TRSA Endorses FPI Reform Bill
Senate bill includes language to protect private-sector employers from prison labor

Alexandria, VA—Textile Rental Services Association (TRSA) President and CEO Roger Cocivera today applauded this week’s introduction of a bill aimed at ensuring fair competition in federal contracting through changes in rules governing Federal Prison Industries/UNICOR’s work with federal agencies.

Moreover, Cocivera was delighted that this legislation, sponsored by Sens. Carl Levin (D-MI) and Craig Thomas (R-WY), includes language that would restrict federal, state and local prison work programs from competing with private-sector companies for laundry and other “commercial market” contracts. This section was stripped from similar legislation introduced in the 108 th Congress. That left open the door for prison laborers to take jobs from law-abiding citizens in commercial laundries and other private-sector service businesses.

“TRSA has worked vigorously to get the language on commercial services put back in, and to encourage the Senate to address service-sector concerns before this bill becomes law,” said Cocivera. “Without specific language to address service industries, this legislation would leave textile rental and other service companies vulnerable to unfair competition from prison laborers earning roughly $1 per hour. Labor costs comprise roughly 50% of total expenses for textile rental businesses, so this obviously is unfair competition for the textile rental industry. It’s high time Congress slammed shut the cell door on unfair competition from prisoners, be they state, federal or local inmates. Otherwise, thousands of tax-paying service companies and their employees could end up on the street.” The bill would allow for the completion of existing prison industry service contracts through Sept. 30, 2006.

Cocivera praised the bipartisan efforts of Sens. Levin and Thomas in reintroducing this legislation, The Federal Prison Industries Competition in Contracting Act (S. 749), on Monday. The bill would establish a government-wide policy requiring competition in certain executive agency procurements. The bill would make it absolutely clear that FPI no longer has “mandatory source” status on federal contracts, and that it must compete with private-sector firms for federal contracts

The language restricting prisoners from competing in the commercial market is aimed in part at unfair competition by FPI, whose annual laundry sales grew nearly 80% from FY 2000 to 2004. During the previous Congress, this language was stripped from the legislation last June. The bill never made it to the Senate floor.

Because the new legislation includes restrictions on state and local prisoner work programs, it would help textile rental service providers in states such as Michigan, where a prison labor program called Michigan State Industries now processes about 15.5 million lbs. of laundry annually. Similar threats to private-sector companies and jobs exist in other states, including Oregon and Missouri .

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The Textile Rental Services Association of America (TRSA) is a national trade association representing more than 1,100 company locations in 26 countries worldwide. Since 1913, TRSA members have provided textile maintenance and rental services to commercial, industrial and institutional accounts—over 90 percent of TRSA member companies are small businesses. TRSA members serve hygienically clean textile items to millions of customers in commerce, industry, and other professions from automobile service to manufacturing, restaurants and hospitals. The textile rental industry generates yearly sales or roughly $12 billion. U.S. linen supply and industrial laundering companies employ more than 132,000 people.