[nabs-l] Fwd: [Nfbnet-members-list] Fwd: National Federation of theBlind Urges Boycott of Goodwill Industries

[Arielle Silverman]

Hi all,
I read this release with great interest because my friend's mother
works at Goodwill with some of the disabled employees. My friend has a
disability too and is very supportive of the Fair Wages Act, so I
asked her if she knew anything about the wages that Goodwill pays its
workers. She made a good point, which is that the low wages might only
be a problem in some Goodwill branches, not at all branches. She seems
to think the wages are not centralized. Instead of just boycotting the
national franchise, it might be wise to do a little research and email
someone at your local branch to find out if they do in fact pay their
workers below the minimum wage. This would also be a good opportunity
for us to educate local decisionmakers about the importance of fair
wages and to commend those who do pay appropriate wages to their
disabled workers.
Best,
Arielle

On 6/8/12, Sophie Trist <sweetpeareader at gmail.com> wrote:
> I forwarded it to a lot of my offlist, non-blind contacts in
> hopes that they will take up the boycott as well. We need to
> spread this!
>
>  ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Stephanie H. DeLuca" <sjhhirst at gmail.com
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>,Elizabeth Dong <elizdong at gmail.com>, Thuy
> Tuong Nguyen <tweety.86 at gmail.com>,Kristian Kaufmann
> <khanyisokaufmann at gmail.com>, Meryl Harsadi
> <mharsadi at gmail.com>,Julia Koehler
> <julia.koehler at vanderbilt.edu>, Mom <laurie.lk at hotmail.com>,
> Alice DeLuca <alice at solynx.com
> Date sent: Fri, 8 Jun 2012 10:22:29 -0500
> Subject: [nabs-l] Fwd: [Nfbnet-members-list] Fwd: National
> Federation of theBlind Urges Boycott of Goodwill Industries
>
> So this is interesting....
>
> In the field of observation, chance favors only the prepared
> mind.
>     ~Louis Pasteur, lecture 1854
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: David Andrews <dandrews at visi.com
> Date: Thu, Jun 7, 2012 at 11:37 PM
> Subject: [Nfbnet-members-list] Fwd: National Federation of the
> Blind Urges
> Boycott of Goodwill Industries
> To: nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org
>
>
>
> *FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> *
>
>
> *CONTACT:
> *
> Chris Danielsen
>
> Director of Public Relations
>
> National Federation of the Blind
> (410) 659-9314, extension 2330
> (410) 262-1281(Cell)
> cdanielsen at nfb.org
>
>
>
> *National Federation of the Blind Urges Boycott of Goodwill
> Industries*
>
>
> *Condemns Practice of Paying Subminimum Wages to Workers with
> Disabilities*
>
>
>
> *Baltimore, Maryland (June 7, 2012):* The National Federation of
> the
> Blind<http://www.nfb.org/>(NFB), one of the oldest and largest
> organizations of Americans with
> disabilities, today called for a boycott of Goodwill Industries
> International, Inc., the nonprofit manufacturer and retailer, for
> its
> payment of subminimum wages to many of its workers with
> disabilities.
> Freedom of information requests filed by the NFB confirmed that
> Goodwill
> Industries employees have been paid as low as $1.44 an hour.  The
> NFB and over
> forty-five other
> organizations<http://nfb.org/Images/nfb/documents/word/HR_3086_Su
> pport_List_2.doc>support
> legislation, the Fair
> Wages for Workers with Disabilities
> Act<http://nfb.org/Images/nfb/SI/Fair%20Wages%20for%20Workers%202
> 012.pdf>(H..R.
> 3086), which would phase out and then repeal the nearly
> seventy-five-year-old provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act
> that
> permits special certificate
> holders<http://www.dol.gov/whd/specialemployment/CRPlist.htm>to
> pay
> subminimum wages to workers with disabilities.
>
>
>
> Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the
> Blind<http://www.twitter.com/nfb_voice>,
> said: “Goodwill Industries is one of the most well-known and
> lucrative
> charitable organizations in the United States, yet it chooses to
> pay its
> workers with disabilities less than the federal minimum wage.
> While this
> practice is currently legal and many entities engage in it, many
> other
> nonprofit organizations have successfully transitioned to paying
> their
> employees the minimum wage or higher.  That Goodwill Industries
> exploits
> many of its workers in this way is ironic, because its president
> and chief
> executive officer is blind.  Goodwill cannot credibly argue that
> workers
> with disabilities are incapable of doing productive work while
> paying its
> blind CEO over half a million dollars a year.  Goodwill should be
> ashamed
> of such blatant hypocrisy.   We are calling upon all Americans to
> refuse to
> do business with Goodwill Industries, to refuse to make donations
> to the
> subminimum-wage exploiter, and to refuse to shop in its retail
> stores until
> it exercises true leadership and sound moral judgment by fairly
> compensating its workers with disabilities.”
>
>
>
> For more information on this critically important issue, please
> visit
> www.nfb.org/fairwages.
>
>
>
>
>
> *###
> *
>
> *
> *
>
> *
> *
> *About the National Federation of the Blind
> *
>
>
> 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.
>
> *
> *
>
>
>
>
>
>
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