For those interested in really improving their time, extension courses are available through the courtesy and cooperation of The University of California, Pennsylvania State College, and the International Correspondence School. Because of space limitations and the essential restrictions of maximum custody, classroom activity is not possible. However, inmate students show keen interest in education and enroll in a variety of subjects ranging from differential calculus to foreign languages to English and engineering. Art, too, is a popular outlet; approximately twenty percent of the population do some painting in oils or in pastels. Exhibitions of their work have been displayed in the San Francisco area and in Washington, D.C.
A request to the chaplain by George “Machine Gun” Kelly to be allowed to take an elementary Spanish course.
The Prison Industries
Inmates in the recreation yard lining up in single file, awaiting a count and escort to their work assignment.
Inmates lined up according to their work assignment.
Prisoners are seen here walking down through a metal detector on their way to their work assignment in the Industries. The small building in the foreground is the dry-cleaning plant.
A photograph series showing the Tailor and Glove Shops.
A distant view of an inmate at work in the Cobbler Shop.
The Blacksmith Shop.
The New Industries Building under construction in 1940. Note the special barbwire walkway constructed for inmates to pass over, and the small protruding island (left) known as “Little Alcatraz.”
A correctional officer sitting next to office chairs built by Alcatraz inmates.
Office furniture built by prison labor at Alcatraz.
A present-day view of the Prison Industries Building.
The interior of the abandoned New Industries Building following the prison’s closure. All that remains is the rusted equipment left from the prison.
A present day view of the old Model Industries Building. Following the completion of the New Industries Building in 1941, the upper floors were abandoned and used only for storage.
Coast Guard survey photos showing the workshops following the prison’s closure.
Warden Johnston believed in managing Alcatraz as an institution for rehabilitation. When Johnston assumed his post as Warden in 1934, he brought with him the vision that Alcatraz would not be the final stop for any inmate. He wrote that after his tenure at Folsom and San Quentin, that if he had to manage any prison upon condition, that his choice would be only one thing, an agency for reform. Johnston wanted the inmates to develop work skills that they could carry with them to the outside. He felt the rigid structure would offer his men an advantage back in the outside world as they would become accustomed to a hard day’s work and a strong work ethic. Inmates earned their right to work by conforming to the rules and regulations of the prison. Phil Bergen later recalled:
At Alcatraz, we always a felt a greater responsibility towards the inmates rather than simply confining them. Inmates learned skills that could be translated to meaningful employment upon their release. Many inmates took considerable pride in the quality of their work. Whether it was making furniture or cleaning an assigned area, the inmates usually did exceptional work.
In 1960, the Bureau of Prisons published an informational booklet that briefly described the operational features of Alcatraz. One of the items featured was the Prison Industries:
Alcatraz, in common with other institutions throughout the Federal Prison System carries out a program of constructive work activity for all inmates who are physically qualified. All employment other than that needed for the maintenance of the prison is under the jurisdiction of Federal Prison Industries, Incorporated. Men assigned to the various shops receive modest wages, as well as certain reductions in sentence over and beyond that regularly awarded for proper conduct and good behavior in prison.
Industrial units in operation on the island include a glove factory, rubber mat shop, clothing factory, a brush shop, and a furniture factory. The shops and factories perform contract services for the armed forces. The Alcatraz branch of Prison Industries has been awarded numerous commendations for its contribution to national defense during World War II and the fighting in Korea.
Prisoners are not forced to participate in the industrial program at Alcatraz. However, all prisoners in work status are required to work on assigned tasks. A large percentage prefer assignments in industries and usually volunteer immediately after arriving at the institution. Other than the therapeutic value offered by gainful employment in prison, the inmates are zealous to earn the wages paid and make regular contributions to their dependants or accumulate savings for use following release.
Inmates employed in the Prison Industries were also compensated by having time deducted from their sentences. The accrual rate was minimal. On average, each inmate would be awarded two days off his sentence per month. Johnston introduced a work-for-pay program that incorporated four grade levels of compensation based on trade skills. Monetary wages generally ranged from five to twelve cents per hour. By the time of the prison’s closure in 1963, the top grade rate was over thirty cents per hour.
The prison at Alcatraz was kept spotlessly clean. Even the correctional staff maintained the areas that were not accessible to inmates, with exceptional pride. Cliff Fish remembers working a shift in the East Gun Gallery and finding a small graffiti message written with a laundry marker on the second-tier wall. Correctional Officer Freeman Pepper wished to communicate his frustration with someone who had dropped a sticky substance on the gallery floor and he wrote the following message: