Gov tip: May hike min pay at eateries
INFURIATING inmate advocates, the state Department of Corrections has launched a pilot program that forces visitors to buy supplies for loved ones behind bars from five online vendors who the activists say overcharge for simple items.
State officials maintain the vendor system — expected to go statewide by next fall — will reduce contraband being smuggled into prisons.
Currently, friends and relatives are allowed to bring inmates clothing, books and canned food items during visits or send the items through the mail. Officers search the packages before handing them over to prisoners.
But this month, the state launched a pilot program at three correctional facilities: Greene, Green Haven and Taconic.
Friends and relatives of prisoners at those locations now must use one of the selected vendors to send goods.
But the online vendors charge more for many basic items compared with Costco, dollar stores or other retailers in some cases, inmate advocates say.
As an example, Nabisco Oreo chocolate sandwich cookies can be bought for $2.99 at Target or for comparable prices at other stores in New York City.
But they cost $5.65 at E-Ford Commissary and $5.90 at Walkenhorst’s, two of the five approved vendors. The other vendors are Keefe, JL Marcus and Union Supply.
Similarly, a Kool-Aid 19-ounce drink mix costs $1.50 at a South Slope, Brooklyn, 99-cent store, but $4.75 at the E-Ford commissary.
Families who had previously brought packages would now also be required to pay an online fee in many cases.
“For many families who are trying to stay in touch with their loved ones, it really adds up, and they are counting every penny to survive,” said Caroline Hsu, a staff attorney with the Prisoners Rights Project at the Legal Aid Society. “It’s just really mean.”
State officials say the prices are fair and the secure vendor program is used by almost 30 other jurisdictions in the U.S.
Still, elderly parents and loved ones often struggle with shopping online, inmate advocates point out.
“It would be really hard . . . nearly impossible for some people who have elderly folks,” said Patricia Howard, 57, who was released from Taconic Correctional Facility in September.
Additionally, prisoners would likely no longer be able to have fresh fruit or produce delivered to supplement their diets because those products do not appear to be sold by the vendors.
But the system will be a financial boon for the vendors, predicted Stanley Richards, executive vice president of the Fortune Society, a group that helps former prisoners.
“They will have 58,000 people they know will be their consumers,” he said. “They don’t need to be competitive in terms of prices and the service they deliver.”
The vendors were selected after they responded to a request for proposals from the state.
Inmate advocates contend state corrections officers should do a better job searching packages brought by visitors to cut down on contraband. GOV. CUOMO ordered a series of hearings Sunday on the minimum wage for tipped workers, saying it was important to ensure “no workers are more susceptible to exploitation.”
In New York State, certain businesses, like restaurants and car washes, are allowed to “credit” tips toward a minimum wage.
Large restaurants in the city, for example, currently pay workers the minimum $7.50 an hour, while employers in other industries pay workers who don’t receive tips their minimum of $11.
Cuomo cited studies that found the system is unfair — particularly toward women and minorities — and hinted he might get rid of it altogether. “This is a question of basic fairness. In New York, we believe in a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work and that all workers deserve to be treated with dignity and respect,” Cuomo said.
More than 70% of tipped workers in New York State are women. Studies have linked tipping to higher rates of sexual harassment.
Black workers are often tipped less than white workers.
Cuomo’s order requires state Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon to hold a series of hearings to evaluate the possibility of ending minimum-wage tip credits.