New EEOC Guidance Advances Fairness for Workers with Criminal Records

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Baba Bob Shipman Jr

ADVOCACY UPDATE http://www.nelp.org/
New EEOC Guidance Advances Fairness for Workers with Criminal Records
Clarifies How Employers May Use Arrest & Conviction Records in Employment Decisions

The National Employment Law Project (NELP)
May 3, 2012. Last week saw a major development in the employment rights of people with criminal records. In a bipartisan 4-to-1 vote, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission updated its 25-year-old guidance on how employers may use arrest and conviction records in their employment decisions.

It’s a move NELP and our allies have long advocated for and will be aggressively promoting. We applaud the EEOC’s action and believe the new guidance will help reduce employment barriers and restore hope and opportunity for millions of Americans who struggle to find work because of a blemish in their record.
Continue reading →

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Pardon Me Clinic Where: Sayre/Morris Recreation Center

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Baba Bob Shipman Jr

The Pardon Me Clinic Information Session & Schedule below. Share with others ASAP!

Pardon Me Clinic > Assisting formerly convicted persons thru the Expungement, Pardon & Clemency Process
http://xoffendersofpa.ning.com/profiles/blogs/pardon-me-clinic-where-sayre-morris-recreation-center
Please Spread the Word For: Formerly convicted who are no longer on probation or parole and are seeking a second chance at employment opportunities, housing, etc.
Continue reading →

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Budget hearing, We are asking all those who pled guilty under pressure to attend

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Baba Bob Shipman Jr

On May 1, 2012 at the Cardinal Bevilacqua Center, 2646 Kensington Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19125, from 6 pm to 8pm there will be a budget hearing with representatives from the courts, public defenders, and the District Attorney’s office, with public testimony offered.
We are asking all those who pled guilty under pressure, or who did not get full information about the effects of a guilty plea, to be present at this hearing to be a part of and give testimony on how many Philadelphians have been talked into pleading guilty without ever being told about the consequences of a conviction – such as denial of housing, education and jobs. It was recently revealed that 94% of all convictions in the state courts result from negotiated pleas. Continue reading →

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Join Decarcerate PA on Friday, March 30th to celebrate our campaign platform

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Baba Bob Shipman Jr

Join Decarcerate PA on Friday, March 30th to celebrate our campaign, and on Thursday, April 5th for a march to demand that Pennsylvania build communities, not prisons!
Now is a critical moment in the campaign to bring real justice to Pennsylvania. Decarcerate PA recently released a three point platform calling on the governor and the legislature to 1) stop building new prisons, 2) reduce the number of people in prison, and 3) reinvest money in our schools and communities. Over fifty organizations from across the state have come together to endorse this platform. These organizations work on a wide variety of issues, including creating quality public schools, fighting for workers’ rights, protecting civil liberties, advocating for quality healthcare and housing for people with HIV/AIDS, fighting deportations, and developing methods of transformative justice. While we work on different issues, we all recognize the need to stop the state’s massive prison expansion and reinvest money in our schools and communities.
On Friday, March 30th, Decarcerate PA is hosting a party to celebrate the launch of the platform.

Please join us for free food, music, poetry, and the opportunity to meet other organizations working for positive change in Pennsylvania.
When: Friday, March 30th from 5:30-8:00
Where: Liberty Resources, 714 Market Street

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Decarcerate (PA) Coalition Demonstration and march, 3 – 6pm on Thursday, April 5

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Baba Bob Shipman Jr

We want to make sure Governor Corbett gets this message loud and clear, so on April 5th we are taking our demands to the streets! School reformers, AIDS activists, workers, civil libertarians, immigrants, lawyers, service providers, prisoners and formerly incarcerated people, queers, transformative justice practitioners, parents and families: this is our mass movement against mass incarceration. We hope you will join us!
When: 3- 6pm on Thursday, April 5
Where: Governor Corbett’s Philly office (200 S. Broad St.) at 3pm
Criminal Justice Center (1301 Filbert St.) at 4pm
Love Park (15th St. & JFK) at 5pm
We will start at 3pm at Governor Corbett’s Philadelphia office (200 S. Broad St.) to demand an end to prison expansion. At 4pm, we will march to the Criminal Justice Center (1301 Filbert St.) to demonstrate real solutions to reduce the number of people in prison. At 5pm, we will march to Love Park (15th and JFK) to symbolically break ground on the caring, healthy communities we want to build.
You can view the full text of our platform and see the list of endorsers here: Click
If your organization would like to endorse the platform you can email us at decarceratePA@gmail.com or give us a call at (267) 217-3372 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            (267) 217-3372      end_of_the_skype_highlighting .
If you are an individual and want to show your support for these demands you can sign our petition online here: https://www.change.org/petitions/no-more-prisons-a-call-to-decarcer… Continue reading →

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Please sign and circulate petition> Innocence Must Never Be Time-Barred !!!

