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UNICOR | |
Company type | State-owned enterprise |
Industry | Penal labor |
Founded | June 23, 1934 [1] |
Headquarters | , U.S. |
Key people | David D. Spears, Chairman Donald R. Elliott, Vice Chairman [2] |
Revenue | $531,453,000 (2019) |
$61,166,000 [3] (2019) | |
Owner | Federal Bureau of Prisons |
Number of employees | 10,896 (2016) |
Website | www |
Federal Prison Industries, Inc. (FPI), doing business as UNICOR (stylized as unicor) since 1977, is a corporation wholly owned by the United States government. It was created in 1934 as a prison labor program within the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Under US federal law, all physically abled inmates who are not a security risk or have a health exception are required to work, either for UNICOR or at some other prison job. [4] [5] As of 2021, inmates earned between $0.23 to $1.15 per hour. [6]
As a "mandatory source" for federal departments (having priority over all other sources, including JWOD sources from blind or severely disabled persons), FPI receives priority in any purchases of its products. [7]
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A statute in May 1930 provided for the employment of prisoners, [8] the creation of a corporation for the purpose was authorized by a statute in June 1934, [9] and the Federal Prison Industries was created by executive order in December 1934 by Franklin D. Roosevelt. [10]
Under current law, all physically able inmates who are not a security risk or have a health exception are required to work, either for UNICOR or at some other prison job. [4] [5] Inmates earn from US$0.23 per hour up to a maximum of US$1.15 per hour, [6] and all inmates with court-ordered financial obligations must use at least 50% of this UNICOR income to satisfy those debts. [4]
Deductions are then taken for taxes, victim restitution, program costs and court-imposed legal obligations. [4] In fiscal year 2016, FPI's business were organized, managed, and internally reported as six operation segments based upon products and services. These segments are Agribusiness, Clothing and Textiles, Electronics, Office Furniture, Recycling, and Services.
UNICOR currently produces the Interceptor body armor vest, primarily for foreign sales and international customers. [11] [12] [13]
One report [14] detailed an FPI operation at a California prison in which inmates de-manufactured computer cathode-type monitors. Industry standard practice for this mandates a mechanical crushing machine to minimize danger from flying glass, with an isolated air system to avoid releasing lead, barium, and phosphor compounds to the workplace atmosphere. At the FPI facility prisoners de-manufactured CRTs with hammers. FPI initiated corrective action to address this finding, and claims to currently meet or exceed industry standards in its recycling operations. [15]
Combat helmets produced by FPI at one factory were at the center of a US Department of Justice lawsuit and $3 million settlement paid by ArmorSource, the prime contractor. The U.S. Attorney's Offices declined to criminally prosecute or file any civil action against FPI staff. [16] The helmets were produced for ArmorSource between 2008 and 2009 and failed to meet standards. [17] The recall of both helmets cost FPI $19 million. With Defense Contract Management Agency audit staff, FPI identified opportunities to improve its Quality Management System in areas including improved management staff oversight, proper control of quality procedures, training, and implementation of corrective action. FPI implemented new procedures to address these areas. [18]
After the January 6 United States Capitol attack, multiple sources noted because FPI is a "mandatory source" for the federal government, it would receive priority when the federal government purchases products made by FPI such as office furniture to replace what was damaged in the riot. [19] [7] [20]
The prison-industrial complex (PIC) is a term, coined after the "military-industrial complex" of the 1950s, used by scholars and activists to describe the many relationships between institutions of imprisonment and the various businesses that benefit from them.
Capital punishment is a legal punishment under the criminal justice system of the United States federal government. It is the most serious punishment that could be imposed under federal law. The serious crimes that warrant this punishment include treason, espionage, murder, large-scale drug trafficking, or attempted murder of a witness, juror, or court officer in certain cases.
The Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island is a low-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Los Angeles, California. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice.
The Interceptor Multi-Threat Body Armor System (IBA) is a bullet-resistant body armor system that was used by the United States Armed Forces during the 2000s, with some limited usage into the mid-2010s. IBA and its design replaced the older standardized fragmentation protective Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops (PASGT) body armor system that was designed in the late 1970s and introduced in the early 1980s.
