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<b>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br><br>
</b> <br><br>
<b>CONTACT:<br><br>
</b>Chris Danielsen<br><br>
Director of Public Relations<br><br>
National Federation of the Blind<br><br>
(410) 659-9314, extension 2330<br><br>
(410) 262-1281 (Cell)<br><br>
cdanielsen@nfb.org<br><br>
<div align="center"><h1><b>Blind Americans to Protest Subminimum
Wages<br><br>
<br>
</b></h1><h2><b>Members of National Federation of the Blind Plan<br>
Informational Pickets Across United States</i></b></h2></div>
<b> <br><br>
Baltimore, Maryland (July 20, 2011):</b> 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.<br><br>
<br><br>
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.”<br><br>
<br><br>
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. <br><br>
<br><br>
For more information on the National Federation of the Blind and fair
wages for workers with disabilities, please visit
<a href="http://www.nfb.org/">www.nfb.org</a>. <br><br>
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<b>About the National Federation of the Blind<br><br>
</b> <br><br>
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.<br><br>
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