Is prison privatization unfair to government correctional employees?
Contracting with private prisons has not led to large-scale firing of government employees. Despite this fact, correctional employees’ unions are the most vocal and organized opponents of privatization. Since they are usually well-organized, well-funded, and quite vocal, it is difficult for policy makers to put their concerns in perspective. There are two reasons why the unions’ concerns should not dominate the policy debate. First, while we can all sympathize with workers who do not want to lose their jobs, correctional policy should be aimed at providing the appropriate prisons and programs with as few taxpayer dollars as possible. This has to take precedence over the desire of government employees to keep their jobs. When public servants put their own interests ahead of the public interest, bad policy can result. Government correctional officers have threatened to burn down prisons if they are privatized, and the Corrections and Criminal Justice Coalition, a group speaking for gover
