[Nfbmt] A ridiculous Question
James Aldrich
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Thu Jan 2 21:28:35 UTC 2014
From:Lewis, AnilTo:Affiliate Presidents
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A Ridiculous Question
A Ridiculous Question
Submitted by alewis on Thu, 01/02/2014 - 11:32
Blog Date:
Thursday, January 2, 2014
By Anil Lewis
https://nfb.org/blog/vonb-blog/ridiculous-question
So you go to work tomorrow, and it is pay day. You receive a paycheck
for $15.00 for two weeks of work. You speak to your supervisor, and you
are informed that the company has switched to a new payroll model based
on a new law, Section D (9) (u), that calculates wages based on a new
commensurate wage formula. This new formula is only used to calculate
the wages paid to you and others like you. Although you are as
productive as the other employees, no one else but you and others like
you are subjected to this new wage formula, especially not management
or the company executives. In fact, the executives are now receiving
six-figure salaries as a result of the cost savings created by the new
wage structure for workers like you. You complain, to no avail.
Managers attempt to convince you that this new structure still offers
you the ability to receive the tangible and intangible benefits of
work. After all, it is not about the money, it is about fulfillment.
This is not acceptable to you, so you seek vocational training that
allows you to be a more productive employee. You go to a section
D(9)(u) vocational training program that claims to be the best training
program for people like you. This community training program is
operated in a sheltered, segregated environment comprised of other
people like you. The program assists you in developing the work and
interpersonal skills necessary to be a competitive employee. They focus
on teaching you real-world job skills like how to fold letters, stuff
envelopes, sort hangers, hang clothes, and screw caps on pens. Although
none of these tasks match your unique skills, talents, abilities or
interests, it is what the training program has to offer. If there are
no letters to be folded, envelopes to be stuffed, hangers to be sorted,
or pens to be capped, the program offers you the opportunity to play
video games, play cards, read books, or sleep.
The section D(9)(u) program costs more than other conventional training
programs, but it is subsidized with public funds and operates as a
charitable 501(c)(3) organization. The program has a competitive
employment placement rate of less than 5 percent and therefore, most of
the workers spend their entire vocational existence in this “training”
program. Even though the program has no measureable positive impact on
improving the employment of people like you, the marketing team is
successful in their efforts of convincing public policy makers and
philanthropic funding sources to feel that this is the best employment
strategy for people like you.
It is obvious that this new policy is denying you the opportunity to
reach your full vocational potential, while endorsing incompetent
training programs and substandard employers. You want this policy
repealed and you want the same workplace and wage protections as every
other employee.
Okay, there is no Section D(9)(u) that exempts you from receiving equal
wage protections, but there is a Section 14(c ) of the Fair Labor
Standards Act (FLSA) that exempts people like me from being guaranteed
the federal minimum wage. So my question is, “Why is this type of
discriminatory policy not so ridiculous when it applies to people like me?”
For more information, visit http://www.nfb.org/fair-wages.
Mr. Anil Lewis, M.P.A.
Director of Advocacy and Policy
“Eliminating Subminimum Wages for People with Disabilities”
http://www.nfb.org/fairwages
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place
Baltimore, Maryland 21230
(410) 659-9314 ext. 2374 (Voice)
(410) 685-5653 (FAX)
Email: alewis at nfb.org
Web: www.nfb.org
twitter: @anillife
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