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<DIV style="font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=dandrews@visi.com
href="mailto:dandrews@visi.com">David Andrews</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Monday, June 11, 2012 11:27 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=nfbnet-members-list@nfbnet.org
href="mailto:nfbnet-members-list@nfbnet.org">nfbnet-members-list@nfbnet.org</A>
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<DIV><B>Subject:</B> [Nfbnet-members-list] Fwd: National Federation of the Blind
Responds to Goodwill Statement on Subminimum Wages</DIV></DIV></DIV>
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<BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"><BR><FONT face=Garamond><B>FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE<BR></B><BR> <BR><BR><B>CONTACT:<BR></B><BR>Chris
Danielsen<BR><BR>Director of Public Relations<BR><BR>National Federation of
the Blind<BR><BR>(410) 659-9314, extension 2330<BR><BR>(410) 262-1281
(Cell)<BR><BR><A
href="mailto:cdanielsen@nfb.org">cdanielsen@nfb.org</A><BR><BR></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman, Times"> <BR></FONT><FONT face=Garamond><BR></FONT>
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<H1><B>National Federation of the Blind Responds to<BR>Goodwill Statement on
Subminimum Wages</B></H1><BR><BR></DIV><FONT
face=Garamond> <BR><BR><B>Baltimore, Maryland (June 11, 2012):</B> <A
href="http://www.nfb.org/">The National Federation of the Blind</A> (NFB)
today responded to <A
href="http://www.goodwill.org/press-releases/goodwill%C2%AE-believes-in-the-power-of-work-for-all-individuals/">a
statement issued by Goodwill Industries International, Inc.,</A> regarding its
payment of subminimum wages to workers with
disabilities.<BR><BR> <BR><BR><A
href="http://www.nfb.org/marc-maurer-bio">Dr. Marc Maurer</A>, President of
the <A href="http://www.facebook.com/NationalFederationoftheBlind">National
Federation of the Blind</A>, said: “Goodwill frames its opposition to <A
href="http://www.nfb.org/fair-wages">fair wages for workers with
disabilities</A> in terms of choice. Goodwill wants the publicand
in particular its own employees with disabilitiesto believe that the only
choice that Americans with disabilities have is between receiving subminimum
wages or receiving no wages at all. This is a false choice based on
inaccurate and self-serving propaganda put out by Goodwill and <A
href="http://www.dol.gov/whd/specialemployment/CRPlist.htm">other
subminimum-wage exploiters. </A>The reality is that workers with disabilities
are not limited to the false choice presented by the industry that exploits
them. Workers with even the most severe disabilities can and do engage
in competitive employment every day. The way to lower the high
unemployment rate among workers with disabilities is to enhance and expand
existing programsand to create new onesthat help them to find and
maintain competitive employment, not to exploit them in subminimum-wage
sweatshops. These sweatshops proclaim by their policies and behavior to
the public, to other employers, and to the employees themselves that the
workers aren’t good enough to be regular employees earning real wages in
regular business. Disabled Americans reject this false and misleading
representation.”<BR><BR> <BR><BR>Goodwill issued its statement in
response to an inquiry from WUSA, the CBS television affiliate in
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Washington, D.C. WUSA
made the inquiry in <A
href="http://www.wusa9.com/news/article/208068/189/Goodwill-Pays-Disabled-Employees-Less-than-Minimum-Wage">its
report</A> on <A
href="http://www.nfb.org/national-federation-blind-urges-boycott-goodwill-industries">the
NFB’s call for a boycott of Goodwill Industries</A>, which was issued last
week after repeated attempts to meet with Goodwill officials. NFB
representatives were interviewed on camera and, along with the WUSA reporter,
sought to speak with Goodwill’s president and chief executive officer, but
Goodwill declined a meeting or to be interviewed on camera.
<BR><BR> <BR><BR> <BR><BR>
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<DIV align=center><B><BR></B> </DIV><BR><B>About the National Federation
of the Blind<BR></B><BR></FONT><FONT size=2
face=Garamond> <BR></FONT><FONT face=Garamond><BR>With more than 50,000
members, the National Federation of the Blind is the largest and most
influential membership organization of blind people in the United
States. The NFB improves blind people’s lives through advocacy,
education, research, technology, and programs encouraging independence and
self-confidence. It is the leading force in the blindness field today
and the voice of the nation's blind. In January 2004 the NFB opened the
National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research and
training center in the United States for the blind led by the
blind.<BR></FONT> </BLOCKQUOTE>
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