The Obama administration on Monday got executives from 19 national and local companies to pledge that their businesses will make it easier for former felons to get jobs.
“The pledge represents a call-to-action for all 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,” the White House said in a statement Monday.
The executives represented American Airlines, Busboys and Poets, Coca-Cola, Facebook, Georgia Pacific, Google, Greyston Bakery, Hershey, Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System, Koch Industries, Libra Group, PepsiCo, Prudential, Starbucks, Uber, Under Amour/Plank Industries, Unilever and Xerox.
U.S. prisons release 600,000 inmates annually, the White House stated. Approximately 70 million Americans of working age, or one in three, have a criminal record.
“Too often, that record disqualifies individuals from being a full participant in their communities — even if they’ve already paid their debt to society,” the White House stated. “As a result, millions of Americans have difficulty finding employment.”
The meeting was the administration’s latest step toward President Obama’s goal of helping former prisoners re-enter society and reforming the nation’s criminal justice system.
