[Nfb-hi] Both Subminimum Wage Bills Passed with Amendments

Fri Mar 30 12:24:56 UTC 2018

Good Morning Advocates:

I hope this message finds you well. I’ve had the pleasure of working with several disability agencies at the national level here in the Capitol in Washington, DC including the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation,  National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities, the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services, and the National Council on Disability who is authorized to make recommendations to the President, Congress, the Senate, and state legislatures. I’ve had the pleasure of attending group meetings with all of these offices to discuss this matter with members of Congress and the Senate. First, of all “competitive employment” is only half the goal. The goal is “competitive integrated employment.” I’ve had the pleasure of discussing this issue with former Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration, Fred Schroeder as well and he has informed me that competitive employment in and integrated setting has been the goal since his administration in the 90s.

So, assuming you are correct and that state agencies are successfully getting people with disabilities into competitive employment, this actually gives more support for eliminating the use of subminimum wages for people with disabilities.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
Kimie

From: Justin Salisbury [mailto:PRESIDENT at alumni.ecu.edu]
Sent: Friday, March 30, 2018 4:14 AM
To: Melissa Gerber
Cc: Hawaii Association of Blind Students list; Katie Keim; Virgil Stinnett; NFB of Hawaii Mailing List; Anastacia Fong; mserika_2006 at yahoo.com; Dyllon Asami; Ann Lemke; Doug and Charmaine Moises; Jove Abuhle; Brandon Young; rachel.s.brandt at gmail.com; Cassandra Certeza; Shellford Cantan; Brenda Lucas; Tammy Rober; Stan Young; shannoncantan.nfb at gmail.com; shannon.cantan at gmail.com; Sally Hammond; Jonah Sniffen; State President, Hawaii; Michael Norton; David Maurer; Dean Georgeves; makapaa1961 at gmail.com; diannagjones at gmail.com; Gloria Tuuao; Scott-Michael Tokunaga; Khamtoun jounramany; kyle laconsay; Dane Alani; Debbie Gabe; Michael Laconsay; Joelcho; Gashel, Jim; Susan Gashel; Beryl Carroll; Cha Smith; Chong, Curtis; Shontel Jones; kyle laconsay; yvettecr at yahoo.com; Ally Keene
Subject: RE: Both Subminimum Wage Bills Passed with Amendments

Aloha Melissa,

I am deeply confused by your message. I am almost wondering if your email account has been hacked.

This weekend, all over the United States, children will be hunting for Easter eggs, many of which contain more money than the hourly wages of some adults with disabilities.

As part of my role as a member of the National Federation of the Blind and the National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii, I am acting in accordance with the policy of the organization. As you may know, we have already passed resolutions at the state and national levels calling for the end of the payment of subminimum wages to workers with disabilities. At the state convention in 2016, we passed a resolution on this topic, and I remember the vote being unanimous. I think you were at that convention. It was the one which President Riccobono attended.

When we recite the National Federation of the Blind pledge, we pledge, in part, “to support the policies and programs of the Federation.” It is my hope that you, and all other members on this email thread, will support the position of our organization. We made a decision together, and we can now act upon it together.

You are gaining popularity in our organization for your work to expand our participation in community service, and I thank you for your work in that area. This popularity can amplify your message of support for our legislative efforts if you choose to support our legislative efforts. If you wish to oppose our legislative efforts, I would hope that you would do it privately instead of publicly.

When I speak, I routinely cite personal anecdotes, documented facts, data, and peer-reviewed research. If you wish to challenge the position of the National Federation of the Blind and of the National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii, I would be more than happy to sit down and talk with you about our organizational position. I have indeed been openly critical of the practice of paying subminimum wages to workers with disabilities. If you work with employers that do that, I have plenty of resources to offer you which can help them transition to a more effective model of empowering people with disabilities to live the lives we want. It is important for us to have allies in key positions to make change, and you might have the potential to be such an ally.

It is my hope that all future communications broadcast in front of the entire affiliate will be respectful and supportive, since everything we do is an opportunity to build the Federation.

Lastly, I want to thank the many members who have supported our legislative efforts in the year 2018. I really appreciate members like Shannon Cantan for demonstrating leadership and commitment to the Federation by jumping in to submit testimony for Tuesday’s decision-making quickly after I sent out the call for testimonies.

Mahalo nui loa,

Justin

Justin M. Salisbury, MA, NOMC, NCRTB, NCUEB
Legislative Committee Chair
Honolulu Chapter
National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii
Phone: 808.797.8606
Email: President at Alumni.ECU.edu<mailto:President at Alumni.ECU.edu>
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury<https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury>

“Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot un-educate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore.”

