[nfbmi-talk] Fw: [State-affiliate-leadership-list] TheWallStreetJournal: When It Comes to Hiring, Blind Workers Face Bias

Alexa lady_sunflower at comcast.net
Wed Mar 20 00:40:11 UTC 2013


We shouldn't ever back off from what we believe in. Unfortunately as blind
citizens of this country, we are always having to prove ourselves to the
greater sighted communities. Knowledge is power, but does that apply to the
educated blind? Perhaps to some degree, however, what does an average
sighted person see when they meet a blind person? Not his or her knowledge,
or how well he or she take care of themslf, it's the blindness! A prejudice
that goes on and on! 

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbmi-talk [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of joe
harcz Comcast
Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 5:14 PM
To: terrydeagle at yahoo.com; NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] Fw: [State-affiliate-leadership-list]
TheWallStreetJournal: When It Comes to Hiring, Blind Workers Face Bias

Amen.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Terry Eagle" <terrydeagle at yahoo.com>
To: "'Joe Sontag'" <suncat0 at gmail.com>; "'NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing
List'" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 5:55 PM
Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] Fw: [State-affiliate-leadership-list]
TheWallStreetJournal: When It Comes to Hiring, Blind Workers Face Bias


> Dear Fellow Federationists and non-Federationists list monitors,
>
> A simple Question:  How can the blind of Michigan and this great 
> nation ever expect the private sector and corporate American to employ 
> blind individuals when an agency serving the blind doesn't set an 
> example by training, hiring, and promoting blind persons?
>
> Such lack of hiring the blind is also prevalent among the blind 
> employers, such as the BEP vendors who employ persons for the 
> operation of their snack bars, vending facilities, and cafeterias with 
> multiple employees.
>
> Sighted and corporate America, and blind employers, in my opinion, 
> simply are adopting the attitude and following the lead of the public 
> sector and blind employers, and not hiring blind persons, using all of 
> the excuses cited in the survey.  An attitude of ignorance about 
> blindness is the greatest and leading factor.
>
> Right here in Michigan we have a classic example of such ignorance and 
> attitude among the sighted and few token blind yes men-and-women 
> employed by the agency serving the blind.  the attitudes mentioned in 
> the survey are certainly alive and  apparent at the BS4BP.  For 
> example, it begins with the lack of proper and appropriate training 
> and orientation to the arena of blindness by and for new employees, 
> from the BS4BP director to the least paid classification of employee.  
> While it may seem trivial to some, the refusal to or waiver of being 
> immersed and orientated in blindness using sleep shades for a given 
> period of time is both attitudinal and outwardly speaks volumes about 
> how sighted persons view the world of blindness.
> Counselors and program management who just don't get the importance of 
> a college student getting books and other resource materials in a 
> timely manner and useable format, instead of fighting over the why of 
> a $12 braille ruler, and who should pay the $12 for the ruler.  It is 
> no wonder that the sighted world views blind persons as it does.  
> Imagine the picture of blind persons that is imprinted on the memory 
> of the fellow students, some who are bound to be making hiring 
> decisions in the future,  as the blind student sits in class unable to 
> participate for lack of the necessary Braille ruler, or lack of the 
> required book in an accessible format so the blind student may stay 
> up-to-date with reading assignments and participate in class 
> discussions.
>
> Some will say these examples are rare and have little or no impact on 
> the lives and future employment of blind persons, however they do, and 
> likely they will have more impact on those sighted persons, about 
> their view and attitude toward blindness and the capabilities of blind 
> persons, and more likely than not, the view and attitude will not be 
> positive, as the statistics reveal from survey to survey.
>
> As a former employer of many blind and other persons with 
> disabilities, I can attest to the positive statements and statistics 
> surrounding the proper training, accommodation, and hiring of persons 
> with blindness and disabilities.  Such persons are loyal and dedicated 
> employees, take pride in their work and accomplishments, and rarely 
> miss work for frivolous reason or excuse.
>
> I also recall a time when MCB counselors, employment placement 
> specialists, and management were in tune with the needs and demands of 
> employers, the capabilities and interests of employment-ready and 
> blind persons in training, and strong relationships were built with 
> employers, for locating, cultivating, and placement of blind persons 
> in suitable, good paying employment.  Such was accomplished, in my 
> opinion, because MCB staff were trained, oriented, and understood 
> blindness, both as sighted and blind staff.  They were there because 
> they believed in the talents and skills that blind persons possess, 
> and can possess with appropriate and adequate training and skill 
> development of and by blind persons.  Those staff and management were 
> there for more than a bi-weekly paycheck, advancing their own personal 
> agenda and advancement, and building personal intimate and 
> relationships of favoritism; putting sighted persons and decisions 
> above the rule of law.  Unlike the staff member today, staff were 
> there to advance the life of independence and financial support of 
> blind persons, and seeking out employment opportunities, training,  
> and placement of blind persons in careers and employment.  The 
> prevailing attitude and dedication was focused on putting a paycheck 
> in the hip pocket of a blind persons, rather than the hip pocket of 
> MCB staff.  And in those days phone calls from blind persons to MCB 
> staff were timely answered and calls returned, out of common respect 
> and genuine interest for the person calling, rather than today's 
> practice of ignoring phone calls and e-mails extended untimely 
> response, and 11th hour or crisis mode response.  Now we even have 
> management and staff promoting WORK-TO-WELFARE, yes I said 
> WORK-TO-WELFARE, for the blind vendors in the Business Enterprise 
> Program, through legislative action, as mmanagement, staff, and 
> elected operators' committee members lack the courage to take 
> appropriate action to stop such non-sense legislation, as they carry 
> out their personal agendas and vendettas instead, while strengthening 
> the sighted world poor attitude and action toward blind persons, 
> through their taking the lead in reinforcing the attitude by their
inaction and silence.
> In the end, as with the use of sighted vendors in the Business 
> Enterprise Program, illegally using rehabilitation funds, rather than 
> blind persons being the beneficiaries of the rehabilitation funds and 
> employment opportunities under the law, the blind are again the ultimate
loser.
>
> How can the sighted world be expected to hire, train, and accommodate 
> the blind, when the very agency that by law is suppose to serve the 
> best interests of we the blind, are sold-out by the token blind and 
> the sighted staff they lead.  This is the same agency that is too 
> embarrassed about blindness to even place a blind person at the front 
> desk of the agency central office as a receptionist, let alone a 
> qualified blind cafeteria operator at the highly visible House of 
> Representatives building cafeteria.
> How are we as blind persons to protect and advance employment 
> opportunities for we the blind with such attitudes and actions of 
> those ignornant and uncaring career bureaucrats?
>
>
> ----Original Message-----
> From: nfbmi-talk [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of 
> Joe Sontag
> Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 12:51 PM
> To: NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] Fw: [State-affiliate-leadership-list] The
> WallStreetJournal: When It Comes to Hiring, Blind Workers Face Bias
>
> I don't remember the last time, outside of the appointment of the 
> Bureau Director, that the Commission or BS4BP hired a blind person.  
> The attitude that I'm picking up increasingly from society in general 
> is that the blind are commonly regarded as severely developmentally 
> disabled, almost subhuman creatures.  Who will give a real job to 
> anyone with that baggage, regardless
>
> of its false and undeserved nature?
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Larry Posont" <president.nfb.mi at gmail.com>
> To: "nfbmi List" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 11:05
> Subject: [nfbmi-talk] Fw: [State-affiliate-leadership-list] The Wall
> StreetJournal: When It Comes to Hiring, Blind Workers Face Bias
>
>
>
>
>
> From: Pare, John
> Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 9:48 AM
> To: state-affiliate-leadership-list at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [State-affiliate-leadership-list] The Wall Street Journal: 
> When It Comes to Hiring, Blind Workers Face Bias
>
>
> When It Comes to Hiring, Blind Workers Face Bias
> The Wall Street Journal
>
> .         March 18, 2013, 10:27 AM
>
>
>
> By Leslie Kwoh
>
> When it comes to hiring blind employees, many employers remain skeptical.
>
> Bosses often assume blind workers cost more and produce less, according to

