A new license plate facility at the Washington State Penitentiary (WSP) staffed by inmates is working six days a week to catch up on a statewide backlog of plates that WSP Superintendent Rob Jackson estimates to be about 250,000.
Jackson, though, feels good about the future of the 101-year program that has seen inmates make every single license plate in the state for more than a century.
Jackson said the move of the plant from the minimum-security "camp" to a medium-security area will help stabilize the workforce because there is less turnover in the population.
While Jackson said inmate training is an important part of the program, high turnover slows things down.
"A big part of what we do is training folks," he said. "There's a great time and place for that. "But you don't want to be training a whole new crew every month."
Jackson said the COVID-19 pandemic and malfunctioning equipment that he said was from the 1950s made matters worse.
The old plant had inmates from all the units of the prison's East Complex working. However, COVID-related protocols allowed inmates to work only with other inmates from the same unit. This made staffing the plant difficult.
And, Jackson said, there was a couple of times work had to stop completely.
With the Washington Department of Corrections replacing most of the equipment, including two new plate printing machines that the Seattle Times reported cost about $2.8 million, Jackson decided now was the right time to make the move.
So, the new equipment was installed in a medium security area of the prison and training of a new team began.
"It just made sense, as we were purchasing the new equipment, to go ahead and find a more stable workforce," Jackson said. "The camp (minimum security) population has still a pretty high turnover rate, so we moved to the medium units where there is a stable, long-term workforce."
Jackson said the new shop has been in full operation for about two months and is producing about 8,000 plates a day.
Now, that number is expected to go up. On Wednesday, Sept. 24, after the U-B's interview with Jackson, the Washington Department of Licensing announced on its website that it is switching to non-embossed plates to help address the backlog.
This removes a step of the production process and will help the DOC catch up.
After the backlog is addressed, the DOL will decide whether to return to embossed plates.
Jackson said about 30 to 35 inmates work on plates. The inmates are paid for their work. According to the DOC, inmate workers earn up to $2.85 an hour. While there has been some effort to raise the wage of imprisoned workers, the Seattle Times reported this year that those efforts have not been successful.
Jackson said the inmates also gain invaluable skills and training in the work programs. He also said the inmates working on the plates can earn a little extra incentive money.
"We're allowed to do that for hitting production numbers or for the amount of time they are at work," he said. "We are trying to reward good production."
Jackson said the move and the new equipment have allowed the DOC to keep the license plate contract.
"After 100 years, I didn't want to be 'that guy,'" he said. "The guy to end a 100-year contract."
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