Ludale Jones #190968

This correspondence is to acknowledge the we, the prisoners’ concerns are with growing inflation, and the ability to maintain our dignity under the constant increases in store prices.

Prisoner are not employees of the Department of Corrections, and we depend heavily on the monthly “scheduled payments” or “allowances” received for the purpose of rehabilitation under the guidance of a Classification Director. The payment are to encourage us, the prisoners, to become receptive to rehabilitation.

The MDOC has not adjusted the prison “pay scale” to adapt to the high cost of store prices in decades. For the last three years prison store prices has increased every six months by Keefe and SecurePak (Access).

Prisoners no longer have control over their job assignment request. Prisoners are placed in a pool by Classification, which are considered institutional need (e.g food service and yard crew). The emphasis on INSTITUTIONAL NEED do not indicates rehabilitation, efficient economics, is the goal of prisoners’ employment. We have very little input into the decision of job assignments, this involuntary employment relationship cause financial hardship on us, the prisoner, and do not further the statutorily imposed goal of rehabilitation.

Education, counseling, treatment and recreation are viewed as the primary end served by providing work for us, the prisoner. Work assignments are considered good correctional treatment, that the MDOC teaches us, prisoner essential work habits, and that the MDOC provide training skills or semi-skilled trades which can be put to use by us upon release. Unwanted and forced work assignments, (due to insufficient pay) go against the statutorily imposed goal of rehabilitation, (in concert with high inflation, constant increases in store prices) absent some new adjustments undermine rehabilitation under MDOC rehabilitation scheme. MCL 800.321 et seq.; MCL 800.327 and MCL 800.332

Due to the high cost of living in prison, (i.e. cosmetics, medication, food, postage, etc), the failure to allow prisoners to have some control over work assignment , and the Prison PAY SCALE disparity with the inflation, the custodial, rehabilitative relationship with employment is no longer a means to reach its goals.

PD 05.02.110 Prisoner WORK ASSIGNMENT PAY AND SCHOOL STIPEND, PAY SCALE should be modified to reflect emphasis on job training in varied job experience which indicates that rehabilitation, not efficiency economics, is the goal of of our, the prisoner’s employment.

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R. Jones #190968, NLA Chapter 1013 President & National Board Administrator
Lakeland Correctional Facility (LCF)
141 first Street
Coldwater, Michigan 49036