A Win-Win Relationship.

How a Flooring Manufacturer Raised the Roof In South Carolina Prison Industries

In October 1998, a panel of private industry professionals and prison officials convened in Cincinnati to address the Correctional Industries Association at its International Training Conference. The panel consisted of four South Carolinians: Don Finkell, president of Anderson Hardwood Flooring; Larry Crolley, owner of Craig Industries; Dick Witkowski, warden of Dutchman Correctional Institution; and Bob Ward, warden of Evans Correctional Institution. Each panelist is actively involved in prison industry ventures.

Finkell, an architect, has been with Anderson Hardwood Flooring since 1984. Not long ago, he rejected the idea of using inmate labor. But the right circumstances and a little encouragement changed his mind.

History of a Private Sector Partnership

Anderson's experience with prison industries is probably typical of most private sector operations. Finkell received a letter from Tony Ellis, director of Prison Industries (PI) in South Carolina, describing the state's Prison Industry Enhancement (PIE) program. PIE is a division of PI handling joint business ventures between private and prison industries. Anderson was experiencing a labor shortage since a major automobile manufacturer moved into its area. A new prison was under construction with two 25,000-square-foot industrial facilities. But after evaluating the opportunity, Finkell decided not to go forward with the project.

Approximately four years later, the company labor shortage had become more critical. When South Carolina's Get Smart program, in which inmates speak to young people about the criminal justice system, visited his area, Finkell was there. After the presentation, he spoke to the inmates about the PIE program. He again was encouraged to investigate a joint venture. The drive back to his office took him past two prisons. It was a perfect location to expand his business and resolve his labor problems.

PI made a critical decision to discontinue refinishing metal and wood at Cross Anchor Correctional Institution to accommodate this new joint venture. After several weeks of finalizing the contract, operations began Oct. 1, 1996, the same day another PIE operation began at Ridgeland Correctional Institution.

One of Finkell's concerns was his customers. He did not know how they would react or if they had policies that prohibited purchasing inmate-made goods, even though they are certified by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. Finkell contacted his major customers to discuss his intentions. Some of his customers even visited the prison, talked to the warden, staff and most important, the inmate workers. It turned what could have been a negative into a positive.

Another concern of Finkell's was the feelings of his employees, including his sales staff. Finkell spent the time required to educate his staff about the benefits of inmate labor. Of most importance was that no jobs would be eliminated. In fact, it offered opportunities for advancement. It expanded supervisory, sales, technical and management positions. Work that was viewed as demeaning by the other employees was welcomed by the inmates.

Finkell also had his management group and sales force visit the prison. They, too, were impressed with the commitment of the warden, staff and inmates. Everything was in place for a successful operation. His customers were aware of the program, its risks and its benefits. Finkell's staff and the South Carolina Department of Corrections were equally committed.

Finkell was immediately pleased by the work ethic of the inmates. His staff said the workers valued their jobs as workers in the 1940s and 1950s did. Inmates were quick to learn the skills needed to complete their jobs. They were meeting established standards within days, not weeks as was projected. It had been years since the company had a waiting list of prescreened, qualified applicants. Finkell would walk across the prison yard followed by inmates wanting to know when they could be hired. Inmates working for the company told him how much they appreciated their jobs.

Finkell soon found out the benefits were even more than he had imagined. Inmates are tested for substance abuse randomly and terminated if tested positive, providing a drug-free workplace. Prison staff are tested as well. Prison facilities offer much better security, resulting in tools wearing out rather than being stolen. Overall, inmates are easier to supervise, the work force is more stable and there is less turnover. Absenteeism is nonexistent. Human resource functions are the responsibility of PI management. Special education and/or skills can be recruited through computerized inmate records. There is more flexibility with production scheduling, and the availability of the labor force is plentiful.

The operation at Cross Anchor was so successful that Anderson decided to expand its operation to the adjacent Dutchman Correctional Institution. Anderson plans to build, at its own expense, a new 20,000-square-foot plant at Dutchman with the intent to add another 30,000 square feet to include a finishing line and additional storage space. The new facilities will allow raw materials to enter the prison, be produced into a finished product and be shipped directly to the customer.

Anderson currently has 146 inmates earning gross wages of $925,000 annually. These inmates have paid $139,000 toward victims' compensation and $139,000 toward room and board during the past 12 months.

Another South Carolina Partnership

The other private industry representative on the panel at the Cincinnati conference, Crolley, is a 40-year veteran of the apparel industry. He has manufactured clothing for Izod, Brooks Brothers, Ralph Lauren, Land's End and others. As owner of Craig Industries, he is in the early stages of a joint venture with PIE. His plan is to export printable T-shirts to one of his customers in Japan. Exportation of goods does not fall under the federal guidelines. However, some of his products will cross state lines, which means those items must adhere to federal guidelines. The garment industry has largely moved its cut-and-sew operations offshore, which has adversely affected his operation.

Crolley's main concerns are quality, efficiency and the need to adhere to additional federal and state guidelines. He also faces labor shortages. When contacted by Ellis, he was interested in a joint venture. His Japanese customer wanted his products to carry the "Made in the USA" label due to the market appeal in Japan, so Crolley had incentive to base his operation in the United States.

Typically, major corporate decisions are in the hands of CEOs like Crolley and presidents like Finkell. It is extremely important to work with the final decision-maker to have a successful operation. PI has experienced companies moving their operations to other sections of the country or offshore because of changes in upper management. Its greatest successes have been with already-established, medium-size companies located within South Carolina that are looking to expand operations.

Keys To Success

The success of a prison industries program correlates directly with the support of the warden and his or her staff. The institution's employees must be involved in the planning and implementation of joint ventures. Staff usually are involved in site selection; building design of the building (particularly from a security standpoint); the prescreening and selection of inmates; vocational training; education; and the scheduling of work hours. Cafeteria hours; commissary; canteen; pill lines; counts; haircuts; telephone privileges; and recreation are just some of the other activities that must be scheduled. Often these activities are scheduled only for prison industry inmates, not to give them any special privileges, but to allow the inmates to remain on the job.

In PIE programs, a report is submitted to the warden's office every week. The warden reviews this report and calls the responsible staff member to find out why each inactive inmate is not on the job. It is no wonder that inmates work, on average, 99.5 percent of the workday. Wardens use prison industry programs as a privilege that must be earned by the inmate and as a management tool to improve attitude and discipline among the inmates.

Before inmates can qualify for a PIE program, they must have a high school diploma, general equivalency diploma or be enrolled in school. Additionally, they cannot have a major disciplinary mark against them. If an inmate receives one, he or she is terminated from the program and is not eligible to be rehired.

Another important element in the PIE equation is the industry manager at each of locations. Their main responsibility is to resolve problems at the lowest possible level in the institution. The managers also prescreen to meet the company's requirements for all applicants, establishing a list of potential employees. Vocational training is coordinated to ensure inmates are trained in a timely manner. All personnel functions are the responsibility of the manager, including hiring, termination, employee discipline and payroll. Meetings are scheduled periodically with all parties to discuss the status of the PIE program.

Given the proper training, equipment and supervision, South Carolina has found that inmate workers can compare favorably to their counterparts in the private sector.

Robert L. "Bob" Sanders Jr. is program manager for the South Carolina Department of Corrections.