Fair Chance TX

08/09/2021

FAIR CHANCE HITING IS UNDER ATTACK, AGAIN!!

Austin’s Fair Chance Hiring Ordinance is under attack! Gov. Abbott & far-right folks at the Texas Legislature are threatening our progress with anti-worker Senate Bill 14, and we need to do everything we can to make our voices heard!

This bill would prevent fair chance hiring ordinances across Texas, and undo Austin’s protections. Share your story and tell the committee why these protections are NECESSARY and the right thing for Texas families!

TESTIFY ON MONDAY:
✨ Senate Bill 14 Hearing ✨
Senate Business & Commerce Committee
Monday, Aug. 9th @ Noon
Texas Capitol, Room E1.012

EMAIL THE COMMITTEE ASAP:
https://senate.texas.gov/cmte.php?c=510
Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown) - [email protected]
Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville) - [email protected]
Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels) - [email protected]
Brandon Creighton (author of the bill) (R-Conroe) - [email protected]
Nathan Johnson (D-Dallas) - [email protected]
Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) - [email protected]
José Menéndez (D-San Antonio) - [email protected]
Angela Paxton (R-McKinney) - [email protected]
John Whitmire (D-Houston) - [email protected]

FAQ
SB 14 would forever eliminate the authority that local governments have to:
Make sure places of business are kept safe during a pandemic.
Ratify the terms of a collective bargaining agreement or meet-and-confer agreement negotiated with firefighter, police officer, or EMS associations.
Establish public health and safety guidelines for workplaces during a natural disaster.
Set salaries and benefits for city and county employees, including policies that entitle city or county employees to health insurance, retirement benefits, or sick leave.
Ensure construction workers can take a 10-minute rest break in the summer heat.
Establish a $15 minimum wage for public employees or private employees working under a public contract.
“Ban the box” or provide fair chance hiring opportunities to individuals who are formerly incarcerated.
Expand nondiscrimination protections so small business employees can be protected from discrimination on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, color, s*xual orientation, gender identity, disability, or s*x.

Fair Chance Talking Points
Formerly incarcerated Austinites organized together with a simple demand: Give people a fair chance at employment by being judged on the merits of their application, not the actions of their worst day.
After a year-long organizing drive, we became the first City in the South to “ban the box,” setting a new standard for workers rights and criminal justice reforms.
We need to protect local policies which seek to give those with a criminal background a fair chance in finding gainful employment as they re-enter society.
Austin and DeSoto currently have policies on the books that provide such protections.
No one should be punished forever for the worst day of their life. People with a criminal background can continue to face many barriers in seeking gainful employment, decades after they've served their time.
These policies don't require anyone to be hired by an employer, but they do allow for people with a criminal background to get their foot in the door, to have the chance to be interviewed, introduce themselves to an employer, and even explain their past and how they've grown since then.
We know that helping people get back to work when they've served their time is not only the right thing to do, it's important for public safety too. These policies prevent recidivism.

05/06/2021

This morning, Peer Policy Fellow Maggie Luna testified against and explained why leaders should support meaningful second chances for people who've been impacted by the justice system!

07/25/2020

Anyone else want to support this really exciting candidate? 🤩

If elected, Keeda Haynes will be Tennessee’s first Black Congresswoman.

02/22/2019

Unfortunately Senator Campbell recently filed the bad bill Workman filed last session to prevent fair chance hiring ordinances. Time to let them know we oppose SB 875!

06/13/2017

Research by economists confirms that hiring people with records is simply smart business. Retention rates are higher, turnover is lower, and employees with criminal records are more loyal.Given the costs associated with turnover and recruitment, researchers have found that “employees with a criminal background are in fact a better pool for employers.

NEW YORK — The American Civil Liberties Union and its Trone Private Sector and Education Advisory Council today released an investigation into the successes of corporate policies geared to giving formerly incarcerated Americans a fair chance at re-entry.

05/25/2017

Employers get it!!! Despite the rhetoric from the right, employers in the trenches are being smart about hiring.

Kimberly Landreneaux · Office Manager at Yates Buick GMC
"Background checks cost the company money, why would you spend the money to run a background check on "any" applicant rather than waiting until an offer of employment is extened to the applicant, if they pass great and if they fail move on to the next candidate. I would think any employer would use this as a cost saving measure."

KILGORE — Texas businesses leaders say they support criminal justice reforms that expand the state's workforce pool, but not "ban the box" requirements. The issue ...

05/25/2017

Good morning! I hope this missive finds you in the best of all possible situations and health. There are a couple of things I would like to discuss with all of you about the past couple of days and the next coming months.

