[Nfb-editors] Alaskan July Newsletter

[Robert Leslie Newman]

Here is Mister Bill Packee’s July issue:

Description: NFB JPEG.jpg

NFB of Alaska

Newsletter

July 2011

 

>From My Desk (In Orlando):

          Good afternoon everyone, and greetings from Orlando, the site of
the 2011 NFB National Convention. The Convention just ended a matter of an
hour ago, and I wanted to send you all the most up to date information from
the Convention that I have. 

          I have a couple of numbers that I need to run by you before I
start: total registration as of 7/8 was 2965, with 9 of those from Alaska.
Maryland had the most attendees, followed by Florida, and Colorado. With the
help of those that signed up for the PAC Plan at last year’s State
Convention, we moved up from 42nd to 33rd out of the 51 States, and $5 a
month less than the District of Columbia, in 32nd place. Well done! Our next
big goal is to reach $400 a month and move ahead of a lot of larger States
and into 25th position. Once again the PAC Plan will be discussed at this
year’s State Convention. In the pledges for the Jernigan Fund we are 22nd,
and with another pledge of $300 more, we could crack the top 10!

          Now for some exciting news: the 2012 National Convention will be
in Dallas, but after that the National Conventions for 2013 through 2018
will be at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort, where we had it this year! So, if
you missed out on coming down with us, you will have 6 years coming up to
join us down here. The NFB was able to secure the site, and get the same
room rates as this year ($63 + Tax per night) for those years as well.

          Here’s a topic that sparked a lot of discussion at the General
Sessions:  Did you know that it is legal to pay the blind and those with
other disabilities less than minimum wage? I have the press release below in
the article of the month; it will be the only article of the month because
it is so hard hitting. We, the NFB of Alaska, will be discussing this topic
more at our State Convention to get the latest on this topic, and to discuss
it more to see if there are places in Alaska that this is happening. You can
say that it doesn’t affect you, but if one blind person has this happen to
them, it effects us all. Once again, see the article below.

          Another topic of heated discussions was accessibility to
technologies, such as to the apps on the I-Phone, Google apps, the Kindle,
and other apps. It has been found that the apps are stating that they have
“voice overs”, and are easy for the blind to use them, and some are, but
when they are upgraded, the accessibility goes away, and they no longer work
for us. I was able to speak before the Resolution Committee Wednesday July
6th in support of the resolution that EBAY has upgraded and made their
website easier to use for those that use screen readers, as well as
supporting EBAY in their work with the Blind Entrepreneur Program that is
being run in conjunction with the NFB. This program shows those that want to
sell things, and open up their own businesses on EBAY how to do it despite
being blind, and using screen readers.

          I also had the chance to speak on a panel of the Public Relations
Committee and the Newsletter Publication and Media Committee. Our Newsletter
and the articles that are being written from our Affiliate, as well as the
recipes are now being used as a model for many other States just starting
out with Newsletters. Thank to all of you that are contributing, because the
rest of the NFB family is now reading our Newsletter! And to top off that
evening, I was asked by Mrs. Maurer to work at the Presidential Suite from 7
to 9 pm that evening, greeting members from across the country. Rio was very
tired at that point.

          I would like to congratulate Pamela Gebert, our Parents of Blind
Children Division President, on being elected to the National Board of the
Parents of Blind Children Division. Well done! Also, Aubrey Lucas, daughter
of Anchorage Chapter President B \nie

Lucas, will be attending the NFB Youth Slam later this month. I have let her
know that I will be looking forward to some notes from her experience to
share with the rest of the Affiliate. Have fun Aubrey!

          So, you can see things have been very busy over the past week, and
those of us that attended the Convention come back to Alaska with a lot of
information and experiences we are definitely ready to share with all of
you, so if you would like to talk to any of us, please drop us a line, or a
phone call so we can share our thoughts and ideas with you.

