[nfbwatlk] FW: [Nfbnet-members-list] Letter of Support forH.R.3086, the Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act

Lauren Merryfield lauren1 at catliness.com
Sun Feb 26 09:26:26 UTC 2012


Hi,
After I graduated from college, the agency had me come into the office and 
they had me sort nuts and bolts.  I felt so terrible about it that it made 
me cry.  I was afraid they were going to recommend some center somewhere 
that paid less than minimum wage, even after graduating with honors from the 
university.  Thank goodness they didn't have any programs like that in 
Nebraska.  I wouldn't have allowed myself to be in such a setting, though. 
It seems like those who are placed in such programs need to be told not to 
participate in them.  One reason they exist is that some clients allow 
themselves to be put into them, not knowing any better.  But, the ones who 
really blow it are the professionals who supervise and run those programs 
because they *do* know better, somewhere down in their souls.
Thanks
Lauren
advice from my cats: "meow when you feel like it."
"There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats." ~
Albert Schweitzer
My new book, "there's more than one way to love a cat," is available at 
amazon.com
Visit us at catliness.com
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mary Ellen" <gabias at telus.net>
To: "'NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List'" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: <list at cfb.ca>
Sent: Saturday, February 25, 2012 11:16 PM
Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] FW: [Nfbnet-members-list] Letter of Support 
forH.R.3086, the Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act


> Fantastic letter!
>
> I once briefly worked on the staff of a sheltered workshop that "served"
> people with all sorts of disabilities.
>
> My job was to help supervise fourteen people who had extremely severe
> cognitive limitations.  They did make work, often sorting nuts and bolts
> over and over again.  Some of them took home less than ten dollars a week!
>
> I'm sure that the sheltered workshop employers would argue that none of
> these people could function, even with intensive support, in any 
> competitive
> work situation at all.  My question to the staff, a question that was 
> never
> satisfactorily answered, was why people who had no capacity to do 
> productive
> factory work were put in a make work position in the first place. 
> Wouldn't
> it have been far better, since two people were employed to supervise them
> anyway, to create a much less rigid program that helped identify the
> particular strengths of those individuals and put them in a position where
> they could genuinely succeed at something?  What if energy had been spent 
> in
> teaching them how to prepare food or wash clothes?  What if they had been
> encouraged to take up a craft or do art work or play music?  What real
> purpose was served in having them sort nuts and bolts that the staff took
> into another room and mixed up so that they could sort them again?
>
> There was a lot of talk about how good those folks felt about going to 
> work
> every day.  One of the guys commented after having taken his check home 
> one
> week that it wasn't even enough to buy a six pack of beer.  Many of the
> others were far more motivated by the stamps they received for good 
> behavior
> which allowed them to purchase candy or trinkets at the little store the
> shop ran.  The token economy, designed to control bad behavior and shape
> good behavior, was much more meaningful than an insulting paycheck!
>
> Would the shop really have had to put together a phony factory for these
> folks to have an enjoyable time each day?  I don't think so!
>
> Frankly, I was relieved to be laid off after six months when the federal
> work experience funds used to hire me ran out.  Though my immediate
> supervisor was a really good person, I generally had much more respect for
> the severely mentally handicapped people who sorted the nuts and bolts 
> than
> I had for the supposed professionals who ran the place!
