WHEREAS:

Inmates are being used to perform various jobs in the public sector. Some states have adopted sentence-to-service programs as alternatives to incarceration. Persons in these programs have been convicted of less serious offenses and often perform services normally delivered by public employees; and

WHEREAS:

Permitting inmates to work as part of a skills-training program to prepare them for employment after their release from prison is sound in theory, but badly conceived programs often provide unfair competition and take jobs from other workers; and

WHEREAS:

Convict labor in the private sector is used to directly compete with organized labor and drive down wages because those employers often do not comply with the Private Sector/Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program, which requires that inmates working in its programs receive not less than those paid for similar work in the locality; and

WHEREAS:

The use of inmate labor in this manner appears to violate the Convention on the Abolition on Forced Labor, which prohibits the use of prison labor for economic development. This Convention was adopted by the International Labor Organization and ratified by the United States, and took effect in 1992.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:

That AFSCME and its affiliates oppose the use of inmate labor to perform work which takes jobs away from law-abiding union members and workers; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:

That AFSCME and its affiliates encourage programs that train inmates for work after their release, provided that such programs comply with prevailing wage requirements of the law, and that there is no adverse impact upon organized labor, and no displacement of employed workers; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED:

That AFSCME calls on the AFL-CIO to explore filing a complaint with the International Labor Organization charging that the United States is in violation of the Convention on the Abolition of Forced Labor.

SUBMITTED BY:

INTERNATIONAL EXECUTIVE BOARD