Apple’s reversal of a policy banning workers who have a criminal record from working on its new Spaceship campus is a good start. But just a start. The company still has not replied to a letter from the leaders of Ironworkers Local 377, which supplies workers for the construction of the new campus, to explain the criteria for the “case by case basis” on which Apple now plans to evaluate workers.
While the union, along with the other trades, commends the company for using union labor on its new multi-billion dollar campus, the need to do more for “fair chance” hiring is great. It’s been reported that about one in three adults has been arrested or convicted of a crime. But it doesn’t mean they don’t deserve a second chance; and employment is one of the most effective rehabilitative activities available. Serving time reportedly has an impact of decreasing earnings by 40 per cent, so the need for the second chance is critical.
In the letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, leaders of the Ironworkers Local 377 asked him to recognize that “employment is the very thing that will sever the connection to a criminal past.” Lifting the ban on formerly incarcerated men and women from working on construction of the Apple campus is a victory. And as the most widely recognized brand in the world, Apple can influence others, leading by example. We ask that Apple and others recognize that certain communities have suffered disproportionately from incarceration. These same communities have little representation in the core workforce of technology companies.
According to the National Employment Law Project, there are now 15 states and over 100 cities and counties that have taken steps to remove barriers to employment for qualified workers with records. Six states, Washington D.C., and eleven cities and counties extend their fair chance hiring policies to local private employers as well. Lifting the ban addresses the stark inequality emerging as one of the greatest challenges of the modern era. Let’s hope others follow.
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