Orange is the New Black was one of Netflix’s first and most successful television series. Airing from 2013 to 2019, the show followed the lives and everyday experiences of incarcerated women at Litchfield Correctional Institution in upstate New York. The comedy series, although quite dramatized, was based on a novel by the same title and often retold true prison events in a suitable way for viewers. So when the third season premiered on June 12, 2015, what viewers thought was a laughable, prison job switch-up for the characters was an allusion to the dark history of prison manufacturing. The following essay explores the history of public and private industries in prisons. While it focuses primarily on American institutions, international companies using inmate labor are also explored.
Public Sector Work
In 1934, the Federal Prison Industries was established within the Department of Justice to “build better futures,” a double entendre for a slogan. Since 1977, it has operated under the name UNICOR, and the company celebrated its 85th anniversary in 2019. Ahead of the anniversary statement from the current CEO read the following words: “Prison industries work programs have withstood the challenges of time. Spanning the Civil War, Great Depression, World War II and other major defense conflicts, and despite periods of criticism from detractors, increasingly constrictive procurement laws, and stigma associated with the value of inmate-produced goods, prison industry work programs have endured.” This can be found by anyone who visits UNICOR’s website. On the history webpage, there is a quite outdated video, presumably from the mid-2000s, entitled “Today’s UNICOR.” Although this might be outdated and need an updated revision, it gives a general sense as to what inmates are contributing to, and the industries being supported by them. Some of the projects include the recycling of electronics, call service centers, and manufacturing of different goods, like furniture, industrial equipment, and solar panels.
Clothing and textile manufacturing is also a large part of UNICOR’s production. The imprisoned have long been suppliers of both prison and military uniforms. Textile production extends to mattresses, sheet sets, mailbags, and military field packs. Throughout the video, inmates give account as to how UNICOR’s programs have improved their experiences: “I’m earning money. It’s just like a job on the street. I’m working. I have to be responsible.” Another woman, commenting: “I think when I get out, I’ll be able to utilize these skills. It’s been really beneficial for me. I’m glad I took the opportunity.” At an initial glance, these testimonies seem authentic, although specifically chosen for the promotional video, highlighting the ‘positive impact’ that work opportunities give inmates.
Private Sector Work
The 1970s saw perhaps the greatest changes to the American prison system in postmodern history. With the War on Drugs, prison populations exploded at increasing rates year after year, fueling the United States’ mass incarceration numbers. So it comes at no surprise as to why the private sector became so influential to the prison system in the late 1970s. Shortly thereafter the Federal Prison Industries became UNICOR in 1977, the Prison-Industries Act was passed by Congress in 1979. This allowed private companies to contract with prisons for the specific goal of meeting growing production and labor demands. And since prisons were becoming only more massive, what better way for both the government and corporations to work together than to have low-paying, inmate laborers to fuel the capital economy?
The Prison-Industries Act specifically created the Private Sector/Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program (PS/PIECP) that allowed institutions to manufacture and distribute private products through interstate shipment. The program ran quite unnoticed by the public for nearly fifteen years, until a 1995 report released by the U.S. Department of Justice. The report was titled “Work in America’s Prisons: Joint Ventures with the Private Sector,” and although it was not intended to be exploitative or damaging, it opened the public’s eyes to practices occurring within institutions at home. This article focused on institutions in South Carolina, California, and Connecticut, and the practices that were occurring within each. For example, the Chesapeake Cap Company was contracted by Major League Baseball to make hats for MLB teams, and these were being manufactured inside the Connecticut Correctional Institution at Somers. But more notable brands were being manufactured as well.
At the Leath Correctional Facility in Greensboro, South Carolina, manufacturing of multiple brands of clothing is taking place. One of these companies was Jostens, Inc. At this point, they were the largest manufacturers of graduation caps and gowns in the country, and were contracting labor from inside the institution. Another company was Third Generation, Inc., who was the former owner of apparel brands of JC Penney and Victoria’s Secret. The Justice Department’s article reported that over $1.5 million of apparel was manufactured at the facility. And in current popular culture, Orange is the New Black based its season three plot twist off of these events.
Orange is the New Black
In Orange is the New Black, the series changes course in the third season, when PolyCon/Management & Correction Corporation (MCC) comes in to, seemingly, save the prison. When Litchfield Correctional Institution faces federal budget cuts, the MCC corporation begins to invest and take over prison operations. The inmates are informed of a new, higher-paying job opportunity that they can apply and take a quiz for. The particular episode, “Fake It Till You Fake It Some More,” follows inmate Marisol “Flaca” Gonzales, and her backstory as to why she is imprisoned. Growing up, Flaca and her mother sewed dresses for women in order to produce income. Although she was a good seamstress, Flaca wanted to make money on her own, so she ends up creating fake LSD – but she is arrested once a student commits suicide while on drugs that Flaca sold him, leading to her arrest. During the episode’s real-time, Flaca is one of the handful selected to start at the new, mysterious job. The episode closes as the women are revealed their new job, sewing underwear for “Whispers”, a lingerie brand. Flaca then realizes that she will be committed to doing what was intended of her before she went to jail.
Conclusion
Although Orange is the New Black is meant to make viewers laugh above all else, the show depicts fictional reality in a viewable manner. “Whispers”, a play on Victoria’s Secret, characterizes what labor conditions with low pay are truly like in institutions. Prison labor has long been used in American history, but this has heightened with the development of the PIECP program since the late 1970s. Ultimately, consumers should be aware of the people who are building their goods, particularly, their clothing.
Written by Judy J. VanDeventer
Sources
Herrmann, Tara, writer. Orange is the New Black. Season 3, episode 5, “Fake It Till You Fake It Some More.” Directed by Nicole Holofcener. Released June 11, 2015.
Sexton, George E. “Work in America’s Prisons: Joint Ventures with the Private Sector.” National Institute of Justice Program Focus, November 1995, https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/media/publications/us_doj_work_in_american_prisons_1995.pdf.
“Today’s UNICOR.” UNICOR. 2004-2005. Video, 8:57. https://www.unicor.gov/TodaysUnicorVideo.aspx.
