Inmates are available to work in Washington State orchards for the same hourly wage as other ­employees receive. Dan Fazio, executive director of the Washington Farm Labor Association, said the Department of Corrections has a work-release program that is much different from the highly publicized program that McDougall and Sons, Inc., Wenatchee, used last fall when it was short of harvest workers. McDougall hired 100 inmates from Correctional Industries, which agreed to supply workers, kitchens, tents, and security for a maximum cost of $22 an hour. The long-term inmates camped at the orchard for several days while they completed the […]