[Nfbwv-talk] President Riccobono's Notebok for September 28

[Charlene Smyth]

September 28, 2015


President's Notebook


National Federation of the Blind


Mark A. Riccobono


officeofthepresident at nfb.org <mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org> 


(410) 659-9314


 

Dear Fellow Federationists,

We are making great progress on our issues. Keep up the great work at the
local level. We are creating more cracks in the sub-minimum wage barrier,
and I believe we have a good chance to make big changes in the next year. 

 

I have two quick notes for your consideration this week. First, we really
need you to identify a KNFB Reader promoter for your affiliate. There will
be a lot of developments coming up with the mobile app and it will be
extremely useful to have a solid communication network to share information.


 

Second, there has been some interest in putting together a seminar to
discuss planning and executing an outstanding NFB state convention. If this
is of interest to you, please let me know and I will determine if it is
practical for us to put a seminar together early in 2016.  

 


Critical actions this week:


St. Louis Action:
Recently, the City of St. Louis outlawed subminimum wages for disabled
workers within the City. But after much protesting from sheltered workshops
in the area, the board of aldermen will be debating whether to undo its
recent action at its meeting this Friday. It is crucial that officials in
St. Louis hear a resounding message from us to show that the sheltered
workshops do not own a monopoly on the minimum wage issue and that there are
people who believe that subminimum wages must come to an end.

 

Please tweet at Mayor Francis Slay and Alderwoman Christine Ingrassia (our
champion on the board of aldermen) and tell them that we support eliminating
subminimum wages for people with disabilities. Here are some suggested
tweets with Twitter handles for your reference:

 

Thank you @chryssi for supporting #fairwages for #PWD.

Thank you @MayorSlay for supporting #fairwages for #PWD. 

@MayorSlay Your support of #fairwages for #PWD helps them live the lives
they want.

@Chryssi Your support of #fairwages for #PWD helps them live the lives they
want.

Thank you @MayorSlay for standing up for #fairwages for #PWD.

Thank you @Chryssi for standing up for #fairwages for #PWD.


 


News:


TIME Act:
In the last week we have picked up a number of cosponsors on the TIME Act in
the House. Keep up the great work, pour on the follow-up, and let's see if
we can get these bills moving as interest in eliminating 14(c) builds across
the country. 

 

Seattle School Board Consent Decree:
The Seattle School Board has agreed to enter into a consent decree to settle
a lawsuit filed by Noel Nightingale, a blind parent of a Seattle student,
and the National Federation of the Blind, that alleges the district's
websites and an online math program weren't accessible to those who are
blind.  Our press release is at
https://nfb.org/national-federation-blind-applauds-landmark-agreement-seattl
e-public-schools. 

 

Rhythm of the Movement - The Federation Philosophy in Song:
Our new CD is out and available for purchase in the Independence Market.
This is an album of new federation songs as featured during our national
convention, and includes both studio and live tracks. 

 


Did you know?


ABLE Comments:
Last week we submitted comments regarding the regulations for the ABLE Act.
If you are interested in receiving a copy of our comments, please contact
Parnell Diggs at pdiggs at nfb.org <mailto:pdiggs at nfb.org> .  

 

 


Dates to keep in mind:


*        Fall conventions <https://nfb.org/state-conventions> 

*        October 2-4, 2015: NFB STEM2U Leadership Academy

*        November 4, 2015: Web Accessibility Training Day
<https://nfb.org/web-accessibility-day> 

*        November 5-7, 2015: NFB STEM2U Arizona

*        March 3-5, 2016: NFB STEM2U San Francisco

*        May 17-20, 2016: BLAST, