[NABS-L] Fwd: REMINDER: Legislative Alert & Monthly Meeting Reminder for Legislative Advocacy Committee

Wed Jun 12 19:11:19 UTC 2019

Aloha NABS members and leaders,

Update on the national online dialogue about the payment of subminimum wages to workers with disabilities under section 14 C of the fair labor standards act:

As some of you may have heard, the deadline has been extended to June 21.

I’m going to share a little bit of the backstory as I have heard it, not because I want to throw shame on anyone, but because I want our members to understand that we may be doing better than we realized.

As many of you know, we have also been doing a lot of advocacy to improve accessibility in many areas. Ironically, this Online system that we were supposed to be using to submit our comments was not accessible to many people with different types of disabilities.

Thus, it wasn’t that lots of people with disabilities were not trying to speak out against the practice. It was that the system was literally rigged in a way that we couldn’t speak up.

I will not engage in any kind of conspiracy theory, and I encourage people to avoid that even if it may be an instinct. Thankfully, now that we have engaged in the right kinds of conversations with people at the US Department of Labor, they have decided to extend the deadline so that more people can participate, and accessibility barriers are being addressed.

In summary, there is no reason to be discouraged by the amount of arguments in favor of the practice because the people with disabilities who are speaking out against it simply may not appear right now in the online system. Since we don’t know who is and who is not, it is vital that we do speak up, every single one of us.

So, let’s all go and make our voices heard!

In the Hawaiian concept of Laulima, many hands make light work.

Mahalo!

Justin

Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:

From: Justin Salisbury <PRESIDENT at alumni.ecu.edu<mailto:PRESIDENT at alumni.ecu.edu>>
Date: June 9, 2019 at 8:09:27 PM EDT
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org<mailto:nabs-l at nfbnet.org>>
Subject: REMINDER: Legislative Alert & Monthly Meeting Reminder for Legislative Advocacy Committee

QUICK REMINDER

The Legislative Advocacy Committee is having our monthly conference call on Sunday, June 16, at 8:00 PM eastern. You can use the following information to attend:

Dial 712-770-5197

Access Code 265669

Additionally, as everyone should have seen a little over a week ago, in my email below, we are in the middle of an amazing opportunity to get the US Department of Labor to hear our voices about subminimum wages for workers with disabilities. Unfortunately, most of the responses are coming from the workshops. We need to make sure that they hear from us, too. We only have until June 14!

You don’t have to be the world’s expert on the topic to make a difference. You just have to say what you think.

Here’s what I want for each and every one of us:

When we graduate with our degrees and enter the workforce, no employer should have the option to pay us less just because we have a disability. This two-tiered system is broken, and it leads people to continue thinking that we are automatically less productive because we are blind.

All we are asking is that the same laws that protect people without disabilities should protect people with disabilities, as well. We are not asking for special treatment; we are rejecting it.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me or to our national office if you need help with this. Every voice makes a difference.

Talofa,

Justin

Justin M. Hideaki Salisbury
he/him/his

Board Member | National Association of Blind Students
   A proud division of the National Federation of the Blind
(808) 797-8606
president at alumni.ecu.edu<mailto:president at alumni.ecu.edu> | www.nabslink.org<http://www.nabslink.org/>

From: Justin Salisbury
Sent: Friday, May 31, 2019 10:40 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org<mailto:nabs-l at nfbnet.org>>
Subject: Legislative Alert: the US Department of Labor Wants to Hear from You

Greetings Fellow Federationists:

This week, the US Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) announced the opening of a National Online Dialogue about the use of subminimum wages. It is seeking ideas, experiences, and stories from advocates like you. This dialogue will continue until June 14. Please pass on this information to your state student division and urge your members to submit comments.

The National Federation of the Blind opposes the payment of subminimum wages based on a worker’s disability, and our members have been active at the state and federal level to end this practice. Our continued advocacy has already led a growing number of states to pass legislation or policies that prohibit the payment of subminimum wages. Likewise, the NFB supports the passage of the Transformation to Competitive Employment Act (H.R. 873/S. 260), a pair of federal bills calling for the phase out of subminimum wages over a six-year period.

Here is the announcement from the US Department of Labor, including the link to submit your comments:

May 28, 2019

The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), through its ePolicyWorks initiative, is hosting this national online dialogue to gather perspectives on Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Please share your ideas, individual stories, and personal experiences illustrating the impact of Section 14(c) on the employment of people with disabilities. The goal of this online dialogue is to capture perspectives about Section 14(c) based on individual input from those "on the ground." Information gleaned from the comments will then be summarized to provide ODEP an overview of Section 14(c) at the state and national levels.

The Section 14(c) National Online Dialogue

https://14cdialogue.ideascale.com/<https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2f14cdialogue.ideascale.com%2f&c=E,1,4PF9slBskdtFpxmKp4qe0k4OamqtI3W3wKafqr8MTHROVe3sTWt_Eoj024z8mDW_NOv4xqbGqptSGNEV4ThjQfu0EhYMuAoew7i3aM0j&typo=1>

 Thank you all for your leadership and participation in our movement!

Aloha,

Justin

Justin M. Hideaki Salisbury
he/him/his

Board Member | National Association of Blind Students
   A proud division of the National Federation of the Blind
(808) 797-8606
president at alumni.ecu.edu<mailto:president at alumni.ecu.edu> | www.nabslink.org<http://www.nabslink.org/>