The past few days at work have been sheer madness! It has been SUCH a cool experience. It just so happens that I joined the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) team at the right time :)
I posted in an earlier blog about a petition that you all could sign. Well that issue on that very petition is starting to become huge! At least at AAFA it's on the verge of setting off a lot of conspiracy.
So before I go any further, here's the issue:
Did you know that currently in the United States jobs are being created for Inmates? And not only are jobs being created for inmates, but these jobs that they are receiving are being taken away from tax paying Americans!
The "Federal Prison Industry" (FPI) is a government corporation created in 1934.
"Under federal law, FPI can only sell its products to the federal government and therefore does not compete in the commercial market. The law however provides FPI a "preference" in the federal market, which means federal departments and agencies must buy any product being made by FPI before the private sector, giving an unfair advantage when competing for government contacts" -AAFA website
So basically whats happening is that the Department of Defense (DOD) gives these inmates an unfair advantage over American manufacturers by allowing them first 'dibs' on contracts for certain jobs. If you tuned into President Obamas State of the Union speech, then you probably remember him stressing the importance of manufacturing jobs in the United States. However, it is very likely that Mr. President doesn't realize that Americans are loosing the jobs that they have to inmates in prison!
You may or may not be familiar with what is called the "Berry Amendment". This is an amendment that passed in 1941 that states that all military apparel (apparel, shoes, helmets, etc.) MUST be made in the united states by American manufacturers. Of course this makes sense because you wouldn't want an enemy making your uniform. So where as we do not have to compete with out sources, we DO have to compete with federally-incarnated inmates.
If this hasn't already stirred up some sort of response, listen to this (or rather read).
There is a factory in Olive Hill, Kentucky that creates the jackets that are worn by our men and woman currently serving in the United States Air Force. This famous jacket is also worn by President Obama when he flies on Air Force One and it sports on it the presidential seal. The factory employs 100 people out of the small amount of 1600 people that lives in Olive Hill. This factory has been around for 50 years with some of it's workers having been there for decades. Currently, this factory is in danger of being closed because the government is wanting to give the contract for making the Air Force jackets to inmates.
The thing is, is that Mr. President Obama probably doesn't even have the SLIGHTEST clue that the famous Air Force One jacket is about to put 100 workers out of work. That's a GREAT way to boost Americas manufacturing problem!
Now, I am not saying that giving jobs to inmates is a bad thing. What I am saying is that by these inmates having these ridiculously unfair advantages, it is putting American TAX PAYERS out of work and that is NOT fair! I mean these are FEDERALLY-INCARNATED INMATES people! They aren't people that just went to your local dollar tree and stole a pack of gum (which is obviously bad too, BUT). They have committed serious crimes! They've murdered people, robbed banks, etc. If the FPI wants to live up to their mission statement, then they should not be putting manufacturers like those in Olive Hill out of work. The people at this factory in Olive Hill aren't the only ones either, there are people all around the U.S. facing this problem every day.
It's surprising that elected officials, or even Presidential candidates haven't gotten a hold of this issue, because it's a big one. I mean, creating new jobs is a big deal in our day and age. Possibly just solving this problem wont fix everything, but it's a darn good start!
So like I said, the past couple days at AAFA have been crazy. It is the very company that I am interning for that is bringing this big issue to the attention of other people (exciting thing to be a part of!). So it's got to be done right, and told by the right people. The CEO of the Air Force One Jacket manufacturing company in Olive Hill, Kentucky is going to be on Fox & Friends tomorrow morning at 6:30am. For those who can't tune in that early to watch, then I urge you to turn in later when they replay it. Of course, I will paste a clip of it into my blog so you can even come here to watch. This man will be talking about the issue that I just explained from his point of view as the CEO of this company.
What has been fun is that I have been sitting in on phone conversations with this man, as well as Fox News producers getting this interview going for tomorrow morning. Now, some of you already know this, but Fox & Friends is my DREAM job. To sit in the middle of Steve and Brian would complete all of my career dreams! So sitting in with my boss (Comm. and marketing director), and the director of government relations and the executive vice president of AAFA on phone conversations with producers of Fox news has been THE coolest thing ever! :P And it only get's better... On Monday, my boss and I WROTE the talking points for Michael (the man who will be on Fox & Friends tomorrow morning talking about Olive Hill) for his F & F segment! So if any of you watch it, just note that I helped write his talking points for the show that is my dream job! My boss actually took a train to Philly tonight to go help prep Michael for his interview tomorrow.
It's been pretty comical from my side of things because while everyone is professionally talking with producers and such at Fox, I am actually screaming inside with excitement!
This entire thing has been such an experience and I'm learning so much from it. I've been writing blogs about this issue for AAFAs website, and I wrote a press release last week. Then, just the mere fact that I am sitting in on these phone conversations and meetings is teaching me a whole lot. This is a really exciting time for AAFA and I walked right into it with perfect timing!
Tomorrow I actually will be attending a press conference that will pertain to this issue. My first press conference! :) It'll be a long tiring day I'm sure, so I'm going to go pick out a lovely outfit and hit the sack.
But before I go...
Visit wewear.org and sign the petition on the White House Web site urging immediate reform!
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