From Rock Breaking to Strike Breaking‏

Is there no end to the ingenuity and utter cynicism of Sodexo management in the USA? The Washington Post reports that the French based company has now resorted to the use of jailed inmates to cover the work of striking union members. Under the pretext of offering them ‘pre – release’ work experience and skills training the company had them in to cover the strike, despite claiming that 90% of its workers remained on the job.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/college-inc/2010/09/inmates_served_gmu_student_foo.html
The US has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with over 2.3 million people currently in jail. 70% of the prison population is non white. Sodexo employs people on low wages and minimal terms from some of the poorest communities in the USA. Many of these prisons are privately run with inmates undertaking paid work.

Nor is the use of prison labour a US only phenomenon. Last year it was reported that prisoners still serving their jail sentences were employed to empty bins in Manchester.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1233213/Killers-bin-round-Prisoners-employed-collect-rubbish-binmen-lose-jobs.html