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<font face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=4><b>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br>
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<b>CONTACT:<br>
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Chris Danielsen<br><br>
Director of Public Relations<br><br>
National Federation of the Blind<br>
<font face="Helvetica, Helvetica">(410) 659-9314, extension 2330<br>
(410) 262-1281(Cell)<br>
</font><a href="mailto:cdanielsen@nfb.org">cdanielsen@nfb.org</a><br><br>
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<div align="center"><h1><font size=4><b>National Federation of the Blind
Urges Boycott of Goodwill Industries</b></font></h1><br><br>
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<div align="center"><h2><b>Condemns Practice of Paying Subminimum Wages
to Workers with Disabilities</i></b></h2><br><br>
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<font face="Helvetica, Helvetica"><b>Baltimore, Maryland (June 7,
2012):</b> <a href="http://www.nfb.org/">The National Federation of the
Blind</a> (NFB), one of the oldest and largest organizations of Americans
with disabilities, today called for a boycott of Goodwill Industries
International, Inc., the nonprofit manufacturer and retailer, for its
payment of subminimum wages to many of its workers with
disabilities. Freedom of information requests filed by the NFB
confirmed that Goodwill Industries employees have been paid as low as
$1.44 an hour. The NFB and
<a href="http://nfb.org/Images/nfb/documents/word/HR_3086_Support_List_2.doc">
over forty-five other organizations</a> support legislation, the
<a href="http://nfb.org/Images/nfb/SI/Fair%20Wages%20for%20Workers%202012.pdf">
Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act</a> (H.R. 3086), which would
phase out and then repeal the nearly seventy-five-year-old provision of
the Fair Labor Standards Act that permits
<a href="http://www.dol.gov/whd/specialemployment/CRPlist.htm">special
certificate holders</a> to pay subminimum wages to workers with
disabilities. <br>
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<font face="Helvetica, Helvetica">Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the
<a href="http://www.twitter.com/nfb_voice">National Federation of the
Blind</a>, said: “Goodwill Industries is one of the most well-known and
lucrative charitable organizations in the United States, yet it chooses
to pay its workers with disabilities less than the federal minimum
wage. While this practice is currently legal and many entities
engage in it, many other nonprofit organizations have successfully
transitioned to paying their employees the minimum wage or higher.
That Goodwill Industries exploits many of its workers in this way is
ironic, because its president and chief executive officer is blind.
Goodwill cannot credibly argue that workers with disabilities are
incapable of doing productive work while paying its blind CEO over half a
million dollars a year. Goodwill should be ashamed of such blatant
hypocrisy. We are calling upon all Americans to refuse to do
business with Goodwill Industries, to refuse to make donations to the
subminimum-wage exploiter, and to refuse to shop in its retail stores
until it exercises true leadership and sound moral judgment by fairly
compensating its workers with disabilities.”<br>
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<font face="Helvetica, Helvetica">For more information on this critically
important issue, please visit
<a href="http://www.nfb.org/fairwages">www.nfb.org/fairwages</a>. <br>
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<div align="center"><font face="Helvetica, Helvetica"><b>###<br>
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<b> <br>
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<b>About the National Federation of the Blind<br>
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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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