[Nfbk] Advocacy Action today

[John Glisson]

Awesome, Melanie!!!  I am very pleased to find your excitement, enthusiasm
and most especially your follow-through on 'Advocacy Action' on behalf of
all the blind of Kentucky not to mention individuals with other types of
disabilities regarding our State SB 87 and National H.R. 3086!!!  I also
appreciate your 'Peer Pressure' here encouraging me to do the 'Right Thing'
and make my calls as well ... I almost worked through the day, one of those
days with Murphy's Law unleashed, and let the time get away from me before
advocating for anything!  Thank you and keep up the good work!  I made my
calls also and included the H.R. 7 Rest Amendment which will push our blind
vendors out of the Rest Areas along the Interstates if not stopped ... John
g.

PS. FYI ... There is also a House Bill, HB 10, in KY that relates to tax
incentives to employers who employee Kentuckians with disabilities that we
should consider supporting, for OFB is tracking this Bill closely.  I will
need to look and discover Bill number(s) for actions being taken also in
legislation impacting education and blind or visually impaired youth, which
is also being tracked by OFB.  Then, as you've probably been hearing on the
news, the Legislature has reached the point of Budget matters.  The House
already has its version of the budget ready to pass along to the Senate. I
do not know exact details, yet I am assured that the Office for the Blind
will suffer budget slashes!  So, when communicating with our
representatives, we do need to remain mindful of these issues and offer
support on the positive side of the Office for the Blind.  jg

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Melanie Peskoe
Sent: Monday, February 27, 2012 10:54 AM
To: 'NFB of Kentucky Internet Mailing List'
Subject: [Nfbk] Advocacy Action today

Hello fellow Federationists,
I just finished making my advocacy action calls to our state and national
representatives. First I called the Legislative message line and left a
message regarding SB87 for the Natural Resources and Energy Committee asking
them to please support the Accessible Electronic Information Act. Next I
called Congressman John Yarmouth's office and urged him to support HR 3086
which would eliminate sub minimum wages for the disabled. I called Senator
McConnell and asked for his support as well. I also called Senator Paul's
office and expressed that as he is on the Health Education Labor and Pension
Committee, his support of this bill is influential and greatly needed. 

Our own John Glisson informed me that tomorrow may well be the most
important day for SB 87 as it is the day that the agenda is made for the
Natural Resources and Energy Committee meeting on Wednesday. We need to call
and urge the chairman of the committee to place SB87 on the agenda for a
VOTE! We also still need to leave a message for the rest of the committee to
support it. We're almost there on this one! Let's see it through!

I'd love to hear from others who are calling Frankfort and Washington also.
What are your thoughts and experiences? 
Best regards,
Melanie

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Cathy
Sent: Sunday, February 26, 2012 10:57 AM
To: NFB of Kentucky Internet Mailing List
Subject: [Nfbk] FW: [NFBAffiliatePresidents] Fwd: Letter from Dr. Maurer to
the House of Representatives re: H.R. 3086

Good Morning Everyone,

We had a great turnout at the NFBGL Chili Supper and Auction yesterday. The
NFBGL board worked hard to make it a big success. This is just one more
example of how the NFB can combine work and play to raise funds and build
the organization. Now for work of a different sort. We have been making
ourselves known in Frankfort by continuing to call in support of SB 87, The
Access Technology Bill. Tomorrow is Monday, so keep the calls going. We are
also in need of your help on the national level as well. As most of you know
we are trying to gain support for HR 3086 which will eliminate section 14(c)
in the Fair Labor Standards Act which gives employers the legal right to pay
blind and other disabled people sub minimal wages. We have 44 members signed
on to help us eradicate 14(c). We also have the support of about 40 other
groups who represent other disabilities behind our efforts. But, the
opposition has launched the counterattack. Those representing the sheltered
shops have hired big-time lobbyists to speak for those they are trying to
exploit. They are circulating a pamphlet titled "Where Will Sammy Go?" We on
the other hand have circulated a letter to all members of both the House and
Senate. The letter is from Dr. Maurer and is attached below. We are asking
you to begin calling Congress to offer support for HR 3086. We need to hit
Sen Rand Paul's off especially hard because he serves on the Health
Education Labor and Pension committee that deals with this issue. I am going
to give you the phone numbers of all of the Kentucky reps. Keep them on hand
because there is another issue that is getting ugly. This is the LaTourette
Amendment which will commercialize the highway rest areas. The Randolph
Sheppard Act has given blind vendors a priority in these locations and this
amendment threatens this priority. It will allow McDonalds, Burger King and
other like establishments to invade these rest areas. We need your calls to
appose the LaTourette amendment. When calling your Congressman ask for the
person in that office in charge of Transportation and state your opposition.
Thanks for all you do.