> a
>
> new study. They also believe blind workers are more prone to workplace
> accidents and less reliable than other workers.
> The study, scheduled to be released this week by the nonprofit National
> Industries for the Blind, polled 400 human-resources and hiring managers 
> at
> a mix of large and small U.S.-based companies. The group commissioned the
> survey, in part, to shed light on why roughly 70% of the 3.5 million 
> people
> working-age Americans are not employed. (Legally blind Americans are
> eligible for Social Security disability, according to NIB.)
>
> NIB president and chief executive Kevin Lynch described the survey results
> as a "terrible surprise." With the exception of certain jobs that require
> driving or steering, "there are very few jobs that a person who's blind is
> not capable of doing," he says.
>
> The findings reveal a disconnect between what employers say and what they
> do. While the majority of executives claim they want to hire and train
> disabled workers, many view blind workers as an inconvenience.
>
> Hiring managers tended to be slightly more negative than human-resources
> managers, but overall results were similar.
>
> .         Among hiring managers, most respondents (54%) felt there were 
> few
> jobs at their company that blind employees could perform, and 45% said
> accommodating such workers would require "considerable expense."
>
> .         Forty-two percent of hiring managers believe blind employees 
> need
> someone to assist them on the job; 34% said blind workers are more likely 
> to
>
> have work-related accidents.
>
> .         One-quarter of respondents said blind employees are "more
> sensitive" than other employees; the same percentage said they were "more
> difficult to supervise."
>
> .         Twenty-three percent of hiring managers said blind employees are
> not as productive as their colleagues, and 19% believe these employees 
> have
> a higher absentee rate.
>
> Blindness is largely absent from corporate conversation about employees 
> with
>
> disabilities with the exception of sporadic lawsuits: Last August, 
> Hawaiian
> Electric Co. agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a discrimination suit by a
> partially blind employee, the AP reported. And in December, Bloomberg
> reported that a blind ex-banker at the Royal Bank of Scotland Group lost a
> suit seeking disability benefits.
>
> Rarer still is news about companies like apparel business SustainU, based 
> in
>
> West Virginia, which hires blind and visually impaired employees to man 
> its
> factory, according to the New York Times. The company said there was no
> difference in the cost and quality of its goods when compared to that of
> other U.S. manufacturers.
>
> Companies may have to invest some money to provide "reasonable
> accommodations" for a blind employee, as required by the Americans with
> Disabilities Act. However,  says NIB's Lynch, many computers and 
> smartphones
>
> already have built-in features that enable users to change font size and
> light intensity. Installing voice technology that allows computers to 
> "read"
>
> text to a blind employee costs just $1,500 to $2,000, he says. The 
> American
> Foundation for the Blind has estimated that 88% of employee accommodations
> cost less than $1,000.
>
> As for health insurance, company rates are determined by the number of
> incidents among the entire group - not individual employees - no evidence
> suggests that blind employees incur more costs than other workers, Mr. 
> Lynch
>
> says.
>
> Blind employees may also be more loyal than most, he adds. A DePaul
> University study from 2007 found that employees with disabilities were
> likely to stay on the job four months longer, on average, than employees
> without disabilities.
>
> The study also found that workers with disabilities took 1.24 fewer
> scheduled absences than non-disabled workers during a six-month period. 
> But
> they took, on average, 1.13 more days of unscheduled absences.
>
>
>
>
>
>
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