[nfbwatlk] SUB MINIMUM WAGE

[Mike Freeman]

Debby: 

I don't think we are saying that the lady shouldn't work at the Lighthouse. But if it sells what she makes, then she should be paid at least minimum wage. In other words, either a workshop is a business or it is a philanthropic institution; it cannot be both, at least not without risking a conflict of interest. 

Moreover, society should stop flimflamming people with disabilities by telling them that they are working while not backing words up with deeds, that is, paying them properly. 

Mike 

On Aug 13, 2012, at 23:14, debby phillips <semisweetdebby at gmail.com> wrote:

> Mary Ellen, I was wondering about folks who do not have a lot of cognitive ability.  Certainly some of the people that I met while living and working in the L'Arche community were capable of working in a non-sheltered place of employment.  In fact, one of the men in my house made a decision to leave L'Arche, and he was one of the founding members of the community in Tacoma.  I was never quite sure whether he left because he wanted to or because his caseworker thought he should be in a more "independent" setting.  And what is independence, anyway?  I'm not trying to rationalize, but truly some people are truly happy where they are, even if, for us it seems that they are being dependent.  There is a young woman I know who has worked at the Lighthouse four or five years now.  She loves it there.  Could she work elsewhere?  It's quite possible she could, and maybe some day she will want to.  But I wouldn't take away her happiness and contentment for anything.  I've seen her blossom from a shy, young girl to a responsible young woman who is committed to her job and has a good life.  Would it not be a disservice to her to tell her that she is not independent because she works at the Lighthouse?  I know that in my younger years I would have put her down because of where she worked.  But who am I, or any of us to judge what independence means for someone?  I don't know.  I do know that people should be paid at least minimum wage.  But I'm not convinced yet that there isn't a place, or aren't places where some people should work, whether they are "sheltered workshops" or not.  But of course there are lots of provisios with that statement.    Peace,    Debby
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