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Mike Freeman
> Sent: February 24, 2012 9:10 PM
> To: nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nfbwatlk] FW: [Nfbnet-members-list] Letter of Support for
> H.R.3086, the Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act
>
> From: nfbnet-members-list-bounces at nfbnet.org
> [mailto:nfbnet-members-list-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of David Andrews
> Sent: Friday, February 24, 2012 5:35 PM
> To: nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [Nfbnet-members-list] Letter of Support for H.R. 3086, the Fair
> Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> From: "Freeh, Jessica" <JFreeh at nfb.org>
> To: "dandrews at visi.com" <dandrews at visi.com>
> Date: Fri, 24 Feb 2012 07:56:51 -0800
> Subject: please post on all listservs
> Thread-Topic: please post on all listservs
> Thread-Index: AczzDNloaZYGeh1lQGutoG9QUzUy9g==
>
> February 23, 2012
>
>
>
> Dear United States Representative:
>
>
>
> I am writing to you in support of H.R. 3086, the Fair Wages for Workers 
> with
> Disabilities Act of 2011.  If you are already one of the cosponsors of 
> this
> bill, I thank you.  If you have not signed on as a cosponsor, I urge you 
> to
> do so as quickly as you can.  I am also writing to you representing 
> disabled
> Americans who are affected by subminimum wage payments who want this bill 
> to
> pass.  Furthermore, I am writing to you to sound the alarm against those 
> who
> say that they know better what to do for the disabled than disabled
> Americans themselves.  They will tell you that disabled Americans cannot
> speak for themselves and that they have taken on "this burden."  They are
> trying to deny us our own voice in Congress and we ask you to listen to 
> the
> people, not to the self-appointed so-called spokesmen of the people.
>
>
>
> The National Federation of the Blind and the growing list of over forty
> other organizations of disabled Americans that support this legislation 
> are
> well aware that those of you who are cosponsoring this legislation or
> considering doing so are receiving considerable pressure from
> representatives of sheltered workshops and others holding special wage
> certificates that allow them to pay less than the federal minimum wage. 
> You
> are being told that the workers who receive subminimum wages in the
> sheltered workshop system have nowhere else to go, and that their lives
> would be destroyed by H.R. 3086.  Those of you from Missouri, in fact, may
> have received a piece of correspondence that asks, "Where will Sammy, 
> Patti,
> and Becky go when you eliminate their jobs?"  This flyer also contains
> quotes from parents, siblings, and caregivers of sheltered workshop
> employees, wondering what H.R. 3086 will mean for their loved ones.
>
>
>
> Wh<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
> "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />atever the motives of the
> people behind it, the correspondence is based on outdated ideas about the
> capacity of workers with disabilities and a misguided commitment to an
> antiquated model of service to such workers.  Rather than participating in 
> a
> constructive dialogue about what life will be like for workers with
> disabilities, once the subminimum wage exemption is phased out in three
> years as required by H.R. 3086, the workshops choose to circulate
> correspondence meant to pull on your heartstrings, to evoke your pity, and
> to promote low expectations.
>
>
>
> The argument of the sheltered workshops is that some people, particularly
> those with severe developmental disabilities, are simply unfit for
> competitive employment.  This is simply wrong.  To continue this practice
> when proven employment strategies exist is inexcusable.
>
>
>
> We are also told that these individuals must be given a choice.  We are 
> all
> for freedom of choice, but true freedom of choice can only come with
> unbiased and accurate information.  Do Sammy, Patti, and Becky know that
> people like them are in fact working in competitive jobs?  Do they know 
> that
> services like supported employment are already available to help them
> acquire and keep such jobs?  Do their parents, guardians, and loved ones
> know this?  My experience tells me that they do not. Rather, they have far
> more likely been told by sheltered workshop staff-who all too often share
> society's low expectations for disabled people and have an obvious 
> conflict
> of interest-that Sammy, Patti, and Becky will never achieve competitive
> employment and that the sheltered workshop is the best they can hope for.
> In short, what they have been told is neither accurate nor unbiased.
>
>
>
> Despite the manipulative tone of the correspondence, however, it is fair
> enough to ask what will happen to Sammy, Patti, and Becky and others like
> them if this bill passes.  I believe that the answer to this question is
> limited only by the spirit, ambition, and imagination of disabled workers
> themselves, and by our willingness as a society to work hard to help them
> succeed in their goals.  I believe that disabled workers can do far better
> than receiving pennies per hour.  Under this bill, they will either earn
> real wages in the workshops that currently employ them, or they will 
> receive
> the training and support that they need to obtain competitive employment
> somewhere else.  Imagine for a moment that all of the government and
> philanthropic resources that are currently supporting the sheltered 
> workshop
> system were redirected to finding real employment opportunities for people
> with disabilities.  If they were, I suspect that solutions as yet undreamt
> of would emerge to help such individuals succeed in competitive employment
> situations.
>
>
>
> The sheltered workshop industry has existed for over seventy years.  Many
> argue that it is an acceptable status quo, which must not be changed.  We
> reject this formulation.  Even if you believe that those of us advocating
> against subminimum wages do not have all the answers, this is no excuse 
> for
> allowing the system to continue.  The current practice of paying 
> subminimum
> wages is unfair, discriminatory, and immoral, and no amount of 
> hand-wringing
> about what may follow it can change that.  Please do not simply let 
> inertia
> direct our course.  We are urging you and other willing partners, 
> including
> any from the sheltered workshop industry, to work with us to find real
> solutions for people like Sammy, Patti, and Becky, rather than shrugging
> your shoulders and saying that the exploitation must continue because we 
> as
> a society will not expend the effort to come up with anything better.
>
>
>
> There was a time in our nation's history when African-Americans were
> believed to have limited capacity and were fit only for slave labor on
> plantations.  There was a time when women were thought capable only of
> maintaining the family home, and thus were not even permitted to vote.
> Fortunately we realized as a nation that it was bigotry and low 
> expectations
> that were defining the roles of African-Americans and women rather than
> their true capabilities.  We realized, albeit belatedly, that America 
> would
> be a better nation if the true capacities of these citizens were 
> unleashed.
> Americans with disabilities are now calling upon our fellow citizens to
> realize that the soft bigotry of low expectations is condemning workers 
> with
> disabilities to near-slave labor, and that the system that arises from 
> these
> low expectations must be abolished.
>
>
>
> H.R. 3086 allows for a grace period of three years before sheltered
> workshops and other nonprofit employers currently holding special wage
> certificates must begin to pay their workers at least the federal minimum
> wage.  This is plenty of time for sheltered workshops to study the 
> business
> models of similar entities that are already paying their employees
> competitive wages and make adjustments to their own policies and 
> practices.
> Meanwhile, policy makers can redirect resources to enhance programs like
> supported employment, and create new solutions, to help workers with
> disabilities transition to real work for real wages.
>
>
>
> As for freedom of choice: I am a person with a disability.  I have been
> blind all of my life.  I know the pain and despair that comes with low
> expectations and prejudice.  Fortunately, I was given the opportunity to
> make real choices about my life and career, and to experience the joy of 
> the
> accomplishments that can only come through full and equal participation in
> society.  I want Sammy, Patti, and Becky to have the choices that I had. 
> If
> workers with disabilities truly want to stay in the sheltered workshop 
> that
> currently employs them, or a facility like it, then no one will prohibit
> them from doing so.  However, if H.R. 3086 is enacted, wherever they 
> choose
> to work, they will receive real wages that allow them to live fuller 
> lives.
> They will know the satisfaction of receiving the equal pay for equal work
> that they deserve, in addition to any satisfaction that they may receive
> from getting out of the house and being among their friends.  They will no
> longer be dependent upon the resources of their loved ones or on public
> assistance in order to buy the things they need.  They will have 
> disposable
> income to spend in the community, thereby contributing to our society and
> its economy.  They will go from a subsistent existence to one in which 
> they
> can enjoy taking in a movie with their friends, an occasional restaurant
> meal, and all of the other small pleasures of life that other American
> workers take for granted.  They will become free people with real choices,
> not virtual slaves with false ones.
>
>
>
> On behalf of the National Federation of the Blind, the over forty other
> organizations that support this bill, and the millions of disabled people 
> we
> represent, we urge you to join us in our effort to change the paradigm of
> low expectations and kindly meant but devastating exploitation that has 
> too
> long dominated the lives of over three hundred thousand Americans with
> disabilities.  We ask you to express the courage to support H.R. 3086 and
> the creativity to seek solutions that allow Americans with disabilities to
> become productive citizens.  I thank you for your attention to this urgent
> matter.
>
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Marc Maurer, President
>
> NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
>
>
>
>
>
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