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SUBJECT: 10/19/2020 article DATE: 10/10/2020 03:23:02 PM The premise of this article is basically working in the prison what there is to offer, and what I do for work in the prison. Enjoy Why in the world do we work so much? We get up day after day for what exactly? Well, we work to develop social skills, life skills, and trade skills. We work to productively pass our time by each day. Oh yeah! We work for money to support ourselves and our loved ones. In prison, inmates are required to be assigned a work detail unless an individual is currently enrolled in GED education, or if the individual has a medical condition that may prevent them from working. Work details include but are not limited to; food service barbershop, facilities and orderlies. These jobs range from one day for a few hours a week to seven days full-time positions. The BOP has a specific work program called Unicor, which is actually where I currently work. Unicor varies in operation and duties from facility to facility. While some make clothing for the armed forced, others document and record pending patents. The Unicor I currently work for is an electronics recycling factory and is run Monday - Friday, forty hours a week. Most Unicors are designed to reflect a modified factory or warehouse environment to help inmates develop work skills for successful re-entry. For the majority of my life, I was raised to have a strong work ethic. I've always held a job, and have always taken pride in my work no matter how humiliating the job may have been. The age range at Unicor varies from 20-80 years old, and it's sad to say most were not raised in this same fashion. In fact, I'd guess 90% of the inmates have never held a job prior to this, and it definitely shows. So what exactly does an electronics factory do? Simply we receive donated or scrapped electronics and break them down to a more raw form. After separating materials from steel, to plastic, to aluminum, etc. the product is then baled and sold in weight by the specific material to different vendors. Inmates are assigned, and highly monitored, tools to complete basic daily tasks. I have been working in the factory for approximately 48 months now, and have completed and performed just about every job in the factory. My current position and job title in the factory is maintenance. I conduct daily, weekly, and monthly preventative maintenance measures, monitor an operate a quarter-million dollar chiller unit, operate a forklift, and conduct basic welding, HVAC, electric, carpentry, and general maintenance duties on a day to day basis. Oh, and I do all of this for $1.15 per hour. Now that doesn't sound like a lot of money, at all, but this is the maximum pay in the factory. Although the pay isn't ideal, the experience and consumption of time make the job worth it. I've developed countless skills to easily obtain employment starting me at a minimum of $20 an hour the day I walk out the door and re-enter society. To be honest, I actually highly enjoy my job, and know the experience is going to be beneficial in the long run. ------------------- Let me know what you think and as always feel free to let me know of anything that may need fixed or altered and feel free to do any editing yourself -Jacob Keiter
