[IL-Talk] Items From President Riccobono's Notebook

[davant1958 at gmail.com]

Good morning all,

The below items were taken from President Riccobono's weekly notebook:


News:


Amazon Employment Discrimination Case Filed:
We have filed a suit in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District
of Michigan against Amazon.com for employment discrimination. Maryann Murad,
a blind member and co-complainant, tried to apply for a virtual customer
service position with Amazon but could not complete the inaccessible online
assessment on Amazon's proprietary customer service platform, which is
incompatible with Voiceover, the Apple text-to-speech screen-reading
software. We tried to work with Amazon to resolve the issue, but we were
unsuccessful. More information can be found in the press release on our
website
<https://nfb.org/about-us/press-room/blind-woman-files-employment-discrimina
tion-suit-against-amazoncom> . 


 


Labor Day:


As many celebrated a long weekend, the National Federation of the Blind
continued to fight against the federal law that creates a second-class
workforce. Read the recent blog post, "Shout Out to the Forgotten Laborers
<https://www.nfb.org/blog/shout-out-forgotten-laborers> ." Additionally, we
commend those who are committed to fair wages for all, such as Microsoft who
will not work with any supplier that participates in subminimum wages
<https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2019/07/12/the-power-of-inclusion
-extending-our-learnings-from-the-supported-employment-program/> . 

 


 


Open-House Gathering-Calls for Prospective Members:


Share this event information with contacts who are interested in the
National Federation of the Blind but are not members yet: On Wednesday,
September 18, 2019, at 8:00 p.m., we are hosting another call for blind
people to learn more about the benefits of membership. Take advantage of
this opportunity to hear from active members and leaders on the myths and
uncertainties of the Federation. Sign up by emailing membership at nfb.org
<mailto:membership at nfb.org>  or calling 410-659-9314, extension 2509. 

 


Meet the Blind Month-Web and Technology:
We celebrate Meet the Blind Month every October, with members conducting
outreach activities across the country. If you are still looking for ideas
for the month, a recommendation is to focus on web and technology
accessibility. Here are some ideas: demonstrate accessibility and the tools
used for daily activities using an iPhone or computer at a public library, a
local event, or a school; or plan a presentation to a local business such as
a bank. If you aren't comfortable with a technology demonstration, plan an
event in your local community to talk about blindness and the NFB
philosophy. There is still time to order materials from the Independence
Market such as Braille alphabet cards. Send your date, location, and a brief
description of the event details to  <mailto:web at nfb.org> web at nfb.org.
Please use #MeetTheBlind in social media.


 


Complete WebAIM Screen-Reader-User Survey:
WebAIM, a web accessibility solutions provider, conducts an annual survey to
help inform development choices for those creating accessible web content
and web standards. There are thirty-three brief questions that will take
approximately ten to fifteen minutes to complete. It is the most
comprehensive collection of data on these topics and is also referenced by
many in the industry when discussing trends and making decisions in the
field of web accessibility.
<https://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey8/> Take the survey now! 


 

Imagineering Our Future:
Our monthly e-newsletter is a great way for members, supporters, volunteers,
and contributors to stay up-to-date with what is happening and learn about
the awesome work we do every day. Please encourage those who are friends and
family of the Federation to sign up for our newsletter and to follow up on
the action items in each month's issue. This is especially helpful if you
can encourage our local chapter and state affiliate donors to do so. It
helps us keep in regular touch with them. Sign up at
https://nfb.org/resources/publications-and-media/imagineering-our-future.

 

Denise R. Avant, Esq.

President,

National Federation of the Blind of Illinois

773-991-8050

Live the life you want.

 

For more information about NFBI,

Go to www.nfbofillinois.org