Private prisons shouldn't cost jobs
STATE SEN. ROBERT NICHOLS

STATE SEN. ROBERT NICHOLS

At a hearing of the Private Prison Industries Oversight Committee last week, I called for an end to contracts giving prison industry partners an unfair competitive advantage over private industry businesses.

I support giving prisoners an opportunity for training, but I want to make sure that a job for a prisoner doesn't take away a job for a hardworking Texan trying to put food on the table.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples and I recently sent letters to the Private Prison Industries Oversight Committee asking it to terminate a contract with Direct Trailer & Equipment. Products from Direct Trailer directly competed with goods from an area manufacturer, Lufkin Industries.

It is unfair to force a private employer to directly compete with the dramatically reduced overhead of private prison industries. Even if a prevailing wage is paid, the cost of benefits and facility use is small or nothing compared to private businesses.

State and federal law prohibit private prison labor programs from operating when a labor surplus exists. The Texas Workforce Commission identified a labor surplus five months before the most recent contract with Direct Trailer was signed. Late in 2007, Lufkin Industries closed its trailer manufacturing facility and cited competition from the private prison labor program as one of the factors.

I believe the private prison labor program has positive elements but must be carefully monitored to ensure no private sector jobs are lost. The hearing last week serves as a starting point. The Private Industry Prison Oversight Board referred the matter of Direct Trailer's contract to the federal level for additional guidance. A second hearing is scheduled for March 13.