[nfbmi-talk] Fw: a belated april fool's joke right?

[David Robinson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: joe harcz Comcast 
To: David Robinson NFB MI 
Cc: terry Eagle ; Mark Eagle ; Larry Posont NFBMI Pres. 
Sent: Friday, April 03, 2015 8:56 AM
Subject: a belated april fool's joke right?


This should go to list imo….

 

This must be some sort of April fool’s joke for in BSBP alone and in the first fy alone under Rodgers employment of full time blind folks in its programs dropped by 4 percent, from 19 percent to 15 percent. And that didn’t include all of the dozens of “off the books” non-disabled and non-blind student assistants and sighted and non-disabled temporary operators hired since October 1, 2012,or all the blind BEP operators screwed over either.

 

And now we’ve got Executive Directive 2014-1 which isn’t implemented and most agencies of the state including DHS aren’t even fully accessable to blind or physically disabled consumers let alone potential employees.

 

By the way who are the people not even generally notified of this tour? PWD themselves!

 

This was an April Fool’s joke right?

 

Joe Harcz

Lt. Gov.

 

 Calley and Justice Bernstein visit Saginaw, talk hiring people with disabilities

Mike Koury | mkoury at mlive.com

By

Mike Koury | mkoury at mlive.com

 

on April 01, 2015 at 5:00 PM, updated April 01, 2015 at 5:01 PM

 

SAGINAW TOWNSHIP, MI -- As part of a statewide tour across Michigan, the MI Hidden Talent Tour made a stop at the Horizons Conference Center, 6200 State,

where Lt. Governor Brian Calley and Michigan Supreme Court Justice Richard Bernstein encouraged businesses to hire people with disabilities.

 

Hosting the panel Wednesday, April 1, was Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce President Bob Van Deventer. The Dow Chemical Co. cosponsored the event.

 

Along with Calley and Bernstein on the panel were Dow Corning Corp. Corporate Medical Director Barbara Gibson, Human Resource Manager at Dow Chemical Greg

Pollock and Executive Director of the Disability Network of Mid-Michigan David Emmel.

 

Bernstein, who is legally blind, said the question everyone asks is why is hiring people with disabilities so important and why should it be a focus.

 

They have an entirely different set of life experiences they can bring to a business, he told the audience.

 

Emmel said in the state of Michigan, there are 500,000 individuals with disabilities that currently are unemployed.

 

"Nearly half of those individuals have college education or a college degree," he said. "We have a very tremendous, very large pool of untapped labor waiting

to enter the workforce."

 

Pollack, who is deaf, said the issue is more of a question of "Why not?"

 

"Why do we not hire people with disabilities?" he said. "Make it more difficult for people with disabilities (get into) the workforce?

 

"Why is that attitude there? There is so much value in individuals with disabilities and they are people who are brilliant."

 

Calley said support from business leadership is important, but in a lot of cases it's just not enough.

 

"You need to have both leadership at the top, but also empowerment and accountability through the entire system," he said.

 

The tour and program is something close to Calley, as he has a daughter with autism.

 

Bernstein said if businesses take a chance and hire someone with a disability, that life experience and perspective they have will bring incredible awareness.

 

When he was at Northwestern University, Bernstein himself once didn't get that chance. He recounted that he didn't get a call back from any of the 65 law

firms that he interviewed with.

 

It was indicated to him through his career services at school afterwards that none reached out because they didn't want to take that extra step to understand

how they could employ a blind person.

 

"It was just easier to move on to the next person," he said. "That's why this matters so much.

 

"The worst thing that happens is when no one asks and no one inquires and they say, 'You know what? It's easier just to move past this person and go on

to the next.' And that's what we're fighting so hard to change."

 

Calley closed out the panel by telling the audience about hiring people with disabilities to "Please, give it a shot."

 

"Just one person. One position. Give it a try," he said. "Just commit to giving it a try once. You're not risking that much to do that."

 

Source:

http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index.ssf/2015/04/lt_governor_calley_and_justice.html