[Cabs-talk] please help pass this bill withth is NOT spam)

[vejas]

Hello,
I'm sending this e-mail to my list-serves and to many of my 
contacts as well.  I would really appreciate your cooperation.

You may or may not know that I went to Maryland for a National 
Federation of the Blind Law Program.  It was very inspiring.  One 
of the things we got to do was talk to our congressmen (or their 
assistants) on convincing them to pass a bill that will strongly 
benefit the blind community, and of the community of other people 
who are disabled as well.
So, I would really like you to support this biblind by writing to 
or talking to your local representitive.  One vote makes a 
differenence.
Here is information about the bill:
The name of this bill is the Fair Wages for Workers with 
Disabilities Act, stating that regardless of nyone's disability, 
they must be paid minimum wage.  It is meant to repeal the Fair 
Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938, which states that employers 
of people with disabilitities are allowed to be paid less than 
minimum wage.  Many of the places where people were paid below 
minimum wage are called sheltered workshops, in which people with 
disabilities were forced to do simple things and were paid based 
on ability, while people with no disability were paid based on 
working hours.
Often, arguments that representatives make are that disabled 
people are happy working in sheltered workshops and receiving 
lower than minimum wage.  However, if given the proper training 
and schooling, a person can become much happier by being able to 
then work a higher-paying job.
Please write/talk to your local congress-person and try to get 
them to support the Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act.  
More information can be found here:
http://nfb.org/images/nfb/si/fair%20wages%20for%20workers%202012.
pdf
Your talking to your congress-person to pass this bill could very 
well make a huge impact on the blind community.
Sincerely,
Vejas