Cathy

Rep Ed Whitfield, (202) 225-3115
John Yarmuth, (202) 225-5401
Rep Ben Chandler, (202) 225-4706
Rep Geoff Davis, (202) 225-3465
Rep Bret Guthrie, (202) 225-3501
Rep Hal Rogers, (202) 225-4601
Sen Mitch McConnell, (202) 224-2541
Sen Rand Paul, (202) 224-4343  

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbaffiliatepresidents-bounces at nfbnet.org
[mailto:nfbaffiliatepresidents-bounces at nfbnet.org]On Behalf Of Lewis, Anil
Sent: Friday, February 24, 2012 11:14 AM
To: Affiliate Presidents
Subject: [NFBAffiliatePresidents] Fwd: Letter from Dr. Maurer to the House
of Representatives re: H.R. 3086




Anil
Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Freeh, Jessica" <JFreeh at nfb.org<mailto:JFreeh at nfb.org>>
To: "NCB Staff" <NCBStaff at nfb.org<mailto:NCBStaff at nfb.org>>
Subject: Letter from Dr. Maurer to the House of Representatives re: H.R.
3086

February 23, 2012

Dear United States Representative:

I am writing to you in support of H.R. 3086, the Fair Wages for Workers with
Disabilities Act of 2011.  If you are already one of the cosponsors of this
bill, I thank you.  If you have not signed on as a cosponsor, I urge you to
do so as quickly as you can.  I am also writing to you representing disabled
Americans who are affected by subminimum wage payments who want this bill to
pass.  Furthermore, I am writing to you to sound the alarm against those who
say that they know better what to do for the disabled than disabled
Americans themselves.  They will tell you that disabled Americans cannot
speak for themselves and that they have taken on this burden.  They are
trying to deny us our own voice in Congress and we ask you to listen to the
people, not to the self-appointed so-called spokesmen of the people.

The National Federation of the Blind and the growing list of over forty
other organizations of disabled Americans that support this legislation are
well aware that those of you who are cosponsoring this legislation or
considering doing so are receiving considerable pressure from
representatives of sheltered workshops and others holding special wage
certificates that allow them to pay less than the federal minimum wage.  You
are being told that the workers who receive subminimum wages in the
sheltered workshop system have nowhere else to go, and that their lives
would be destroyed by H.R. 3086.  Those of you from Missouri, in fact, may
have received a piece of correspondence that asks, Where will Sammy, Patti,
and Becky go when you eliminate their jobs?  This flyer also contains quotes
from parents, siblings, and caregivers of sheltered workshop employees,
wondering what H.R. 3086 will mean for their loved ones.

Whatever the motives of the people behind it, the correspondence is based on
outdated ideas about the capacity of workers with disabilities and a
misguided commitment to an antiquated model of service to such workers.
Rather than participating in a constructive dialogue about what life will be
like for workers with disabilities, once the subminimum wage exemption is
phased out in three years as required by H.R. 3086, the workshops choose to
circulate correspondence meant to pull on your heartstrings, to evoke your
pity, and to promote low expectations.

The argument of the sheltered workshops is that some people, particularly
those with severe developmental disabilities, are simply unfit for
competitive employment.  This is simply wrong.  To continue this practice
when proven employment strategies exist is inexcusable.

We are also told that these individuals must be given a choice.  We are all
for freedom of choice, but true freedom of choice can only come with
unbiased and accurate information.  Do Sammy, Patti, and Becky know that
people like them are in fact working in competitive jobs?  Do they know that
services like supported employment are already available to help them
acquire and keep such jobs?  Do their parents, guardians, and loved ones
know this?  My experience tells me that they do not. Rather, they have far
more likely been told by sheltered workshop staffwho all too often share
societys low expectations for disabled people and have an obvious conflict
of interestthat Sammy, Patti, and Becky will never achieve competitive
employment and that the sheltered workshop is the best they can hope for.
In short, what they have been told is neither accurate nor unbiased.

