[il-talk] Letters of Support: Repeal 14c

Sat Mar 29 23:19:58 UTC 2014

I read this and think this is a huge step in the right direction.

RH

On 3/27/2014 10:38 AM, Edwin wrote:
> Hi Bob,
>
> The Chicago Lighthouse Has given up their 14C certificate.
> Read below.
>
> September 30, 2011
>
> Dr. Marc Mauer
> President
> National Federation of the Blind
> 200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place
> Baltimore, Maryland   21230
>
> Open Letter to All Community Service Providers Holding a Special Wage
> Certificate:
>
> The Chicago Lighthouse for People Who are Blind or Visually Impaired
> supports phasing out the use of the Special "Subminimum" Wage provision
> found in Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  Society has
> underestimated the vocational capacity of people with disabilities for far
> too long.  We must shift the paradigm, from one that assumes that people
> with disabilities cannot perform job tasks competitively, to one that
> recognizes that, with the proper training, opportunity, and support, even
> people with the most significant disabilities can be competitively employed,
> contributing to an employer's profits and adding value to the American
> economy.  Join with us to end the misguided discrimination against workers
> with disabilities.
>
> As a service provider, the Chicago Lighthouse has worked for the past 105
> years to provide quality rehabilitation services to enhance the quality of
> life of our clients.  Last year we served approximately 65,000 blind and
> visually impaired children and adults through our 28 programs and services.
> One of our core goals is to ensure that each individual receives the proper
> training and opportunity to be competitively employed.  Through the
> employment of innovative rehabilitation strategies and adaptive technology,
> we empower blind and visually impaired individuals with the skills to
> obtain, maintain, and remain in gainful employment.  We recognize that work
> not only provides a source of income, but also promotes independence and
> self-worth, and affords individuals the opportunity to exercise
> self-determination.
>
> We strive to serve as a role model for other companies in how they should
> treat their employees with disabilities.  We are committed to hiring people
> with disabilities throughout our organization, not just in our industries
> program for workers with disabilities.  We offer all of our full-time
> employees (with and without disabilities) a 25 percent benefits package,
> which includes health insurance, pension, vacation, etc.  For clients who
> find that jobs at our facility are not a good fit for them, we offer a
> variety of job placement services that assist individuals with obtaining
> service-related, administrative, and executive positions throughout the
> community that match their skills and abilities.
>
> The federal and state funding we receive helps us to provide core services
> to our clients, but we engage in fundraising and development efforts to
> leverage our public funding so that we can maintain a quality facility with
> quality services that value each employee and customer.  We refuse to depend
> on the employment of people with disabilities at subminimum wages to
> maintain our profitability.
>
> Although we have maintained a special wage certificate for many years, it
> has been a routine administrative process rather than a statement of
> practice.  For over 30 years, The Chicago Lighthouse has guaranteed all of
> its employees at least the U. S. minimum wage, and for approximately 25
> years, The Chicago Lighthouse has guaranteed all of its employee's wages
> greater than the U. S. minimum wage. It is our intention to inform the
> Department of Labor that we have no further need of our current certificate
> to pay subminimum wages, and we will no longer seek renewal of the
> certificate.  We firmly believe in fairly compensating our employees for
> their hard work, and we do not have, and will never have, any employee
> making less than the minimum wage.  We hope that other community
> rehabilitation service facilities will adopt a similar business model that
> values their employees by paying them the federal minimum wage or higher.
>
> We fully support the Resolution Regarding Fair Wages for People with
> Disabilities (Resolution 2011-09) passed at this year's convention of the
> National Federation of the Blind, and we urge Congress to pass legislation
> to phase out Section 14(c) of the FLSA.  We intend to surrender immediately
> our current 14(c) certificate, and we encourage other community service
> providers to do the same.
>
> Sincerely,
>
>   
>
> Janet Szlyk, PhD
> President/Executive Director
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: il-talk [mailto:il-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Rob Kaiser
> Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2014 11:21 AM
> To: NFB of Illinois Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [il-talk] Letters of Support: Repeal 14c
>
> I don't know if this is a good idea or not, but what about the Chicago
> Lighthouse for the Blind being that they seem to be the only lighthouse that
> pays its workshop workers minimum wage.
>
> This is just a thought.
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Leslie Hamric
> Sent: Monday, March 17, 2014 1:53 PM
> To: NFB of Illinois Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [il-talk] Letters of Support: Repeal 14c
>
> What about icb?     Equip  for equality? What about horizons  or Second
> Sense? Or what about progress Center for Independent living? Or any of the
> other independent living centers in Illinois? Just some ideas I'm throwing
> out.
> Leslie
>
> Sent from my iPhone
> On Mar 17, 2014, at 3:30 PM, Rose Sloan <rosesloan920 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hi NFBI,
>>
>> Last week, Anil and I met with Senator Durbin's labor staffer, Trevor.
>> He sincerely understands our concerns with WIA.  He also understands
>> the importance of HR 831.
>>
>> In order to strengthen our case, Trevor said that he would like to see
>> letters of support from other organizations in Illinois that express
>> their concerns with WIA, particularly Section 511, or that in general
>> would like to see the repeal of 14 c.
>>
>> *Do any of you know of any organizations that you could ask to write
>> letters of support?  * We already have a letter from the Chicago
>> Lighthouse and I have an e-mail chain with Access Living (along with
>> articles) stating their position.  But the more letters we can
>> generate, the stronger Trevor's case will be when he presents this
>> issue to Senator Durbin.
>>
>> I know I am asking of a lot from you guys, but making substances
>> changes for Americans with disabilities isn't easy.  Please use this
>> thread as a brain storming arena of potential organizations that might
>> be willing to support us.  Alternatively, feel free to email me
>> directly your ideas.  I reach out to organizations often, and
>> oftentimes they do support our initiatives.
>>
>> Thanks for all that you do.
>>
>> Rose
>> _______________________________________________
>> il-talk mailing list
>> il-talk at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/il-talk_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> il-talk:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/il-talk_nfbnet.org/lhamric930%40comc
>> ast.net
> _______________________________________________
> il-talk mailing list
> il-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/il-talk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> il-talk:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/il-talk_nfbnet.org/rcubfank%40sbcglobal.ne
> t
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> il-talk mailing list
> il-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/il-talk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> il-talk:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/il-talk_nfbnet.org/conibodyworks%40gmail.c
> om
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> il-talk mailing list
> il-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/il-talk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for il-talk:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/il-talk_nfbnet.org/roberthansen33%40yahoo.com