[Nfbk] FW: [Nfbnet-members-list] Blind Americans to Protest Subminimum Wages

[Cathy]

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


Blind Americans to Protest Subminimum Wages



Members of National Federation of the Blind Plan
 Informational Pickets Across United States


Baltimore, Maryland (July 20, 2011): The National Federation of the Blind,
the oldest and largest nationwide organization of blind people, announced
today that its members will conduct informational protests across the United
States to raise awareness about the practice of paying wages below the
federal minimum wage to Americans with disabilities.  The protests will take
place at the primary district office locations of United States Senators
serving on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
(the HELP Committee).  The HELP Committee is currently considering
legislation­the Workforce Investment Act­which would reauthorize the payment
of subminimum wages to disabled workers.



Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said:
“Unequal pay for equal work on the basis of disability is unfair,
discriminatory, and immoral.  The senators who serve on the HELP Committee
must decide whether they stand for the outrageous exploitation of disabled
workers, or for true equality for Americans with disabilities.”



On Wednesday, August 3, the HELP Committee is scheduled to vote on the
Workforce Investment Act (WIA), which contains language reauthorizing the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.   The Rehabilitation Act is supposed
to provide services to disabled Americans so that they can obtain
competitive employment, but Title V, Section 511 of the proposed
Rehabilitation Act language references Section 14(c) of the 1938 Fair Labor
Standards Act (FLSA), which allows certain entities holding special wage
certificates to pay workers with disabilities less than the federal minimum
wage.



For more information on the National Federation of the Blind and fair wages
for workers with disabilities, please visit www.nfb.org.






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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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