Source: Des Moines Register (IA) Contact: http://www.dmregister.com/ Pubdate: Fri, 10 Apr 1998 Author: William Petroski WAGES PAID TO INMATES RILE LABOR LEADERS Iowa labor leaders are complaining that some state prisoners are being hired by private industries at higher wage rates than those paid to thousands of lawabiding Iowans. "It is morally wrong if a freeworld worker is making a penny less than an inmate in prison, period," said John Rowen, president of Local 1868 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees in Polk County. In Fort Madison, AFSCME union members plan an informational picket today near the Iowa State Penitentiary to protest inmate employment programs. The starting pay for some privatesector inmate jobs is higher than that for some prison employees, union officials said. Iowa Corrections Director W. L. "Kip" Kautzky said Thursday that wages paid to inmates by private employers range from $5 to $10 an hour, but most jobs are for lower-range pay. The top wages are received by a few inmate welders at Mount Pleasant who have special skills, he said. Federal law prohibits Iowa from allowing inmates to take jobs normally held by socalled "freeworld" workers, Kautzky said. The prisoners are simply filling a need that can't be met in Iowa's tight job market, he said. "Every one of these companies say they are interested in us only as long as the economy limits the labor supply in such a dramatic way," Kautzky said. Rowen and several other Iowa union officials met Thursday with Des Moines Register editors and reporters. They expressed concerns about state officials' plans to make Iowa a national leader in private industry employment of prisoners. About 145 inmates from prisons in Mitchellville, Newton, Rockwell City and Mount Pleasant are now working for private employers. In addition, there are plans to create 275 more jobs at the new prison in Fort Dodge. The work varies from telemarketing chores to making sandwiches to operating factory equipment. Employers do not provide health insurance or worker compensation benefits. Kautzky said the private industry program is beneficial because inmate workers can be charged for part of the cost of their incarceration, easing a taxpayer burden. Money is also deducted from inmate paychecks for taxes, child support, courtordered restitution and victims' compensation, and to set money aside for their eventual release. The March edition of Iowa AFL-CIO News carried an article titled "Prisoners Stealing Your Job?" The story explained how the Iowa Legislature is considering a proposal to spend $2.2 million to construct prison industries buildings in Newton and Mitchellville to provide places for businesses to establish factories. A cartoon accompanying the article shows an unemployed person who commits a crime out of desperation and is sent to prison, where he then gets a job. Mark Smith, president of the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFLCIO, said he is concerned that the state's prison job plans will hold down wages for lawabiding, lowerpaid workers. At the very least, prison officials should go slowly until more is known about how the plans will affect Iowa workers, he said. Reporter William Petroski can be reached at or (515) 2848547.