Firstly - THANK YOU ALL FOR ALL THE HARD WORK! I sincerely appreciate the time and effort you have sacrificed on behalf of this campaign. I will say over and over - it couldn't have been done without YOU! No matter how small or how large your contribution was - it was necessary and we benefited from your efforts as a collective.

Wednesday night/Thursday morning a slew of activity took place in the Senate, that involved Rep. Workman and Sen. Joan Huffman attempting to amend language culled from HB577 to HB4180. That attempt failed largely due to the Rep. Garnett Coleman refusing to allow the bill to be passed by the House. Last night rumors flew about Workman having another vehicle to attach the language to. This morning I am happy and pleased to say all such vehicles are now unavailable in the Senate. However, something weird can still happen that would force us back in to action.

Until then - WE WIN!

Unequivocally this victory belongs to all of US and YOU made it happen. It was your dedication and commitment to preserving this outrageous philosophy of fairness and equity for not only Austin, but Texas, that has brought us to this juncture. It has been the tireless work of so many of you, that has provided an avenue of fair chance for employment for 4 million Texans.

Let that number sink in and sit it with it for a moment. Four million Texans.

Our fight was never just about Austin, conversely it has always been about every individual in Texas that has faced or will have faced discrimination as the result of an arrest, conviction or confinement.

Four million Texans. Again, let that sink in and sit with it.

Our friends in the House and the Senate also deserve a HUGE show of appreciation for all of their input, information, support and mutual dedication. I believe we should make a cooperative effort to show each and every office a token of our collective appreciation. I am uncertain what that looks like, but I definitely know without a doubt it will be greatly appreciated.

We were asked to compromise and we refused. We were asked to change our rhetoric and we refused. We were asked to accept something that was less than what we were demanding and again, we refused. We stood in the face of almost certain defeat and with the boldness of David, we stood at the threshhold and refused to concede. You mighty band of warriors for justice and equity, your story as defenders of morality and compassion has been written in the pages of history.

You are what CHANGE looks like. You are what power for those who have been marginalized, penalized and criminalized looks like. Take a look in the mirror at GREATNESS! Whatever fruits borne from your efforts will be the ambrosia that sustains this movement beyond this campaign. However, there is work to do in the foreseeable future if we are to leverage this victory and continue to forward this audacious narrative of "Do Nothing About Us Without Us." There are still hills and mountains to climb, valleys to find our way through, but the shining light of a fair chance for ALL will continually brighten every darkened step we tread along this journey. I don't know what that trek looks like from this vantage point and I don't know the vehicle that shall carry us on that journey, but I know we will continue.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve you in the capacity of a leader. Thank you for accepting my leadership. Thank you for providing me with the necessary tools to empower those around me with leadership. It has been my intention from the outset that this effort would be one of collaboration and teamwork. I was personally adamant about not being the "face" of this effort, but a piece of the framework that kept us moving forward in our decided direction.

Again - Thank you for allowing me that space.

Sorry for the long post, but I had to share with you how much I have enjoyed and appreciated working with ALL you on this campaign and I look forward to whatever the future brings.

In Solidarity,
Lewis Conway

04/18/2017

Parents who aren't able to secure employment, let alone gainful employment, are often not the only ones that are affected by Employment Discrimination based on a criminal conviction. Fair Chance isn't just about the individual - it's about the whole family.

04/18/2017

"The bill would require both the federal government and federal contractors to remove the conviction history question from their job applications and defer any background checks to the end of the hiring process."

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators and representatives yesterday introduced bicameral legislation, modeled on reforms that have taken hold in the states, to ensure that job seekers who have a conviction record in their past are not unfairly shut out from employment because of the stigma of a record...

04/16/2017

"That bottom-line approach reached its limits last year in Austin, when a group of formerly incarcerated individuals and Austin City Council Member Greg Casar persuaded the city council to enact a Fair Chance Ordinance. It prohibits private businesses from asking about an individual’s criminal history until extending a tentative offer of employment."

https://www.tribtalk.org/2017/04/10/texas-scarlet-letter-laws-are-counter-productive/

During the previous two legislative sessions, an unlikely coalition of groups across the political spectrum provided a sense that perhaps Texas was serious about rethinking its “lock ‘em up and throw away the key” mentality.

04/10/2017

We are not alone!

State and local government job applicants would not have to disclose arrests or convictions on job applications under a bill heard Monday by the Assembly Government Affairs Committee.

03/21/2017

Call your reps!

Tell them you oppose HB577 and SUPPORT Fair Chance Hiring legislation!