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<p class=MsoNormal><st1:PersonName w:st="on"><font size=2 color=navy
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Susan</span></font></st1:PersonName><font
size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'>, thanks so much for the update. I hope your summer is going
well, weather notwithstanding. Hope to see you on the 20<sup>th</sup>.
What happened to June and July?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Coolest wishes, Sidney<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>
jayhawk-chapter-bounces@nfbnet.org [mailto:jayhawk-chapter-bounces@nfbnet.org] <b><span
style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b><st1:PersonName w:st="on">Susan</st1:PersonName>
Tabor<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Wednesday, July 27, 2011
7:41 AM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> <st1:PersonName w:st="on">Jayhawk
Chapter list, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Lawrence</st1:City>, <st1:State
w:st="on">Kansas</st1:State></st1:place></st1:PersonName><br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> [Jayhawk-chapter] Pickets
Demand Equal Pay for Disabled</span></font><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>Coverage
from today’s Wichita Eagle. Way to go!<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:PersonName w:st="on"><font size=2 face=Calibri><span
style='font-size:11.0pt'>Susan</span></font></st1:PersonName><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 color="#666666" face=Arial><span
style='font-size:7.5pt;font-family:Arial;color:#666666'>Wednesday, July 27,
2011</span></font><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=pubdate><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Posted on Wed, Jul. 27, 2011</span></font></span><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<h1 id=storyTitle><b><font size=6 face=Arial><span style='font-size:22.5pt;
font-family:Arial'>Pickets demand equal pay for disabled<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>BY dion lefler<br>
The <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Wichita</st1:place></st1:City>
Eagle <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:8.4pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:
8.4pt;margin-left:0in'><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Randy Phifer used to work with architectural firms designing
houses for a living — but everything changed when he lost his sight five
years ago.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:8.4pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:
8.4pt;margin-left:0in'><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>"Diabetes took my sight," he said. "It
started with driving and working in December of '05, and I was totally blind in
June of '06."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:8.4pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:
8.4pt;margin-left:0in'><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Tuesday, he was one of about 20 people chanting "Equal
work, equal pay!" on a hot sidewalk in front of a senator's Wichita
office, protesting for what he think is one of the last frontiers of the civil
rights movement — equality for people with disabilities.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:8.4pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:
8.4pt;margin-left:0in'><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>The demonstrators, organized by the National Federation of
the Blind, are opposed to a provision in a bill under consideration in the U.S.
Senate that they say would make it easier to pay employees with disabilities
less than minimum wage.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:8.4pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:
8.4pt;margin-left:0in'><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>"If there's a minimum wage, there should be a minimum
wage for everyone," said Phifer, who traveled from his home in <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Overland Park</st1:place></st1:City> for the
demonstration. "It shouldn't even be a question."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:8.4pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:
8.4pt;margin-left:0in'><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Not far away, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Wichita</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">State</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
student Emily Schlenker waved a sign reading, "Do you support equality or
exploitation?"<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:8.4pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:
8.4pt;margin-left:0in'><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Schlenker, who can sense light and darkness but can't see
shapes, is working toward a master's degree that she hopes will lead to a
career in facilitating health services for underserved populations.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:8.4pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:
8.4pt;margin-left:0in'><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>"I'm going to be college-educated, and I don't feel
that my being blind should make any difference as to what I'm being paid or
whether or not I'm employed," she said.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:8.4pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:
8.4pt;margin-left:0in'><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Although the demonstration took place outside the <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Wichita</st1:place></st1:City> office of Sen.
Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, relations between the pickets and the senator's staff
were cordial, and organizers emphasized that Roberts was not the target.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:8.4pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:
8.4pt;margin-left:0in'><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>The group was part of a national demonstration that put
pickets at the door of every member of the Senate Committee on Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions, which is scheduled to consider the Workforce
Investment Act next month.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:8.4pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:
8.4pt;margin-left:0in'><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Several of the demonstrators were invited into Roberts'
office, where they met with aide Mel Thompson. They told him the new
legislation would solidify and expand the opportunity for employers to pay
disabled workers less, which they say is discrimination.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:8.4pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:
8.4pt;margin-left:0in'><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>The federation for the blind contends the bill would also
encourage rehabilitation case agents to take the easy route of steering clients
with disabilities toward sub-minimum-wage jobs in sheltered workshops, where
people are paid by the piece for products they produce.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:8.4pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:
8.4pt;margin-left:0in'><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>The wages often come out to less than the federal and state
mandated minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:8.4pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:
8.4pt;margin-left:0in'><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>The demonstrators are hoping to persuade Roberts to offer an
amendment to remove the language they don't like from the bill.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:8.4pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:
8.4pt;margin-left:0in'><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Roberts has not made a decision on the bill yet, but has
been in contact with groups representing disabled people on both sides, said
press secretary Andrea Candrian.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:8.4pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:
8.4pt;margin-left:0in'><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>The provision at issue is supported by organizations such as
Easter Seals, Goodwill Industries and others who operate sheltered workshops,
she said.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:8.4pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:
8.4pt;margin-left:0in'><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Phifer had to change careers when his blindness rendered him
unable to design houses. He now sells water filtration systems and works as a
motivational speaker.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:8.4pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:
8.4pt;margin-left:0in'><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>A former baseball player, Phifer said he considers blindness
another sport to master.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:8.4pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:
8.4pt;margin-left:0in'><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>"In this particular sport, you have to carry a cane
— and you can't peek," he said. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Reach Dion Lefler at 316-268-6527 or
dlefler@wichitaeagle.com <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>©
2011 Wichita Eagle and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. <a
href="http://www.kansas.com">http://www.kansas.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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