[NFBOH-Cleveland] July 2019 NFB - Cleveland Chapter Minutes by Ali Benmerzouga, Recording Secretary

Fri Aug 9 14:00:41 UTC 2019

I believe that was included in June’s minutes. I will double check and let you know later. Please double check too.

Thanks for bringing that up.

Have a nice day.

Ali

From: NFBOH-Cleveland <nfboh-cleveland-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Owen McCafferty via NFBOH-Cleveland
Sent: Friday, August 9, 2019 9:33 AM
To: NFB of Ohio, Cleveland Chapter List <nfboh-cleveland at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Owen McCafferty <ojmccaf1963 at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [NFBOH-Cleveland] July 2019 NFB - Cleveland Chapter Minutes by Ali Benmerzouga, Recording Secretary

Did any of you get my great news concerning my artwork?? I had mentioned it to Suzanne when I saw her at the Ada celebration??

Owen

Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone<https://overview.mail.yahoo.com/?.src=iOS>

On Friday, August 9, 2019, 9:29 AM, Ali Benmerzouga via NFBOH-Cleveland <nfboh-cleveland at nfbnet.org<mailto:nfboh-cleveland at nfbnet.org>> wrote:

July 2019 National Federation of the Blind of Ohio (NFBOH) Cleveland Chapter Minutes

The Cleveland Chapter met on Friday, July, 19th, 2019 at 3:00 pm by teleconference. The Teleconference call #: 605-313-4834<tel:605-313-4834> and Access Code: 246345. There were 26 members and three visitors representing the Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, Senator Sherrod Brown and the President of the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio.

Suzanne Turner, President, welcomed members and visitors. Cheryl Fields, Second Vice President, informed members of those who were shut-in and in bereavement.

President Remarks:

Suzanne Turner, President, apologized for the last-minute change of venue and clarified that it was not our doing but the Sight Center’s ethics and responsibilities are in questions when we have outside events. Their stance is; that their legislative agendas and the NFB’s are different. She added, in order to save the event date, we immediately switched to a conference call meeting since we have already invited some figures representing some congresswomen and senator offices.

Gloria Conway, Senior Division Committee Chair announced that the monthly Sharing Solutions for Vision Loss teleconference will be on Sunday, July 21st at 7:00 p.m. EST. She added that this month’s senior division “Sharing Solutions for Vision Loss” teleconference will focus on cooking, where cooking tips and tricks will be discussed.  Also, she encouraged callers to bring their favorite summer recipes to share with the group. The teleconference is open to anyone dealing with vision loss and/or their family members.  The details of the teleconference call are: Date/Time: Sunday, July 21st, 2019 at 7:00 pm, Phone number: (712) 775-7031<tel:(712)%20775-7031> and Access Code: 240281423<tel:240281423> followed by the # sign. She mentioned that anyone dealing with vision loss is welcome to join the call, whether they are members of NFB or not. Further, she mentioned that family members of blind individuals are welcome. She concluded her announcement by mentioning that the teleconference is sponsored by the NFB of Ohio Senior Division, but callers do not have to be seniors or NFB members.

Sandy Krems, Community Engagement Committee Chair made the following three announcements:

1.  The ADA celebration at Wade Oval Wednesday was rescheduled from July 17 to August 7.

2.  We have the opportunity to have an information table at the Imani Church picnic in Euclid on August 17 from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.  We have a table and 2 chairs, and are asking for volunteers from the chapter to attend and pass out NFB literature.  Suzanne will be attending.

3.  The next Greater Cleveland Food Bank volunteer day will be on September 4 from 2 to 4 p.m.  There is space for 10 volunteers.  Volunteers should contact Sandy or Suzanne between now and the August 16th NFB monthly meeting.

Ali Benmerzouga, Legislative Chair reported that invitations about our celebration of the Americans with Disabilities Act were sent to representatives of Congresswomen Marcia Fudge and Marcy Kaptur and Senator Sherrod Brown and all NFB of Ohio Leaders. They were all reminded about the last-minute change of venue. Miss Nichole Jones representing Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur and Mr. Brian Ayers representing Senator Sherrod Brown replied favorably to attend the event with us.

Natassha Ricks, Treasurer, reported the amount of profit made out of the popcorn fundraising drive and asked everyone to tell her about the best way to collect his/her popcorn.

Reflections:

2019 NFB National Convention

 Suzanne Turner, President, reported that the place was not good and many members got stranded in one way or the other. The National Convention for 2020 is in Houston Texas from June 30, to July 5, 2020.

Celebrating the Americans with Disability Act (ADA)

Introduction of Visitors:

Ali Benmerzouga, Cleveland Chapter Legislative Chair welcomed and introduced Miss Nichole Jones representative of Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, Mr. Brian Ayers representative of Senator Sherrod Brown and Mr. Richard Payne, President of the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio and thank them for sharing with us this very important date and event in the lives of the Americans with Disability. Next, Ali passed the podium to Suzanne Turner, the President of the NFB of Ohio – Cleveland Chapter to talk about the Americans with Disability Act history and what it means to us. Unfortunately, right after she started her presentation, we lost both representatives and we continued celebrating the event by ourselves. Sheryl, the Second Vice President, suggested that we speak about the two bills that were supposed to be discussed with the representatives and what they are all about and that’s what Suzanne and Ali did. First, we spoke about the Access Technology Affordability Act (A T A A) bill, then we talked about the Disability Employment Act (D E A) as it is shown below.

