Job Update - Good News

It's official - I have been offered a job. Actually, I fought for the job that had decided to go in a different direction. After I received the email on October 30th from the architectural company that I had interviewed with and who ran the background check, I decided to do something different. With my record, I realized I was going to have to be more aggressive to get someone to take a chance on me. I decided to write to the company and the people I interviewed with and asked them to give me one last consideration. If you want to read the entire email, go to the end of this post. Briefly stated, here's why you should still consider me. I sent it on Friday near noon time and on Monday morning, I received an email that stated they really appreciated my well written email and that they were in fact giving me consideration. I interviewed with the owner of the company and he reiterated that my email was well written and appreciated. So much in fact, that I went from being no longer considered to their new graphic designer. I start on Wednesday! While I cannot say that this will work every time or even any time again, I can state that my perseverance worked for me. I am extremely fortunate to find a company who is willing to overlook my past and see the value I can bring to their organization. I am blessed that I have talent and education unlike many of my fellow released inmates. I didn't have to overcome a troubled job past or no education. I am fortunate. All I can say is that I am extremely grateful for this opportunity and finally getting back to normal life. 9 to 5 boring office life sounds like just about the best thing on the planet.

Here's the email I sent (if you are a ex-inmate who needs to copy and paste some of the verbiage for your job quest, please go ahead and I wish you well):

While searching for employment on Indeed.com, your graphic design position showed up as reposted. I would like to ask you to please give me one last consideration. I understand that my background makes me a questionable hire. I assure I am not. I am someone who has a record due to a huge misunderstanding. Please read my blog which details exactly what happened: https://fmccarswellthetruth.blogspot.com/2018/10/how-i-ended-up-felon.html

Up until that incident, I have never broken any law or had any interaction with law enforcement. While in prison for the 6 month sentence, I actually tried to be productive and help people. I obtained a job in the education department as an employment resource clerk. In that position, I helped other inmates with finding resources for their needs when they began to reintegrate into society. I wrote and taught Adult Continuing Education classes to fellow inmates. I taught classes including US History, Impressionism, and African American History. I helped women to get their GED and get into apprenticeships. In my spare time, I helped motivate people to take part in healthy activities like yoga and exercise classes. All of this reflects my character. Even in the worst circumstance, I succeeded in achieving some personal goals and helping people to achieve theirs.

By hiring me, you are not putting XXX at any risk. The Federal Bonding Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, serves as a tool to secure the job placement of ex-offenders and other high-risk applicants by issuing Fidelity bonds to businesses who offer jobs to workers in "at risk" groups. These bonds are business insurance policies that protect the employer in case of any loss of money or property due to employee dishonesty.

The bonds are a "guarantee" to the employer that the person hired will be an honest worker. The Fidelity Bonds issued are insurance policies from the Travelers Property Casualty insurance company. The McLaughlin Company in Washington, DC is the agent for Travelers in managing the program nationwide. 

The bond is given to the employer free-of-charge, and serves as an incentive to the company to hire a job applicant who is an ex-offender or has some other risk factor in their personal background. The employer is then able to employ the worker without taking any risk of dishonesty on the job. It insures the employer for any type of stealing by theft, forgery, larceny, or embezzlement.

You will also qualify for tax breaks and or credits for hiring me. You can speak with my probation officer, XXXXXXXX. His phone number is (407) 555 - 5555 and his email is XXXXXXXXX. He can reassure you as to my character and his expectations of me. My probation conditions will not interfere with work.

I would make an excellent addition to your team. I am looking for a long term, stable position. I will work harder and be more loyal than any other possible candidate that you could hire. All I am asking is for you to give me a chance. I promise your risk will be rewarded.

Thank you for the consideration.

Have a great weekend.

Kindest Regards.

California Wildfires: Inmates Are Risking Their Lives Working Alongside Firefighters for $2 a Day

I applaud the men and women inmates who are courageous enough to do this work however they should be compensated wages that are not equal to indentured servitude / labor. This is taken from the Newsweek publication website:

As California firefighters work to contain the largest wildfire in state history, they find themselves working their 24-hour shifts alongside a group of unlikely partners: 3,400 inmates from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The groups work in unison, but while salaried California firefighters earn an annual mean wage of $74,000 plus benefits, inmates earn just $2 per day with an additional $1 per hour when fighting an active fire.

Inmates without histories of arson, sexual crimes, kidnapping, gang-affiliation, escape attempts or facing a life sentence are allowed to volunteer for the firefighting program and are trained for two weeks in fire safety and field conditions before taking a physical exam. Once the exam is passed, prisoners are sent to live in one of 43 low-security field camps throughout the state. Juvenile delinquents are also eligible for the program, at least 58 youth offenders are currently fighting active wildfires.

“In an active fire, Cal Fire makes the determination for all crews based on the conditions, and the safety and security of all firefighters. In other words, inmate firefighters are not treated differently in the work they perform at the camps,” Vicky Waters, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation told Newsweek on Tuesday. “I just want to emphasize that we absolutely recognize the incredible job these firefighters are doing, particularly when lives and properties are at stake.”
An inmate also earns extra time off of their sentence for good behavior, typically two days off for each day served. These low-cost firefighters save California an estimated $80 million a year.

“Look, the biggest, most important thing is putting out the fires,” Lisa Graybill, Deputy Legal Director at Southern Poverty Law Center told Newsweek. “And in my experience, prisoners are so eager for the chance to work and chance to demonstrate their rehabilitation that they’ll accept any work conditions. But they shouldn’t be exploited by the state. They’re putting their lives on the line like other California firefighters, and they should be paid fairly for a fair day's work.”

After years of training and fighting fires, said Graybill, an inmate who is released is typically unable to put their skills to work upon release. Nearly all firefighters in California are required to be licensed emergency medical technicians, but convicted felons are typically barred from receiving said licenses. Additionally, families of fallen inmate firefighters like 22-year-old Shawna Lynn Jones, who died fighting a blaze in 2016, don’t receive compensation the way a normal firefighter’s family would.

“Many people who are incarcerated have families on the outside who are relying on them to come home and be their breadwinner again. If anything does happen to them, will there be provision for their families and will they be taken care of in any way?” asked Graybill.

Inmates do recognize that there are perks to the job. Their outdoor camps allow for more freedom. The food is better and grown in on-site gardens. Families are allowed to use barbecue pits for their visits and can often spend the night in nearby cabins.

Still, “the pay is ridiculous,’’ inmate La’Sonya Edwards, told The New York Times. ‘‘There are some days we are worn down to the core,’’ she said. ‘‘And this isn’t that different from slave conditions. We need to get paid more for what we do.’’

“These are very dangerous jobs,” Jordan Barab, former deputy assistant secretary of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, told Newsweek. “Anytime you see prisoners doing work, they don’t have the same kind of job security or right to complain about unsafe conditions. They can’t quit or go work for different jobs. They either do the job as they’re told to do it or they go back to regular prison. This is a captive group of workers being asked to put their lives on the line.”

It’s a tricky road to navigate, said Graybill. “The danger for litigators like me is if we sue, the state could stop this program and that would be terrible because people want this opportunity.”

But if prisoners are being trusted to put out fires, save lives, and handle potentially dangerous weapons like axes and chainsaws with minimal oversight, “maybe they didn’t need to be in prison in the first place,” said David Fathi, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union's National Prison Project.