A crowd slowly make their way from table to table seeking jobs at the second chance job fair hosted by Bexar County Commissioner, Precinct 4 Tommy Calvert at the AT&T Center on Thursday, May 7, 2015. About 70 exhibitors were on site as some 1,800 applicants filled the arena seeking work. (Kin Man Hui/San Antonio Express-News)
lessA crowd slowly make their way from table to table seeking jobs at the second chance job fair hosted by Bexar County Commissioner, Precinct 4 Tommy Calvert at the AT&T Center on Thursday, May 7, 2015. About
... moreWhen Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert championed a “Second Chance” job fair at the AT&T Center in 2015, he didn’t expect to see some 1,800 previously incarcerated job seekers walk through the doors.
It was a few months into his first term, and one of his goals was to double the number of businesses willing to consider a pool of candidates often ruled out from the first glance at their job application.
“We’ve more than doubled that to over 800 employers,” Calvert said last week. “I think that mass is talking to other employers and saying that these folks are really good workers.”
Calvert said he was most proud that many are still in jobs they got from that fair.
The AT&T Center itself was in the midst of a more than $110 million-plus renovation that year and contractors and subcontractors were desperate for labor to make their schedule. In the end, about 40 percent of those who worked on the renovation were either from the beleaguered East Side neighborhood, previously incarcerated, or both.
“There were literally people in tears among those previously incarcerated because they said, ‘We didn’t think anybody cared about us, we thought we were the outcasts of society,’” Calvert recalled.
“The more people working, the less that they’re a drain on social services, so this is helping families and individuals stand up and get self-sufficiency,” he said.
Three years later, job prospects for those with criminal records may be better than ever. The nation’s April unemployment rate was 3.9 percent, a more than 17-year low, and businesses of all sizes are saying that the strong economy has them eager to expand, if only they could find qualified workers.
A recent survey commissioned by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Charles Koch Institute found that just 14 percent of human resources professionals were unwilling to hire candidates with criminal records. Nearly half didn’t feel strongly that criminal backgrounds were a deciding factor in hiring. Of those who were hesitant, concerns were around liability, regulations and co-worker and customer reactions — not whether they felt candidates had what it took to perform well on the job.
Employers said their top reasons for hiring workers with criminal records included: wanting to hire the best candidate regardless of criminal history, making the community a better place and giving individuals a second chance. When it came to making the job offer, they looked for a consistent work history, good references, job training and certificates of rehabilitation.
Among other findings of the survey:
Two-thirds of human resources professionals said their company had experience hiring individuals with criminal records.
There was a perception that co-workers are less willing then they themselves are to work with people with criminal backgrounds. Thirty-six percent of managers, 29 percent of non-managers and 26 percent of human resources professionals thought that to be the case.
Eight-two percent of managers and 67 percent of human resources professionals found the “quality of hire” for workers with records to be as good as or better than those without records.
While willingness to hire is high, few companies reported actively recruiting (5 percent of managers and 3 percent of human resources professionals) for those with criminal records.
The survey also uncovered disconnects between front-line hiring managers and those in the human resources department.
While older managers were more willing than younger managers to work with individuals with criminal records, there was no such age discrepancy in human resources. While more than two-thirds of human resources professionals were familiar with the “ban the box’ campaign to remove check boxes asking applicants if they have a criminal record, only 14 percent of managers and 9 percent of non-managers reported the same.
While 93 percent of human resources professionals were sure of their company’s policies regarding applicants with criminal records, 27 percent of managers and 51 percent of non-managers weren’t sure whether or not their company had a formal or informal policy.
San Antonio’s own Steve Huerta, a formerly incarcerated community activist who has spent more than two decades promoting hiring within the group, said he sees this when he talks to business owners and hiring managers around town.
“The hiring person says no, and the HR person says, ‘But this is a good candidate,’” he said. “A lot of them aren’t even aware of their own company’s hiring policies, And those that aren’t don’t bother to bring it up to their superiors.”
Huerta said he’s also seen the disconnect between small business owners and the chambers of commerce that represent them.
“The larger chamber, their response to us was that small businesses were against it, which is contrary to the truth,” he said. “Those small businesses are the very same businesses that are dependent on those communities for their success.”
Added to all the other driving forces is that small businesses owners are now reluctant to hire undocumented immigrants, he said.
“Because of fear,” he said. “The ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) process is depleting that workforce.”
Lynn Brezosky is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | lbrezosky@express-news.net | @lbrezosky
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