Cesar Chavez

From: Melissa Gerber <247mjgerber at gmail.com<mailto:247mjgerber at gmail.com>>
Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2018 6:19 PM
To: Justin Salisbury <PRESIDENT at alumni.ecu.edu<mailto:PRESIDENT at alumni.ecu.edu>>
Cc: Hawaii Association of Blind Students list <hiabs at nfbnet.org<mailto:hiabs at nfbnet.org>>; Katie Keim <808keim at gmail.com<mailto:808keim at gmail.com>>; Virgil Stinnett <808virgil at gmail.com<mailto:808virgil at gmail.com>>; NFB of Hawaii Mailing List <nfb-hi at nfbnet.org<mailto:nfb-hi at nfbnet.org>>; Anastacia Fong <Anastacia808 at yahoo.com<mailto:Anastacia808 at yahoo.com>>; mserika_2006 at yahoo.com<mailto:mserika_2006 at yahoo.com>; Dyllon Asami <dakasami at gmail.com<mailto:dakasami at gmail.com>>; Ann Lemke <lemke at hawaii.edu<mailto:lemke at hawaii.edu>>; Doug and Charmaine Moises <moifeva at aol.com<mailto:moifeva at aol.com>>; Jove Abuhle <jabuhle at gmail.com<mailto:jabuhle at gmail.com>>; Brandon Young <young.brandon4 at gmail.com<mailto:young.brandon4 at gmail.com>>; rachel.s.brandt at gmail.com<mailto:rachel.s.brandt at gmail.com>; Cassandra Certeza <cmcerteza at gmail.com<mailto:cmcerteza at gmail.com>>; Shellford Cantan <jrcantan at yahoo.com<mailto:jrcantan at yahoo.com>>; Brenda Lucas <bluca72 at gmail.com<mailto:bluca72 at gmail.com>>; Tammy Rober <snoopytdr at aol.com<mailto:snoopytdr at aol.com>>; Stan Young <SKYCOMHAWAII at msn.com<mailto:SKYCOMHAWAII at msn.com>>; shannoncantan.nfb at gmail.com<mailto:shannoncantan.nfb at gmail.com>; shannon.cantan at gmail.com<mailto:shannon.cantan at gmail.com>; Sally Hammond <hammond.kona at yahoo.com<mailto:hammond.kona at yahoo.com>>; Jonah Sniffen <jksniffen at gmail.com<mailto:jksniffen at gmail.com>>; Nani Fife <nanifife at aol.com<mailto:nanifife at aol.com>>; Michael Norton <michael at tkprivee.com<mailto:michael at tkprivee.com>>; David Maurer <dmaurer68 at gmail.com<mailto:dmaurer68 at gmail.com>>; Dean Georgeves <dean.patriot at gmail.com<mailto:dean.patriot at gmail.com>>; makapaa1961 at gmail.com<mailto:makapaa1961 at gmail.com>; diannagjones at gmail.com<mailto:diannagjones at gmail.com>; Gloria Tuuao <gtuuao at hawaii.edu<mailto:gtuuao at hawaii.edu>>; Scott-Michael Tokunaga <skippyt at hawaii.rr.com<mailto:skippyt at hawaii.rr.com>>; Khamtoun jounramany <khamtoun at gmail.com<mailto:khamtoun at gmail.com>>; kyle laconsay <KLaconsay at dhs.hawaii.gov<mailto:KLaconsay at dhs.hawaii.gov>>; Dane Alani <danealani at gmail.com<mailto:danealani at gmail.com>>; Debbie Gabe <dgabe808 at gmail.com<mailto:dgabe808 at gmail.com>>; Michael Laconsay <dabeachbumz at hotmail.com<mailto:dabeachbumz at hotmail.com>>; Joelcho <joelcho at hawaii.rr.com<mailto:joelcho at hawaii.rr.com>>; Jim Gashel <jgashel0923 at gmail.com<mailto:jgashel0923 at gmail.com>>; Susan Gashel <sgashel at comcast.net<mailto:sgashel at comcast.net>>; Beryl Carroll <ulalamama18 at gmail.com<mailto:ulalamama18 at gmail.com>>; Cha Smith <cha.m.smith at icloud.com<mailto:cha.m.smith at icloud.com>>; Curtis Chong <chong.curtis at gmail.com<mailto:chong.curtis at gmail.com>>; Shontel Jones <shonteljones1 at gmail.com<mailto:shonteljones1 at gmail.com>>; kyle laconsay <hearkylaugh at gmail.com<mailto:hearkylaugh at gmail.com>>; yvettecr at yahoo.com<mailto:yvettecr at yahoo.com>; Ally Keene <ally.keene at verizon.net<mailto:ally.keene at verizon.net>>
Subject: Re: Both Subminimum Wage Bills Passed with Amendments

Hi Justin, sorry I cannot support your efforts because of your political tactics. You have misrepresented some of the agencies of which you know nothing about. I work with those agencies and they have been instrumental in getting individuals with disabilities to the point where they can find competitive employment. I suggest you check your facts by visiting the agencies you are targeting in your propaganda. FAKE NEWS!!
Melissa Gerber
808-227-4271

On Mar 20, 2018, at 6:50 PM, Justin Salisbury <PRESIDENT at alumni.ecu.edu<mailto:PRESIDENT at alumni.ecu.edu>> wrote:
NFB Ohana,

I know we’re super busy this week and really appreciate everyone who submitted testimony.

Both bills passed with amendments today. Here are some quick summaries:

SB 3023, SD 2
This bill was passed by the House Committee on Labor & Public Employment. The chair assured us that he was getting rid of subminimum wages altogether and just needed to add some additional technical language to make sure that the practice was completely abolished. This is the same guy who amended the other bill to limit the payment of subminimum wages to only those people who had intellectual disabilities. It sounds like we have educated him. I will be sure to thank him.

HB 1627, HD 1
This bill was passed by the Senate Committee on Labor. The chair wiped out the practice of paying subminimum wages to workers with intellectual disabilities, thus ending the practice, and also added a section for reporting requirements. The Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations will need to track and report on the progress of the workers who had previously been paid subminimum wages to ensure that they are supported and treated in such a way that will make them successful. The amendment will create one new FTE (full time employee) in the DLIR to monitor this progress and more broadly enhance the ability of the DLIR to monitor wage discrimination practices.

Now, there is no more language discriminating against people with intellectual disabilities.

Mahalo for your support, and I will be back in touch as soon as the new drafts are published with reports.

A hui hou,

Justin

Justin M. Salisbury, MA, NOMC, NCRTB, NCUEB
Legislative Committee Chair
Honolulu Chapter
National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii
Phone: 808.797.8606
Email: President at Alumni.ECU.edu<mailto:President at Alumni.ECU.edu>
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury<https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury>

“Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot un-educate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore.”

Cesar Chavez

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