Despite the manipulative tone of the correspondence, however, it is fair
enough to ask what will happen to Sammy, Patti, and Becky and others like
them if this bill passes.  I believe that the answer to this question is
limited only by the spirit, ambition, and imagination of disabled workers
themselves, and by our willingness as a society to work hard to help them
succeed in their goals.  I believe that disabled workers can do far better
than receiving pennies per hour.  Under this bill, they will either earn
real wages in the workshops that currently employ them, or they will receive
the training and support that they need to obtain competitive employment
somewhere else.  Imagine for a moment that all of the government and
philanthropic resources that are currently supporting the sheltered workshop
system were redirected to finding real employment opportunities for people
with disabilities.  If they were, I suspect that solutions as yet undreamt
of would emerge to help such individuals succeed in competitive employment
situations.

The sheltered workshop industry has existed for over seventy years.  Many
argue that it is an acceptable status quo, which must not be changed.  We
reject this formulation.  Even if you believe that those of us advocating
against subminimum wages do not have all the answers, this is no excuse for
allowing the system to continue.  The current practice of paying subminimum
wages is unfair, discriminatory, and immoral, and no amount of hand-wringing
about what may follow it can change that.  Please do not simply let inertia
direct our course.  We are urging you and other willing partners, including
any from the sheltered workshop industry, to work with us to find real
solutions for people like Sammy, Patti, and Becky, rather than shrugging
your shoulders and saying that the exploitation must continue because we as
a society will not expend the effort to come up with anything better.

There was a time in our nations history when African-Americans were believed
to have limited capacity and were fit only for slave labor on plantations.
There was a time when women were thought capable only of maintaining the
family home, and thus were not even permitted to vote.  Fortunately we
realized as a nation that it was bigotry and low expectations that were
defining the roles of African-Americans and women rather than their true
capabilities.  We realized, albeit belatedly, that America would be a better
nation if the true capacities of these citizens were unleashed.  Americans
with disabilities are now calling upon our fellow citizens to realize that
the soft bigotry of low expectations is condemning workers with disabilities
to near-slave labor, and that the system that arises from these low
expectations must be abolished.

H.R. 3086 allows for a grace period of three years before sheltered
workshops and other nonprofit employers currently holding special wage
certificates must begin to pay their workers at least the federal minimum
wage.  This is plenty of time for sheltered workshops to study the business
models of similar entities that are already paying their employees
competitive wages and make adjustments to their own policies and practices.
Meanwhile, policy makers can redirect resources to enhance programs like
supported employment, and create new solutions, to help workers with
disabilities transition to real work for real wages.

As for freedom of choice: I am a person with a disability.  I have been
blind all of my life.  I know the pain and despair that comes with low
expectations and prejudice.  Fortunately, I was given the opportunity to
make real choices about my life and career, and to experience the joy of the
accomplishments that can only come through full and equal participation in
society.  I want Sammy, Patti, and Becky to have the choices that I had.  If
workers with disabilities truly want to stay in the sheltered workshop that
currently employs them, or a facility like it, then no one will prohibit
them from doing so.  However, if H.R. 3086 is enacted, wherever they choose
to work, they will receive real wages that allow them to live fuller lives.
They will know the satisfaction of receiving the equal pay for equal work
that they deserve, in addition to any satisfaction that they may receive
from getting out of the house and being among their friends.  They will no
longer be dependent upon the resources of their loved ones or on public
assistance in order to buy the things they need.  They will have disposable
income to spend in the community, thereby contributing to our society and
its economy.  They will go from a subsistent existence to one in which they
can enjoy taking in a movie with their friends, an occasional restaurant
meal, and all of the other small pleasures of life that other American
workers take for granted.  They will become free people with real choices,
not virtual slaves with false ones.

On behalf of the National Federation of the Blind, the over forty other
organizations that support this bill, and the millions of disabled people we
represent, we urge you to join us in our effort to change the paradigm of
low expectations and kindly meant but devastating exploitation that has too
long dominated the lives of over three hundred thousand Americans with
disabilities.  We ask you to express the courage to support H.R. 3086 and
the creativity to seek solutions that allow Americans with disabilities to
become productive citizens.  I thank you for your attention to this urgent
matter.

Sincerely,

     [cid:074105315 at 24022012-09F2]

Marc Maurer, President
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND



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