美国国家公共电台 NPR--Encore: Employers turn to formerly incarcerated people to fill vacancies

Encore: Employers turn to formerly¹ incarcerated² people to fill vacancies³

Transcript⁴

The hot job market has opened up opportunities for formerly incarcerated people who may have had a harder time finding work in the past. (Story first aired on Weekend Sunday on May 8, 2022.)

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Employers are opening opportunities to formerly incarcerated people to fill vacancies

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The hot labor⁵ market is shifting the ways that employers think about hiring. While recruiting, some are considering applicants⁶ they might have passed over before. Here's An-Li Herring of our member station WESA.

AN-LI HERRING, BYLINE⁷: Brandy White lives just outside Pittsburgh. And when she returned last summer from seven years in prison, she figured she'd be locked out of her previous career in patient care. It was painful to think about.

BRANDY WHITE: My passion is to help people, and I didn't think it was ever possible again.

HERRING: Instead, White got a job on a chocolate factory assembly line that left her feeling pretty empty. Eventually, she enrolled⁸ in a job training program to see if she could find fulfilling work elsewhere. She was surprised when the program staff told her Pittsburgh's biggest health system was looking for employees just like her.

WHITE: And I said, do they know about my drug charge? And they had to keep reassuring⁹ me 'cause it just didn't seem real.

HERRING: White started as a patient care technician at a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center hospital last month. UPMC's Dan LaVallee says her timing¹⁰ couldn't have been better.

DAN LAVALLEE: We have 14,000 unfilled positions at the current moment that we're trying to recruit for, so we need to get creative, you know? And for us, it's about making sure that people who have barriers to work can see a future with us.

HERRING: LaVallee leads an effort at UPMC Health Plan to support job seekers who face obstacles such as past convictions. The initiative started the year before the pandemic began, but, given the current labor crunch¹¹, other employers are also seeking out people with records. Amy Kroll has witnessed this shift from inside the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh, where she runs reentry services. She remembers getting a call last summer from a business owner.

AMY KROLL: I was like, do you know you're calling Allegheny County Jail? He kind of chuckled¹² and said, yes, I do, but I have multiple vacancies, and you have young men and young women down there, and I need to fill these vacancies.

HERRING: Kroll says she soon got similar requests from manufacturing plants, construction firms and restaurants, and there are signs it's a national trend. The job site Indeed keeps track of postings that say applicants don't have to report past involvement with the justice system, at least on their initial screen. While they still account for a small share of all postings, there's a third more today than in 2019.

HARLEY BLAKEMAN: We have actually had job candidates on our site apply for three jobs, get two offers, and then be able to choose between one or the other. And I think that's a dynamic that probably never existed before for formerly incarcerated job seekers.

HERRING: Harley Blakeman leads Honest Jobs, an online platform for applicants with criminal records. He and other reentry service providers say their clients are not just getting better pay and benefits, but they also have a better chance of landing jobs where they can see a future for themselves.

(SOUNDBITE OF RESTAURANT AMBIENCE)

HERRING: In Pittsburgh, Daijon Arnett just started as a prep cook at a restaurant called The Porch. He says he wanted to become a chef even before he was released from prison last fall.

DAIJON ARNETT: I plan to be all over this kitchen, so (laughter). So, yeah, this is a real big step for me.

HERRING: He says it makes a difference to have a job he's excited about.

ARNETT: That's one thing that's key with me. If I really enjoy where I'm at, you ain't never got to worry about me. So that was probably one problem I had when I was about 18, 19 - I didn't really get the big picture.

HERRING: Some worry these opportunities will fade when the labor market cools, but advocates for second-chance hiring hope formerly incarcerated people can avert¹³ that outcome by proving themselves in the jobs they have today. For NPR News, I'm An-Li Herring in Pittsburgh.

1 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

2 incarcerated   

钳闭的

参考例句：

• They were incarcerated for the duration of the war. 战争期间，他们被关在狱中。 来自辞典例句
• I don't want to worry them by being incarcerated. 我不想让他们知道我被拘禁的事情。 来自电影对白

3 vacancies   

n.空房间( vacancy的名词复数 )；空虚；空白；空缺

参考例句：

• job vacancies 职位空缺
• The sign outside the motel said \"No Vacancies\". 汽车旅馆外的招牌显示“客满”。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

5 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

6 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 reassuring   

a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的

参考例句：

• He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 他轻拍了一下她的肩膀让她放心。
• With a reassuring pat on her arm, he left. 他鼓励地拍了拍她的手臂就离开了。

10 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

11 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

12 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

13 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。