For corrections officers like Amanda Biggins, defeating prison privatization is much more important than party politics. It’s about keeping her union contract with fair wages, health care and working conditions.
“I need benefits. I need pay that’s going to support me and my family,” Biggins explained. “Because they put profits over people, private prison companies are going to find the cheapest way to run their facilities. They’re putting the money in their pockets while people are suffering.”
Biggins and her fellow correctional officers from AFSCME Council 5 are among the many AFSCME corrections members to take on this fight. They fought for years to pass a bill banning private prisons in Minnesota — and in 2023, that bill was signed into law.
For more than a generation and in states across America, AFSCME members in corrections have stood on the front lines fighting against for-profit prison companies and the anti-union extremists who want to make themselves richer at our expense.
But these same companies are now preparing to rake in record-breaking profits from the federal government thanks to an executive order that poses a direct threat to AFSCME members in corrections.
CEO Damon Hininger, the head of a private prison company called CoreCivic, openly bragged to his shareholders recently that this policy will generate windfall profits.
“This is truly one of the most exciting periods in my career,” he gloated. “We’re anticipating … the most significant growth in our company’s history.”
With the future of public safety on the line, AFSCME members in corrections are getting organized to beat back the private prison industry once again.
“The verdict is in: for-profit prisons are more dangerous, pay less to their employees, and have higher re-offending rates. And they don’t save a single dime for taxpayers,” said Padraic Lyman, the president of AFSCME Local 775 (Council 82) and a corrections officer in Albany, New York. “We need to stand united and protect our freedoms at work, because no one else is going to do it for us.”
Under this executive order, the private prison industry will have more money and power to pursue their extreme privatization agenda. These companies will hire even more highly paid lobbyists to convince state and local governments to privatize their corrections facilities.
“Expanding private prisons does nothing to make our communities safe, resolve the short-staffing crisis in corrections, or fix our broken immigration system. But it will line the pockets of billionaires and private prison corporations,” said Lt. Art Maldonado, a member of AFSCME Council 18 who works at the Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility. “These companies aren’t going to stop, and we can’t either.”
Dozens of AFSCME members have signed up to take a stand against private prisons since Hininger made his comments last month.
AFSCME members take pride in our dedication to public safety. When we get organized, we can ensure our work continues to serve the public instead of billionaires and corporate profits.
Public safety professionals are increasingly turning to AFSCME to build power at work, advocate for safety, secure better wages, improve health care benefits and ensure a stable retirement. AFSCME members in corrections, law enforcement and emergency response defend our freedoms and those of the communities we serve.
Visit the AFSCME Public Safety website to get involved and learn more.