[Ct-nfb] Which would you prefer working for a penny or sitting home?

Mon Apr 14 14:09:07 UTC 2014

Hey Justin;

I am always willing to listen to hear your input I may not always agree on everything, but on this you're correct. Although I have been sitting home for the past 2 years I spent most of that time battling illness, which Thank God I believe I'm cured. 

However even though I may not have got paid I never sit around and do nothing, I continue to help some friends with computer issues, and of course I've gotten my share of help as well. As I'm sure you all know and are probably tired of my stories, I have spent the past year babysitting 2 dogs, Of course there's lot's of yard work and shoveling of snow to do as well.

Now that I'm feeling (I believe) 100% better I will now reenter the employment world, and make no mistake abou this friends it won't be at a sheltered work shop. Unless I'm running and everyone working with me gets paid a proper wage.

Rich

P.S. Thanks for your voice Justin

________________________________
 From: Justin Salisbury <PRESIDENT at alumni.ecu.edu>
To: Nathanael T. Wales <ntwales at omsoft.com>; NFB of Connecticut Mailing List <ct-nfb at nfbnet.org> 
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2014 2:00 AM
Subject: Re: [Ct-nfb] Which would you prefer working for a penny or sitting home?

Rich, Nathanael, and all: 

                Keeping my thumbs employed on my space bar, I have a few responses to this commentary.  I was not in attendance at this board meeting, but I may be able to provide some valuable additional perspective. 

Does anyone really believe that the only other alternative to sheltered employment for the current sheltered workshop employees is sitting at home doing nothing?  I had a state senator tell me that he thought getting people into a residential sheltered workshop was better than letting them waste away in an institution somewhere.  I replied by pointing out the fact that this is wasting away in an institution somewhere. 

In the absence of contracts, the sheltered workshop clients go into the shop and hang out.  They aren’t being productive.  Life is comfortable and expectations are nonexistent.  What’s so bad about that?  Where there might have been a door to a future of productivity exists now a wall of concrete.  It is a beautiful wall with butterflies painted on it, but it is nonetheless a concrete wall. 

As the data and research demonstrate, supported employment is a universally better alternative to sheltered employment.  It produces a higher return on investment for states and employers.  It creates much more successful and productive workers.  If sheltered workshop clients were to transition immediately to supported employment models, they would all benefit. 

If program administrators continue to allow the exploitation of our people, they have no grounds upon which to argue that they do not support it.  Every second of our lives, we Americans make a decision about what we are going to do.  When it comes to sheltered employment, we can choose a path toward its eradication or a path allowing its continuation.  Not acting at all generally allows its continuation. 

I agree with those who believe in the need for a continuum of services.  What sheltered employment creates is a continuum of wages and a chasm in what should be a continuum of services. 

Yours, 

Justin 

From:Ct-nfb [mailto:ct-nfb-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Nathanael T. Wales
Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2014 7:46 AM
To: Richard McGaffin; NFB of Connecticut Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Ct-nfb] Which would you prefer working for a penny or sitting home?   

Rich,  

My compliments to our host chapter as well.  We did indeed have a great and lively meeting.  

I got the impression that it wasn’t so much DORS and Maloy’s representative that feel it’s better to pay the disabled pennies an hour than they just sit home.  I think it’s much more some of their vendors with whom they contract, like the Kennedy Center.  And some of our members still need to be educated on this issue still, too.  I did think that DORS and Maloy’s representative were not as strong as they could’ve been, but I am hopeful that they’ll adopt the policies that we want.  I could be wrong though.  They have an immediate challenge with outfits like the Kennedy Center threatening to lay off their disabled workers, and I think we have an opportunity to help DORS address this challenge if they’ll truly and honestly work with us towards our mutual goals.  DORS wants to help its clients in the immediate term, and we have a longterm proposal to truly rehabilitate these clients so that this won’t be an issue when this contract,
 which is for training and not because these clients actually have jobs like you had and my wife and I are blessed with, is over in a few years (and this model does need to end over a responsible period of time).  

Best, and keep up your passion!  

Nathanael  

From:Richard McGaffin   
Sent:Sunday, April 13, 2014 5:55 AM  
To:NFB of Connecticut Mailing List   
Subject:[Ct-nfb] Which would you prefer working for a penny or sitting home?    

Good morning all;  

First let me say how happy I was to see all my good friends yesterday, and in my opinion, I thought the host chapter did a great job in taking care of all of us.  

However, I have to admit after hearing the response to our questions yesterday, I amost feel that we've been had, by both DORS/BESB and Malloy's representative. Its there something wrong with me, or did I get the impression that it's fine that they pay the disabled less than minimum wage as long as they had a place to go to each day. Perhaps I'm wrong, but that was the impression I got. I am very disgusted, with what I heard. And I say I don't know about the rest of you but I'd rather sit home with my thumb up my Ass then get paid less than minimum wage! This crap about having to move slowly is just that! I personally think it's wrong that anyone should have to swallow that bullshit!  

Okay I've vented. and I apologize for my poor language, but I'm very angry. One last thing I should say, that if I had the cance to speak my mind yesterday I may have kicked out of the NFB.  

Have a great day my friends. I'm off to clean my back yard.  

Rich   

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