Underwriter withdraws from Alabama prison lease project
The underwriter for a project to build two prisons in Alabama announced that it is pulling out following criticism that it was breaking a promise not to get involved in for-profit prisons. Barclays confirmed that it would no longer be involved with CoreCivic’s construction of two prisons in Alabama that would be owned by the company but rented and operated by the Alabama Department of Corrections. The decision dealt a blow to the plan to lease the behemoth prisons, housing about 3,500 inmates each, though Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s office said the state is “moving forward” with the project. “We have advised our client that we are no longer participating in the transaction intended to provide financing for correctional facilities in the State of Alabama,” Barclays wrote in a statement to The Associated Press. “While our objective was to enable the State to improve its facilities, we recognize that this is a complex and important issue. In light of the feedback that we have heard, we will continue to review our policies.” Ivey agreed in February to lease two mammoth prisons as a partial solution to the state’s troubled correction system. The decision came over the objections of some legislators and advocates who warn that her $3 billion plan won’t resolve chronic violence and severe understaffing woes. The two 30-year lease agreements are with separate entities of CoreCivic, one of the nation’s largest private prison companies. The prisons are to be built in Tallassee and near Atmore. The governor’s office is negotiating with another company to build a prison in Bibb County. The governor said Monday that she is disappointed that Barclays Plc is no longer participating but said the state will continue to press forward. “The state is fully committed to this project and has put in place new options to advance this vital transaction in a timely and efficient manner,” Ivey said. Her office did not immediately elaborate on what those options are. Ivey has said new prisons are the cornerstone to improving the state’s troubled corrections system. “These new, state-of-the-art facilities will provide safer, more secure correctional environments that better accommodate inmate rehabilitation, enhance medical and mental health services, and improve the quality of life for all those who live and work in them,” Ivey said. The U.S. Department of Justice sued Alabama in December over prison conditions, saying the state is failing to protect male prisoners from inmate-on-inmate violence and excessive force at the hands of prison staff. A Justice Department’s 2019 report, which preceded the lawsuit, described a culture of violence across the state prisons for men with frequent rapes, beatings, and fatal stabbings at the hands of fellow prisoners and a management system that undercounts homicides and fails to protect prisoners even when warned. A federal judge has also ordered the state to overhaul prison mental health care and staffing after ruling the mental health system in state prisons to be “horrendously inadequate.” A group of advocacy organizations said paying such huge sums to CoreCivic won’t solve underlying problems of understaffing, violence, mismanagement, and overcrowding. They’re calling instead for solutions such as sentencing reform to ease crowding behind bars. Some lawmakers also have raised concerns about the cost of the project. “At this point, it should be obvious that @ALCorrections doesn’t have a clue how much this plan is going to cost. 3 billion was already too much. Now that financing is an issue, the price will only continue to increase. It’s time to get out of this deal,” state Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, tweeted. CoreCivic in a statement criticized the people and groups who pushed Barclays to withdraw. “The reckless and irresponsible activists who claim to represent the interests of incarcerated people are in effect advocating for outdated facilities, less rehabilitation space, and potentially dangerous conditions for correctional staff and inmates alike,” the statement from CoreCivic read. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Masks no longer required for students, staff in Lee County schools
A large school system in eastern Alabama will no longer require masks to be worn by students or employees. The rules were spelled out in a recent letter sent by Lee County Schools to staff and school stakeholders, The Opelika-Auburn News reported. Even though masks will not be required in school or at school events, the school system says it “strongly encourages” people to wear masks. The system includes 14 schools and nearly 10,000 students. Two nearby school districts — Auburn City Schools and Opelika City Schools — will end the school year with mask requirements, the newspaper reported. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Union accuses Amazon of illegally interfering with vote
The retail union that failed to organize Amazon workers at a Alabama warehouse wants the results of a recent vote to be thrown out, saying that the company illegally interfered with the process. The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union said in a filing that Amazon threatened workers with layoffs and even the closing of the warehouse if they unionized. It also said Amazon fired a pro-union employee, but declined to name the person. Many of the other allegations by the union revolve around a mailbox that Amazon installed in the parking lot of the Bessemer, Alabama, warehouse. It said the mailbox created the false appearance that Amazon was conducting the election, intimidating workers into voting against the union. Security cameras in the parking lot could have recorded workers going to the mailbox, giving the impression that workers were being watched by the company and that their votes weren’t private, according to the retail union. Amazon spokeswoman Heather Knox said that the company did not threaten layoffs and that she couldn’t verify if an employee was fired without a name. She said the mailbox was installed to make it easier for employees to vote and that only the U.S. Postal Service had access to it. “Rather than accepting these employees’ choice, the union seems determined to continue misrepresenting the facts in order to drive its own agenda,” Knox said in a statement. “We look forward to the next steps in the legal process.” Workers overwhelmingly voted against forming a union, with 1,798 rejecting it and 738 voting in favor of it. A total of 3,117 votes were cast, about 53% of the nearly 6,000 workers at the warehouse. The retail union filed the objections to the National Labor Relations Board late Friday but released it publicly Monday. In doing so, the retail union is asking the labor board to investigate the allegations, schedule a hearing, and decide whether to hold a second election or overturn the results. Alex Colvin, the dean of Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, said these types of cases can take a year or more to resolve. Even if a union wins, the penalties for the employer are weak, like it could be forced to post a notice saying employees have a right to form a union. He said the labor board could hold another election, but at workplaces where turnover is high like at Amazon, the employees might no longer be around. Overturning the results are rare, Colvin said. The union push in Bessemer was the biggest in Amazon’s 26-year history and only the second time one reached a vote. Workers reached out to the union last summer, tired of working 10-hour days on their feet, packing boxes, or storing products, without getting enough time to take a break. Mail-in voting started in early February and went on for about 50 days. Organizers promised a union would lead to better working conditions, better pay, and more respect. Amazon, meanwhile, argued that it already offered more than twice the minimum wage in Alabama and provided workers with health care, vision benefits, and dental insurance, without paying union dues. Last week, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos acknowledged in a shareholder letter that the company could do better for its workers and said he didn’t take comfort in the outcome of the union election in Bessemer. He vowed to make Amazon a safer place to work by reducing sprains, strains, and other injuries at warehouses. “I think we need to do a better job for our employees,” Bezos said. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Civilian board formed to review Birmingham police actions
A five-member board of civilians is being established to review complaints of police misconduct in Alabama’s largest city, Mayor Randall Woodfin said Monday. The Civilian Review Board, which was recommended by a task force that reviewed public safety following the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota and nationwide protests last year, will have subpoena power as it investigates matters not otherwise referred to prosecutors or the Birmingham Police Department’s internal affairs office. Members will include former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance, former Birmingham Police Chief Annetta Nunn, attorney Victor Revill; the Rev. Lawrence Conoway; and activist and speaker T. Marie King, said Woodfin, who created the board with an executive order. “This is an opportunity to build bridges, to cultivate trust, to create more checks and balances, and for ensuring justice,” Woodfin said during a news briefing. “We’re putting reform in the hands of the people.” In announcing the board, Woodfin invoked the name of Bonita Carter, a Black woman whose shooting death by a Birmingham police officer in 1979 led to protests and political change in the city, including the election of the city’s first Black mayor. A cousin of Carter, J.D. Jackson, said her death helped ensure “that our city became truly the Magic City so it would stop being the tragic city.” Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
