Local Businesses and Organizations Agree to Eliminate Unnecessary Hiring Barriers for Individuals with Criminal Records

Philadelphia – Today Mayor Jim Kenney answered the White House call as a number of Philadelphia-based businesses and organizations signed on to the Fair Chance Business Pledge, a nationwide call-to-action to accomplish the shared goal of creating a stronger set of opportunities for people who have been impacted by the criminal justice system. Mayor Kenney issued this call to local businesses in recognition of National Reentry Week, April 24-30, 2016.

“Today I’m proud to know that Philadelphia-based businesses join in the city with their commitment to provide second chances,” said Mayor Jim Kenney.  “We are all working together to give people with criminal records the opportunity to get a job, earn decent wages and feed their families.”

According to the National Employment Law Project, 1 in 3 Americans have some sort of criminal record including many with minor offenses such as a misdemeanor, which equals 400,000 adults in Philadelphia with a criminal record.

In Philadelphia, 30,000 people are released each year from local and state prisons. Even after they have done their time and rehabilitated themselves, people with criminal records face a system of barriers that create a lifetime of consequences for them, particularly in obtaining and sustaining employment.

The pledge represents a call-to-action for members of the private sector to improve their communities by eliminating barriers for those with a criminal record and creating a pathway for a second chance.

“Despite my previous conviction, Wash Cycle Laundry was willing to take a chance on me when hiring a new Customer Care position last winter,” said Noelle Bilbrough, Manager of Quality Assurance at Wash Cycle Laundry, a local participating business.  “Now, thanks to the company’s Fair Chance hiring practices, I’m in an upper level management position just a year later, and able to make a difference in the lives of my fellow team members who have a variety of backgrounds.”

The Fair Chance Business Pledge is as follows:

“We applaud the growing number of public and private sector organizations nationwide who are taking action to ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to succeed, including individuals who have had contact with the criminal justice system. When almost 70 million Americans — nearly one in three adults — have a criminal record, it is important to remove unnecessary barriers that may prevent these individuals from gaining access to employment, training, education and other basic tools required for success in life.

 We are committed to providing individuals with criminal records, including formerly incarcerated individuals, a fair chance to participate in the American economy.”

 Local businesses and organizations that have joined the call include:

  • Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
  • African-American Chamber of Commerce of PA, NJ, DE
  • Manufacturing Alliance of Philadelphia
  • Wash Cycle Laundry
  • Drexel University
  • Hand-In-Soap Co.
  • Aker Philadelphia Shipyard
  • Computer Components
  • Philly Office Retail and Trolley Car Diner/Café
  • Saint Benjamin Brewing Company
  • Reading Terminal Market

For more information about the White House Fair Chance Business Pledge, visit www.whitehouse.gov

 

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