Located on St. Paul’s East Side, Progressive Baptist Church is known for its food-shelf partnership with Second Harvest Heartland, a college tour that draws 100 students and a large community meal.
On Thursday, the church will break new ground when it comes to outreach: An all-day job fair will feature 50 or more employers, from Amazon, FedEx and McDonald’s to Metro Transit and the city of St. Paul.
And several of those employers are open to hiring workers with criminal histories.
“I’d say 10 to 15 percent of employers, maybe 20 percent, are ‘felony friendly,’ ” said the Rev. Melvin Miller, who co-pastors the church with his father.
The goal is to help address one of the most persistent barriers to a former prisoner’s re-entry into society — a lack of employment. A prison record or felony conviction greatly reduces a person’s chances of finding a job.
Coupled with the country’s high incarceration rate, that trend could have negative consequences for the nation’s economic productivity. The topic has been studied at length by the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C., among other think tanks.
They say hiring practices have become unforgiving, which has a disproportionate impact on poor communities and communities of color.
What’s more, long-term worker shortages are on the horizon as baby boomers retire, and many employers will need to find ways to bring employees with complicated histories and gaps in their employment into the fold.
“We have a lot of young men who are trying to re-establish themselves, and they find it difficult to rent apartments and find a job, even a job paying minimum wage,” Miller said. “When someone has paid their debt to society, we want them to re-enter society, and a lot of these individuals are not given the time of day.”
The job fair will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday at Progressive Baptist Church’s Imani Life Center in the lower level, at 1505 Burns Ave.
Jeffry Martin, president of the St. Paul NAACP branch, said this is the third year of the fair, which last year drew 17 employers. He expects three times as many job booths on Thursday, including several staffing agencies.
Martin’s advice to job-seekers is to dress professionally, be confident and courteous and bring a resume.
Anyone with questions about the job fair can call 651-505-3496.
