Gerald has a sex offense, which makes it extremely difficult to find employment regardless of the individual's experience. Even with 30 years of manufacturing experience, his conviction always caused employers to send him away. With Honest Jobs, he found a job where he makes $19/hr and from where he is planning to retire. Learn more about his experience in the video below:
Read the whole interview with Gerald here:
What experience did you have with the criminal justice system?
Gerald: "It occurred back in 2008. It was a sex offense. I was on probation, and I was on work release. And then I violated my probation. So they sentenced me to four years. I did two years on the four. Then it put me on parole, and I was on parole for three and a half years. I just got off of parole on December 2013. I'm still on the registry, and I think I'm eligible in December of 2023 to come off the registry. I don't know how many turndowns I've had. They liked my experience. I've got over 30 years of manufacturing experience. And they said: "Oh yeah, you've got the experience we are looking for." But as soon as you do the background, there is nothing you can do because of your conviction."
Tell us about your new job!
Gerald: "It's Terumo BCT. They sell blood and cell technology. They make a lot of medical products. My position is an assembler for tabletops. I'm making $19 an hour. I think they said after 30 days, we get that $1,000 bonus. It's a good job, good benefits. I think this is probably the one where I will be hopefully working at until I retire. They accepted me, and I'm not going to give up unless they tell me something different."
Would you recommend Honest Jobs to other formerly incarcerated job seekers?
Gerald: "Honest Jobs is probably the only job placement that would be 99.9% on getting somebody a job with a felony conviction. Honest Jobs is the only one that basically helped me. There is no other agency that would help me with my conviction. And Honest Jobs is probably the best resource to get people with felony convictions a job. They helped me a hundred percent, and I'm telling the truth. Because without Honest Jobs, I mean, I'd probably still be looking for a job right now. I've tried every other staffing agency, and they were not working at all. I appreciate all the help that you've given me."