Privatization Watch
Arizona: In a surprising twist to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Gov. Fife Symington (R) is proposing a plan to build a private 1,600-inmate prison in Mexico to house the bulk of Arizona’s Mexican prisoners. Corrections Services Corporation of Sarasota, Fla., and another group in Mexico have submitted bids for the project. Although some state officials in Mexico are open to the idea, it would require a treaty between the United States and Mexico. From Washington, D.C., a spokesman for the State Department cautioned that states cannot conduct their own foreign policies. If Arizona officials can pull off this deal, will American prisoners be next?
Indiana: The Indiana Department of Corrections has contracted with American Services Group, Inc. of Nashville, Tenn., to manage health care at all of the state’s prisons. While this will eliminate administrative and physician positions, it will not affect the nurses who are in Council 62’s bargaining unit.
New York: Sen. Michael Nozzolio (R) announced that any plan to operate a private prison in New York would be illegal under state law, according to New York Attorney General Dennis Vacco. Vacco issued a formal response to Nozzolio’s March 24 correspondence seeking a legal opinion on the legality of private operation of prisons in New York. The issue arose when Corrections Corporation of America announced that it planned to open a 1,000-bed corrections and treatment facility site on its recently purchased land in Fallsburg, N.Y. Building this facility would be contingent upon CCA signing a contract with New York City, where AFSCME does not represent COs. If built, the facility would be the first privately owned and operated prison in the state.
Oregon: While campaigning for office, Gov. John Kitzhaber (D) told Oregon labor leaders that he would oppose prison privatization. Now the governor is changing his tune. Oregon is in the first year of a decade-long program to build seven new prisons for $1 billion. Under pressure from Republican lawmakers, the governor and state correction officials won’t bar the door on Republican plans to privatize one of Oregon’s new prisons. In one sense, however, Oregon already has taken the plunge into privatization. In September 1995, the state began shipping prisoners to Texas and Arizona. However, those programs have been controversial because families have complained about their ability to visit inmates. Oregon also contracted out food service inside the prisons, but backed away from that two months ago after finding worms crawling in the food.
