wrote in message
...
On Mon, 12 Apr 2010 23:21:48 -0700, "nom=de=plume"
wrote:

wrote in message
. ..
On Mon, 12 Apr 2010 18:26:47 -0700, "nom=de=plume"
wrote:

What ever happened to being sentenced to "hard labor" and paying the
victim back form that meager salary? ;-)

Oh I forgot, the unions objected.
(actually a fact)



What?? Why would a union have anything to do with a personal injury
suit?
I
love it... "the unions" all of them?

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No the unions are why the state can't use convict labor for much of
anything, including working to pay restitution.
I was in the belly of the beast when I was a state electrical
inspector and I saw a lot of inmate work going on but it was, by law,
all inside the wire and only for DoC.
They couldn't even work for the park system or DoT in any capacity but
the most menial labor (cutting grass, weeding or digging ditches) in
spite of the fact that lots of skilled trades were in jail, mostly for
drugs


Firstly, that's completely untrue. Convicts can volunteer for all sorts of
jobs. Most would relish the opportunity. Secondly, you state "the unions"
as
though they're homogeneous which they are not. Why would you want convicts
working for DoT? I think menial labor is probably about right. Finally, I
don't agree with the drug laws.

Inmates don't "get to volunteer" for anything. They live under very
strict rules and they get told what to do. At least that is how it
works in most places. I can't speak for California.
It certainly is not true in Florida and I got that straight from the
DoC people and the DEP people. Inmates can't do any skilled trades
outside the wire, period. The reason cited was that it would be
competing with regular employees. It isn't even a minimum wage
question because DEP said they would be willing to pay minimum wage.
it was simply the "trade groups" (I apologize for saying union since
we are RTW here) putting pressure on the state to eliminate the
competition for state dollars.
Unfortunately that resulted in park rangers and volunteers doing
electrical work that they were not qualified to do.


Why would you want convicts displacing skilled workers "outside the wire"??
That makes no sense, esp. in this economy.

I think you're jumping to lots of conclusions. Trade groups? All trade
groups? How about regular citizens? Perhaps we should let rapists out to
work on grade schools? Come on.

Inmates are not required to work inside. Yet, they volunteer for it all the
time.

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Nom=de=Plume