Amid slimdown, Arkansas prisoners get paid while guards do without

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Shutdown side effect: Prisoners get paid, prison staff don't

Union coordinator weighs in

Some employees at an Arkansas federal prison are unsure when the next time they’ll receive a paycheck amid the government slimdown, but the inmates are continuing to get paid for jobs like landscaping, WMCTV.com reported.

The report said that the inmates are still receiving checks because their funds come out of a trust fund that is not affected by the problems in Washington. About 600 workers at the federal prison in Forrest City are impacted by the slimdown, the report said.

“The inmates who have committed the crimes in this country and are incarcerated by violating the laws of common society, they’re not affected by the shutdown, but the employees that we trust to keep our communities safe are,” Jeff Roberts, a prison employee who goes to work every day and does not get paid, told the station.

Roberts told WMCTV.com that there is concern among workers that they will be unable to pay bills.