Mayor Adams and MOCJ Director Logan Celebrate Inaugural Graduates of Commercial Driver's License Training Reentry Program, Highlight Graduates' Immediate Success

June 25, 2025

19 Former Justice-Involved New Yorkers Now Beginning Trucking Careers  
Thanks to City-Sponsored Workforce Development Program 

Research Finds Poverty and Lack of Access to Vocational
Training Are Key Drivers of Incarceration and Recidivism 

ALL Program Participants Landed Jobs Paying Upwards of $80,000
Per Year Immediately After Graduation 

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ) Director Deanna Logan today announced that 19 New Yorkers have graduated from an innovative new program that pairs formerly justice-involved adults with Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) training — addressing two critical needs: providing financial stability to individuals formerly incarcerated and helping fill workforce gaps in an industry facing significant labor shortages. Recognizing that financial stability and meaningful employment can reduce recidivism and improve community safety, MOCJ forged a public-private partnership with Emerge Career — a one-stop workforce development platform that recruits, assesses, trains, and places justice-involved individuals into high-demand, high-wage careers — and local driving schools to develop a tech-forward program that participants can access both from their phones and behind the wheel of a big rig.  

The unemployment rate for individuals reentering society after incarceration is 60 percent, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — 12 times New York City’s unemployment rate. Yet, 100 percent of the city’s recent CDL program graduates have already secured well-paying jobs that pay nearly $125,000 annually, and MOCJ is planning to expand the program in 2026.  

“One mistake should not destroy a person’s life because every New Yorker deserves a second chance,” said Mayor Adams. “That’s why we launched this innovative Commercial Driver’s License training program — to pair formerly justice-involved individuals with real economic opportunity. All of today’s graduates are now on the path to financial stability, with jobs that pay up to $125,000 a year. This is an outcome in which we all win: our graduates, our economy, and society at large. We cannot expect people to reintegrate into society if we do not provide them with the means and opportunity to earn a decent living. That is exactly what our CDL program does, and that’s exactly why we will be expanding it next year. Our CDL program is an upstream solution to a downstream problem — and it is yet another example of how we are working hard every day to keep New York City the safest big city in America.” 

“We're working with partners to provide innovative solutions to problems that have long confounded our society,” said MOCJ Director Logan. “Even after serving their time, it can be next to impossible for justice-involved people to find good jobs. That’s why we’re so passionate about reentry programs like this — and impressed with its outcomes.”  
  
Last December, Emerge Career began recruiting and training a cohort of justice-involved New Yorkers with the goal of placing them in trucking careers within a year. Through a combination of online and in-person training, all 20 participants quickly earned their Commercial Learner’s Permits.  
  
Within five months, 10 participants had graduated with a CDL and started full-time jobs, while seven others are currently in the hiring process as the program completes its sixth month.    

According to the American Trucking Association, the U.S. is facing a shortage of more than 60,000 drivers. CDL training provides a fast, accessible path to high-wage, stable employment in a critical industry that urgently needs talent — making it especially well-suited for ideal justice-impacted individuals who are often excluded from licensed professions.  

“This outstanding program shows our city has not given up on the previously incarcerated, and neither should our society,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. “This valuable CDL training will help formerly incarcerated people fill important roles in the job market and give them a true second chance at leading productive, responsible lives. I wish all of today’s graduates great success, and I encourage others who have previously been incarcerated to take advantage of similar opportunities that can help them turn their lives around.” 

“Because unemployment is one of the root causes of recidivism, the real risk lies not in offering these New Yorkers second chances, but in denying them,” said Uzoma “Zo” Orchingwa, co-founder, Emerge Career. “Virtually every person incarcerated in New York City will eventually return to our communities, and the vast majority simply want the opportunity to rebuild their lives and create a better future. By investing in reentry and workforce development, we not only transform individual lives — we also make our communities safer and stronger.”  

“This initiative is more than a training program,” said David Hennis, a newly licensed truck driver from the Bronx. “It’s a lifeline, a community, and a place where second chances turn into success stories.” 

MOCJ — and its Community Innovations team — relies on data to guide its outreach efforts. Research consistently shows that poverty and limited access to vocational training and education are major contributors to incarceration and recidivism. According to a 2018 Brookings study, more than 80 percent of incarcerated men were jobless and had no income in the year prior to their incarceration. After release, only 20 percent reported earning at least $15,000 in their first year back in the community. By contrast, newly employed graduates of the city’s CDL program have secured positions with starting salaries ranging from $78,000 to $124,800.  

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