Article of the Month:

RESOLUTION 2011-17
Regarding the Workforce Investment Act Reauthorization
Proponent:
WHEREAS, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions has
distributed language for the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act
including a proposed Section 511 of Title V (the Rehabilitation Act), which
would provide for employment of people with significant disabilities at
wages below the federally mandated minimum wage; and



WHEREAS, the proposed language of Section 511 would be a tacit endorsement
of the subminimum wage provision found in Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor
Standards Act (FLSA) and its antiquated contention that people with
disabilities cannot be competitively employed; and



WHEREAS, this language links the Rehabilitation Act, which was established
to assist people with disabilities in obtaining competitive integrated
employment, with Section 14(c) of the FLSA, which is based on the false
premise that people with disabilities cannot be competitively employed and
therefore can be paid subminimum wages; and

WHEREAS, the language in Section 511 that defines what steps a vocational
rehabilitation counselor must take before steering a client into
subminimum-wage employment is intended to prevent youth with disabilities
from being tracked into subminimum-wage jobs, but is likely instead to track
clients into subminimum-wage employment; and

WHEREAS, language in Section 511 asserts that employers holding a
certificate that allows them to pay subminimum wages can also serve as
training facilities for people with disabilities, a claim that ignores the
fact that job training services provided by an employer holding a special
wage certificate are likely to reinforce the low expectation that workers
with disabilities cannot be competitively employed, since the incentive is
for the employer to continue exploiting their labor rather than prepare
workers for other employment; and

WHEREAS, the Section 511 documentation and review process, which is meant to
provide safeguards against inappropriate use of subminimum-wage employment,
does not take into consideration the fact that state Vocational
Rehabilitation programs do not have the resources to ensure effective
compliance with the various documentation and review requirements, including
the six-month review period in the proposed language, creating an
opportunity to expand the exploitation caused by Section 14(c) of the FLSA;
and

WHEREAS, the good intentions motivating the development of Section 511 are
likely to result in enormous negative consequences, especially the
validation of subminimum-wage employment as a viable outcome for people with
disabilities; and

WHEREAS, the language does not provide an effective procedure for workers to
challenge improper placement in such employment: Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention
assembled this seventh day of July, 2011, in the city of Orlando, Florida,
that this organization call on members of the Senate Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions to remove Section 511 of the proposed
Rehabilitation Act; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we call upon all members of Congress, not to
address the unjust law of Section 14(c) with ineffective measures, but to
take direct action to abolish the reprehensible practice of subminimum-wage
employment forever.

 

          Side note for everyone: this resolution will be re-worked by
myself personally and presented to our State Convention. I will also be
sending this out on our Facebook page as well. The bill will be looked at
again later in July, so I urge all of you to contact:

Senator Lisa Murkowski

Washington D.C.

709 Hart Senate Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Main: 202-224-6665 
Fax: 202-224-5301

Senator Mark Begich

111 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

phone. (202) 224 - 3004 
fax. (202) 224 - 2354
Toll-free line: (877) 501 – 6275

 

Recipe of the Month:

Thank you Dana!

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

2-1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar or Splenda

3-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt (sea salt)

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium)

¾ cups crunchy peanut butter (I used Skippy)

¾ cups milk

1 large egg

¼ cup Crisco oil 

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease (or use Pam) a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.  Add banana,
peanut butter, milk, oil, egg, and vanilla.  Beat at medium speed with hand
mixer until well blended.

Bake for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  You may need
to cover pan loosely with foil after 45 minutes to prevent over-browning.
If you use mini loaf pans bake for 40 minutes or so.

Cool in pan 10 minutes and then remove to cooling rack.

Upcoming Events:

October 8: NFB of Alaska State Convention

                             The Westmark Hotel Anchorage

                             8am until 5pm General Sessions

                             6pm until 8pm Convention Banquet

                             8pm until 11pm Karaoke

                             *Child care will be provided

 

Final thought:

Dr. Jacobus tenBroek challenged those at the Convention Banquet in Los
Angeles in 1967:

“Are we equal to the challenge?”

 

 

 

 

Robert Leslie Newman

President, Omaha Chapter NFB

President, NFB Writers' Division

Division Website

 <http://www.nfb-writers-division.> http://www.nfb-writers-division.net

Chair, Newsletter Publication committee

Personal Website-

 <http://www.thoughtprovoker.info/> http://www.thoughtprovoker.info

 

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