Persuasive Speech Outline
(Note that anything in bold (blue or black) is just an outline heading and is not meant to be read out loud.)
INTRODUCTION
Persuasive Attention Getter: According to Business Insider of July 30, 2017, Gerald Alvarez was a few days out of prison and feeling nervous. He said it was difficult to “transfer jobs, or anything of the sort. Everyone says, ‘Oh, you have a felony… we’re not interested.’” According to the National Employment Law Project of 2014 (an organization dedicated to fighting for worker’s rights), nearly 65 million people are unemployed due to prior criminal histories that haunt them on their job applications.
Establish Credibility: I have worked as a recruiter for a few years and have seen the discriminatory nature of conviction history questions on job applications first-hand.
TRS: So Today, I will introduce you to a policy called “Ban the Box,” a movement dedicated to putting off questions about a job candidate’s conviction history on an application until after a conditional offer of employment has been extended.
Persuasive Goal: By the end of my speech, I hope to convince you that we as Californians need to join this movement and end job discrimination on the basis of criminal history.
Preview: I will present three reasons why California needs to Ban the Box. First, individuals with criminal histories are more productive workers. Second, this action will actually will come with many advantages for the companies that hire them. Third, banning the box will bolster the economy as a whole.
BODY
Main Point 1: Productive Workers
Transition: I will start by discussing why individuals with criminal histories are more productive workers.
Support Point (Statistic): Evoly, a company that evaluates large amounts of employment statistics to help companies’ profile successful employees, has found that in 2012 “employees with criminal backgrounds are 1 to 1.5 percent more productive on the job than people without criminal records.”
Support Point (Excerpt): In 2014, CEO John Tucker of Dave’s Killer Bread, a company dedicated to hiring ex-convicts, stated “overall, the performance of our ex-convicts is higher than our non-convicts. Most people would think it’s the opposite: that ex-felons are a challenge, are difficult. That is simply not the case.”
Support Point (Exceprt): The Week Magazine, a global political magazine, attributes this productivity to their desire to avoid getting back into bad habits that will land them back in prison.
Main Point 2: Company Advantages
Transition: Next, we’ll look at the many competitive advantageous companies can enjoy by hiring ex-convicts.
Wider Applicant Pool
Support Point (Statistic): The first is that it gives companies a wider applicant pool. The Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia reported in 2014 that ever since Target has banned the box, they have seen a near 20% spike in applicants. Although Target still reserves the right to ask about conviction histories after a conditional offer of employment has been made, their efforts have not only widened their candidate pool (a “win” in terms of recruitment), but also promoted themselves as a forward-thinking and inclusive employer of choice.
Financial Advantages
Support Point (Statistic): The second advantages it gives companies is simply more money. Dr. Michael Welch of Rutgers University Criminal Justice Program stated in 2012 that “formerly incarcerated or convicted individuals who are currently employed … increase company earnings by as much as 2 percent.”
Support Point (Excerpt): Additionally, in 2011, The US Department of Labor offered tax breaks, known as the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, to companies that hire people with prior convictions. Companies who hire ex-felons can receive up to $2,400 per year in credits.
Support Point (Excerpt): The source goes on to explain that if the tax break isn’t enough to encourage companies, there is also Federal Bonding Program monies distributed by each state, which insures an employer against potential theft for the first six months an ex-convict is on the job.
Main Point 3: Bolsters Economy
Transition: Finally, let’s look at how hiring ex-convicts will bolster the economy as a whole. That starts by looking at something called recidivism.
Support Point (Statistic): Recidivism is the act of relapsing into an undesirable habit, such as crime and going back to prison. According to the Bureau of Justice 2015 statistics, an estimated 67% of offenders were rearrested within 3 years. Without opportunities to rematriculate into society by way of a job, criminals will not be able to break the cycle.
Support Point (Statistic): Recidivism rates are cited to drop nearly 20% if programs like ban the box become more and more prevalent, according to Washington State Institute for Public Policy in 2012.
Support Point (Excerpt): In 2013, According to the Economy League, reduced recidivism will lower costs for government agencies overseeing law enforcement, courts, corrections, and post-release supervision. The reduced costs result in taxpayer benefits and budget savings.
Support Point (Excerpt): According to a 2012 publication from the Center for Economic Policy and Research, the US economy has lost between $57 billion and $65 billion in GDP due to the reduction in workforce for those who have prior convictions.
CONCLUSION
Restate TRS: Today, I discussed the Ban the Box movement.
Review of Main Points: Specifically, I discussed why banning the box is beneficial because ex-convicts are good workers, because it increases profits for companies, and because it would make the economy stronger.
Lasting Thought/Call to Action: Gerald Alvarez said that many people in his neighborhood “just go immediately back to what they know once they’re out of prison.” That’s generally selling drugs. But he’s one of the few who’s managed to hold down a job. He started off scrubbing toilets for $30 a day. Eight years later, he became a supervisor at a warehouse in Queens and started his own business in 2016. Banning the box isn’t just a jobs program. It’s a morality check that suspends the prejudices we associate with ex-cons, and ensures that anyone on a legitimate path to redemption can be treated like a human being once again.
Works Cited
“A Salute to Target for Banning the Box.” Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia. 1 Jan.
2014. Web. Jun. 13 2015.
“Ban the Box Campaign.” Evoly. 13 May 2012. Web. 17 Jun. 2015.
“Ban The Box.” National Employment Law Project. Sep. 2014. Web. 16 Jun. 2015.
Bell, Jon. “Dave’s Killer Rising.” Portland Business Journal. 20 Jun. 2014. Web. 15 Jun. 2015.
“Economic Benefits of Employing Formerly Incarcerated Individuals.” Economy League. Sep.
2013. Web. 14 Jun. 2015.
“Evidence-Based Public Policy Option to Reduce Future Prison Construction, Criminal Justice
Costs, and Crime Rates.” Washington State Institute for Public Policy. Oct. 2012. Web. 15 Jun. 2015.
Heroux, Paul. “Reducing Recidivism: The Challenge of Successful Prisoner Re-Entry.” The
Huffington Post. 17 Aug. 2014. Web. 17 Jun. 2015.
“Reentry Trends In The US: Recidivism.” Bureau of Justice Statistics. Jun. 2015. Web. Jun. 16
2015.
Schmitt, John and Kris Warner. “Ex Offenders and the Labor Market.” Center for Economic and
Policy Research. Nov. 2012. Web. 12 Jun. 2015.
“The Federal Bonding Program.” United States Department of Labor. Dev. 2011. Web. Jun. 14
2015.
Welch, Michael. Corrections: A Critical Approach. New York: Routledge, 2011. Print.
“Work Opportunity Tax Credit.” United States Department of Labor. Dec. 2011. Web. Jun. 14
2015.
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