The United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth is a medium security U.S. penitentiary in northeast Kansas. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. It also includes a satellite federal prison camp (FPC) for minimum-security male offenders.
Incarceration in the United States is one of the primary means of punishment for crime in the United States. In 2021, over five million people were under supervision by the criminal justice system, with nearly two million people incarcerated in state or federal prisons and local jails. The United States has the largest known prison population in the world. It has 5% of the world’s population while having 20% of the world’s incarcerated persons. China, with four times more inhabitants, has fewer persons in prison. Prison populations grew dramatically beginning in the 1970s, but began a decline around 2009, dropping 25% by year-end 2021.
Joseph Lane Kirkland was an American labor union leader who served as President of the AFL–CIO from 1979 to 1995.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is responsible for all Federal prisons and provide for the care, custody, and control of federal prisoners.
Penal labour is a term for various kinds of forced labour that prisoners are required to perform, typically manual labour. The work may be light or hard, depending on the context. Forms of sentence involving penal labour have included involuntary servitude, penal servitude, and imprisonment with hard labour. The term may refer to several related scenarios: labour as a form of punishment, the prison system used as a means to secure labour, and labour as providing occupation for convicts. These scenarios can be applied to those imprisoned for political, religious, war, or other reasons as well as to criminal convicts.
The Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin is a low-security United States federal prison for female inmates in Dublin, California. The facility also has an adjacent satellite prison camp housing minimum-security female offenders.
The United States Penitentiary, McCreary is a high-security United States federal prison for male inmates in unincorporated McCreary County, Kentucky. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. The facility also has an adjacent minimum-security satellite camp for male offenders.
The United States Penitentiary, Coleman I and II are high-security United States federal prisons for male inmates in Florida. It is part of the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex and is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. USP Coleman I was opened in 2001, and in 2004 Clark Construction completed a 555,000-square-foot (51,600 m2) additional component for USP Coleman II.
The United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute is a high-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Terre Haute, Indiana. It is part of the Federal Correctional Complex, Terre Haute and is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. USP Terre Haute houses a Special Confinement Unit for male federal inmates who have been sentenced to death as well as the federal execution chamber. Most inmates sentenced to death by the U.S. federal government are housed in USP Terre Haute prior to execution. FCC Terre Haute is located in the city of Terre Haute, 70 miles (110 km) west of Indianapolis.
The Federal Correctional Institution, Marianna is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Marianna, Florida. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. The facility also includes an adjacent satellite prison camp for minimum-security female offenders. It lies adjacent to the Marianna Municipal Airport.
The Federal Correctional Institution, Safford is a low-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Arizona. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice.
The Federal Correctional Institution, Beaumont is a United States federal prison for male inmates in unincorporated Jefferson County, Texas. It is part of the Beaumont Federal Correctional Complex and is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. It consists of two facilities:
The Federal Prison Camp, Bryan is a minimum-security United States federal prison for female inmates in Texas. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice.
The Federal Correctional Institution, Forrest City is a United States federal prison for male inmates in Arkansas. It is part of the Forrest City Federal Correctional Complex and is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. FCC Forrest City is located in eastern Arkansas, 85 miles east of Little Rock and 45 miles west of Memphis, Tennessee.
In the United States, penal labor is a multi-billion-dollar industry. Annually, incarcerated workers provide at least $9 billion in services to the prison system and produce more than $2 billion in goods. The industry underwent many transitions throughout the late 19th and early and mid 20th centuries. Legislation such as the Hawes-Cooper Act of 1929 placed limitations on the trade of prison-made goods. Federal establishment of the Federal Prison Industries (FPI) in 1934 revitalized the prison labor system following the Great Depression. Increases in prison labor participation began in 1979 with the formation of the Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program (PIECP). The PIECP is a federal program first authorized under the Justice System Improvement Act of 1979. Approved by Congress in 1990 for indefinite continuation, the program legalizes the transportation of prison-made goods across state lines and allows prison inmates to earn market wages in private sector jobs that can go towards tax deductions, victim compensation, family support, and room and board.
Media related to Federal Prison Industries at Wikimedia Commons