful reduction in recidivism rates.
Disgusting, I’m ordering 2XU compression short combo and getting my branch logo added! DKA, damn you suck!
But why is it brown? Or am I just seeing the shirt color wrong?
It’s an empty package on top of a table.
Prison labor and those who provide it are special interests that enrich the few at the expense of the many. Making sure there is plenty of convict labor helps drive an American incarceration rate as a percentage of population that is the highest in the world.
Rehabilitation and lowered rates of recidivism have nothing to do with it. It is all about the $$$$$$$$ to the folks running the programs, often in to boot, privatized prison corporations.
Think about it as you slip on your coarse poorly sewn product of that system and more importantly how we as a Country got in such a mess systemically as providing our service members such crap from an even crappier process.
Over my 24 years as a federal LEO, we have been issued blue BDUs that had a white screen printing on the back of the shirts that turned pink after one washing. Our last body armor issue was brokered by UNICOR. The orders we put together by crooks. The pouches, all of which were Eagle knock l-offs, were poorly sewn by prisoners. All our current clothing purchases must be “brokered” by UNICOR buyers plus a 10% upcharge like a handling fee. What a fucking racket. We are prohibited by regulation to purchase direct from a vendor for any clothing items.
Doesn’t UNICOR upfit a lot of federal LE vehicles? Something I wouldn’t want to think about during a pursuit.
They do a lot of border patrol vehicles
Man, there is something seriously wrong with this.
Honestly, as a civie I was totally clueless to this type of crap going on. I don’t mean to sound like a smart-ass here but who would put such a plan into motion and say, ‘Ya, this is a good thing!” ??
Gentex Helmets are made in prisons, along with various other things. Just because they don’t label it with the prison industries doesn’t mean it isn’t. A shocking number of “made in America” things are made by prisoners.
I have a hard time believing that Gentex makes their helmets with prison labor. Do you have proof?
Made in America is uneconomical. Anything you see that has been ‘made in America’ and is also affordable has actually been made by people who are not paid a living US wage. Prisoners, Puerto Ricans, Costa Ricans – it’s all offshore or behind bars. Deal with it.
I’m amazed at how many union type mindsets or those that have never been victims of crime commented here. FTR, I don’t support shady stuff (e.g. crappy products, kickbacks, preferential treatment for more expensive products etc.) but there are more plusses to prisoners working than not.
As long as they are making quality products I don’t see the downside of having prisoners doing something besides learning to be better criminals. Not to mention some of the money goes to pay for their incarceration.
Stealing American jobs? Get a new job, retrain yourself or better yet, start your own business. That’s also the American way.
Finally, prisoners aren’t forced to work and prisoners aren’t in jail for no reason. Now look up the definition of “slave” and the role of “choice” in assigning that emotionally charged term.