Somebody once said that any publicity is good publicity as long as they spell your name right. I suppose there's a kernel of truth in there, but I must admit that it's frustrating when so much incorrect information is spread about our inmate workforce.
As sales manager for Omega Pacific, I want to correct a few bits of misinformation that have been shared here. If someone has fundamental and ethical objections to inmates working for private companies, that's fine (although I would argue that it's, in fact, more ethical to provide opportunity and rehabilitation via programs like ours), but it’s not fair to blast us using wildly inaccurate and bizarre accusations.
First of all, each of the sixty inmate workers in our primary plant (we actually have two facilities; only one of them is inside the prison) is valuable member of our company. Every one of them applied and interviewed for the job of their own choosing. Working for Omega is a completely voluntary situation. No one is forced or coerced to work in any way and anybody can leave their job whenever they choose. In fact, we have hundreds of applicants waiting eagerly for interviews as soon as any new jobs open up
One poster asked what benefit to Washington state this provides … Well, for starters, nobody can work for Omega if they’ve committed a major infraction, which includes possession and/or use of drugs, fighting and so forth. So, counting our employees and the couple hundred guys waiting for a job to open up, there are over 250 inmates keeping their noses clean and staying out of trouble. Ultimately, though, there’s a much greater benefit to society as a whole. Many workers in programs like ours have never held a job before nor developed skills to deal with conflict constructively. While working with us, however, many learn to do so. We’ve seen the changes with our own eyes. Men learn to handle problems with each other through dialogue and cooperation when they might previously have been more inclined to resort to violence.
Most of our workers aren’t lifers. We’re in a medium security facility and the types of crimes most of these inmates committed ensure that—someday—they’re coming out from behind bars and will move into your neighborhoods. I ask you … would you prefer that they spent their prison years learning to become more violent or learning how to produce and get along? Statistics prove that the programs work, too. The rate of re-offending is 87% lower for inmates who participate in this program than for those who do not. If you want to look for success at rehabilitating prisoners, this is it. There is no other real effort to do so.
As for fair treatment … all I can say is that these men are treated as well as any workers anywhere. Period. They can file grievances, suggest improvements, request for equipment, express preferences and contribute in any way that other workers in other companies do. And as for their lack of collective bargaining, while it’s true that they don’t have a union to fight for their wages, in fact, they have something better. The state of Washington monitors our payroll and mandates a certain wage based on the state average for that job on the outside. For instance, if the typical machine operator with experience makes $9.00 an hour in Washington, we are obligated by state law to pay that amount or we get shut down. Not a bad substitute for collective bargaining, I’d say. From their pay, they contribute to a victim restitution fund, another fund to help pay part of their court & incarceration expenses as well as any child support they’re obligated to.
When we moved from the Seattle area seven years ago, each of our employees at that time was given the opportunity to move with the company and maintain their positions with us, so to use the term “layoff” isn’t at all accurate.
As for the quality of our product, just take a look. Compare our line from 1996 to now. It’s clear to everyone that we have pioneered new technologies (ISO Cold Forging) and introduced new features previously never seen on carabiners (hooded gates, tapered noses, spin-rivets, etc.) while maintaining our affordability. Even though we’ve increased the performance of our products skyward, the value of the Omega line has never been stronger. Our products are still more affordable and better-built than most of our competitors.
Finally, a word about the alleged recall ... We issued a call for inspection in about 1996 concerning a batch of carabiners built in our old factory—NOT made by inmates! The call for inspection was to alert climbers to inspect their biners for loose rivets and return any that were suspicious. Of the 30,000 biners affected by that inspection notice, we received five (5) back. That is our one and only “recall” issue in the history of our company. Which is damn good when you count the numbers of true recalls (when a company asks for every single product in a batch to be returned for repair or replacement) many of our competitors have had to make.
Bottom line is we’re proud of our company and the gear we make. We will continue to introduce truly cool climbing gear and we hope that those who care enough to express an opinion about our employees will do some research before hitting the “post” button. If you want more information, check our website: www.omegapac.com or email me.
_____________Michael LaneOmega Pacific
