The men in blue at San Quentin are trying to hold on to their “pay numbers.” Pay numbers are the wages some prisoners earn for full-time job assignments. They are paid up to 95 cents an hour. The types of jobs vary from porters, clerks and painters to manufacturing jobs at the Prison Industry Authority (PIA) plant. In PIA alone, dozens of men have been “laid off” from their jobs this year, so pay numbers are becoming scarce.
“Asked On The Line” conducted random informal interviews with 31 mainliners that have pay numbers and asked, “Do you depend on your pay number? Do you have restitution? If you lost your pay number, where would you get money?”
Over 73 percent of those who were interviewed depend on their pay numbers. The money is used to buy food, hygiene products, vitamins, detergent, electronic appliances or accessories from canteen and packages and to send money home.
About 65 percent of mainline workers interviewed have restitution or child support payments automatically deducted from their pay. The prison administration deducts 50 percent of inmate pay for these obligations, along with a 5 percent “administrative fee.”
“I absolutely depend on my pay number,” said Joey. “I make 35 cents an hour at PIA. If I were to lose my pay number, I would have no other source of money—absolutely none.”
Dwight said he depends on his pay number, too. “I depend on the pay number to not ask anyone for money. But if I lost my pay number, I would be at the mercy of people on the outside.”
Stephen has a janitorial job and uses his money to sustain himself and send money to his son. “I depend on my pay number. I don’t have any other source of money, but sometimes people on the outside might help me, sometimes.”
J.N. is a clerk that depends on his pay number. “Without my pay number, I would have to beg my family for money. I would literally have to beg.”
Of the 27 percent of men that do not depend on their pay numbers, most would ask their family, friends, spouse, or other loved ones for financial support, but not Ke. “I appreciate it, but I don’t depend on my pay number. If I lost it, I could still earn money through the hobby shop”, said Ke.