Posted on March 24, 2012 by Baba Bob Shipman Jr

Lapel Pin

VOTE ‘YES’ ON PA SENATE BILL 1153
Because Innocence Must Never Be Time-Barred
We, the undersigned citizens of Pennsylvania, urge the Pennsylvania Senate to vote in favor of SB 1153.
Since 1989, 1,300 people across the country have been proven innocent of crimes for which they were convicted. Only
290 of those involved DNA; all others involved that was not available during the trial. Our present state laws
make it nearly impossible for innocent inmates to have credible evidence supporting their claims heard in court. SB 1153
would provide a reasonable time for inmates to have a chance of proving their innocence without any extra difficulties to
victims of crime.
Every citizen of Pennsylvania wants only guilty people to be punished; innocence must never be time-barred. We urge
your support for SB 1153.
1153 Petition
Please find attached a copy of the petition in support of (PA) S.B.1153. Please print and distribute for signatures.

Thanks
Nathaniel Lee
215-391-5836 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            215-391-5836      end_of_the_skype_highlighting Please Request forms Mr. Lee @ 215-391-5836 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            215-391-5836      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or download here Petition for SB 1153

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“Ban the Box’ Bill Gathers Support” Pittsburgh PA

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Baba Bob Shipman Jr

Rabbi Moishe Mayir Vogel (center left) of the Aleph Institute backs a “ban the box” bill by Councilman Ricky Burgess (center). Dean Williams of the Formerly Convicted Citizens Project helped Burgess write the bill. Williams said there are plenty of reasons to “ban the box.”
Visit newspaper website
Jewish Org. Backs Effort to Help Former Inmates Get Jobs
Rabbi Moishe Mayir Vogel of the Aleph Institute backs a “ban the box” bill by Councilman Ricky Burgess.
Pittsburgh Councilman Reverend Ricky Burgess is gathering support for his bill to remove the criminal history check from job applications.
The Aleph Institute of Squirrel Hill is now backing the effort to help formerly convicted Pittsburghers get job interviews in which they could explain their offenses. Continue reading →

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Reentry MythBusters

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Baba Bob Shipman Jr

Reentry MythBusters
Reentry MythBusters are a first product of the Federal Interagency Reentry Council. They are essentially fact
sheets, designed to clarify existing federal policies that affect formerly incarcerated individuals and their
families in areas such as public housing, access to benefits, parental rights, employer incentives, Medicaid
suspension/termination, and more. As you will see, some federal laws and policies are narrower than is
commonly perceived, as is the case with public housing and food assistance benefits. Continue reading →

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West Philadelphia (19104) Pardon Me Clinic schedule

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Baba Bob Shipman Jr

Wise Choice
Environmental Maintenance Training Program

Presents:

Pardon Me Clinic
Assisting formerly convicted persons thru the Expungement, Pardon & Clemency Process

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD

FOR: Formerly convicted who are no longer on probation or parole and are seeking a second chance at employment opportunities, housing, etc.

WHERE: Calvary Gospel chapel
4121 W. Girard Avenue Philadelphia, Pa. 19104

DATES:
February 20, 2012
March 19, 2012
April 16, 2012

TIME: 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Continue reading →

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North Philadelphia (19132) Pardon Me Clinic schedule

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Baba Bob Shipman Jr

Pardon Me Clinic

Assisting formerly convicted who are no longer on probation or parole and who are seeking Clemency and a Second Chance at employment opportunities, etc. through the pardon process
Location: African-American United Fund
2231 N. Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19132
Time: 6pm to 8pm
Meeting Dates:
March 12, 2012, April 9, 2012

May 14, 2012, June 11, 2012, September 10, 2012 October 8, 2012

November 12, 2012 December 10, 2012
Continue reading →

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