the Access Technology Affordability Act (A T A A):

This bill talks about the fact that the high cost of access technology creates a difficult economic reality. Most access technology ranges from $1,000 to $6,000. For example, a leading screen reader is $900, a popular Braille note taker is $5,495, one model of a refreshable Braille display is $2,795, and a moderately priced Braille embosser is $3,695. According to the United States Census Bureau 71 percent of blind Americans are either unemployed or underemployed. Consequently, most blind Americans do not have sufficient financial resources needed to purchase these items. These financial barriers can ultimately lead to a loss of employment, insufficient education, or even isolation from community activities. Additionally, it is currently well known that Medical insurance will not cover the cost of access technology.

Adopting this bill will generate the following afford abilities and flexibilities:

  1.  It makes access technology more affordable so that blind Americans can procure these items for themselves.
  2.  It establishes a refundable tax credit for blind Americans in the amount of $2,000 to be used over a three-year period to offset the cost of access technology. The credit created by A T A A will sunset after five years, and will be indexed for inflation.
  3.  It Provides flexibility for individuals to obtain access technology based upon their specific skills and needs.

The ultimate goal of this proposed bill is to Improve affordability of critically needed access technology necessary for employment and independent living.

For more information on the Access Technology Affordability Act, contact: Kimie Eacobacci, Government Affairs Specialist, National Federation of the Blind, Phone: 410-659-9314, extension 2441<tel:410-659-9314;2441>, Email: keacobacci at nfb.org<mailto:keacobacci at nfb.org>

Learn more about the National Federation of the Blind's 2019 legislative agenda<https://nfb.org/2019-legislative-agenda/>.

The Disability Employment Act (D E A):

This bill shows how the outdated approach to employment fails to adequately equip workers with disabilities for the challenges of the twenty-first century. It started by mentioning the Javits-Wagner-O’Dea Act (JWOD) and the well-intention behind it, but currently it is totally obsolete law that was intended to provide employment for people with disabilities through specialized government contracts. It was Enacted in 1938. While the originally intended goals of the program are noble, the current structure falls short of those ideals by failing to equip workers with the necessary skillsets to compete in the twenty-first century workforce.

Many workers with disabilities are assigned menial, repetitive tasks, which do nothing to equip them with the skills needed to succeed and advance in a modern workplace. As a result, many of these individuals find themselves trapped in these jobs for years, if not decades, with no real hope to advance or find new employment opportunities elsewhere. Furthermore, Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act,[4] passed in 1938, authorizes the Secretary of Labor to issue Special Wage Certificates to certain entities, permitting them to pay workers with disabilities subminimum wages. The vast majority of 14(c)-certificate-holding entities are nonprofit “sheltered workshops” (segregated work environments that pay over 300,000 workers with disabilities, some as little as pennies per hour. Additionally, the current structure incentivizes excluding workers with disabilities from advancement to administrative, managerial, or supervisory positions. This results in people with disabilities stagnating in the same job for years or decades without creating opportunities for advancement to employers outside the program.

Adopting the Disability Employment Act will give the following solutions:

  1.  It will allow for-profit as well as nonprofit entities to bid on contracts through a newly created commission.
  2.  It Will ensure that workers earn at least the prevailing wage. The bill will prohibit the use of 14(c) certificates and will require employers to pay workers with disabilities at least the minimum wage, or if greater, the prevailing wage.
  3.  IT will equip employers with the necessary tools and supports to integrate workers with disabilities.

The ultimate goal with this bill is to Increase and enhance employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

For more information on the Disability Employment Act, contact: Gabe Cazares, Manager of Government Affairs, National Federation of the Blind, Phone: 410-659-9314, extension 2206<tel:410-659-9314;2206>, Email: gcazares at nfb.org<mailto:gcazares at nfb.org>

Learn more about the National Federation of the Blind's 2019 legislative agenda<https://nfb.org/2019-legislative-agenda/>.

meeting adjourned.

Please make a note of the action items below:

Voice Box Number:

(641) 715-3900<tel:(641)%20715-3900>

Code: 582705

New Teleconference Number:

(605) 313-4834<tel:(605)%20313-4834>

Code: 246345

Ali Benmerzouga, Recording Secretary

440-590-0315<tel:440-590-0315> – cell

Natassha Ricks, Treasurer

(216) 376-9863<tel:(216)%20376-9863>

Notes!

1. Please take a moment and like, share and promote Cleveland’s Facebook Page

https://m.facebook.com/NationalFederationOfTheBlindOfOhioClevelandChapter/

2. Please ensure that your 2019 dues of $15.00 are up-to-date.

3. Please subscribe to Ohio-Talk to stay informed on the know in the Ohio Affiliate.

Ohio-Talk mailing list

Ohio-Talk at nfbnet.org<mailto:Ohio-Talk at nfbnet.org>

http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org

4. Please subscribe to Cleveland’s List Serve for all up-to-date information in the Cleveland Chapter.

http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfboh-cleveland_nfbnet.org

nfboh-cleveland-request at nfbnet.org<mailto:nfboh-cleveland-request at nfbnet.org>

5-please call a member who you have not seen for a while and talk to them about returning to the Cleveland Chapter

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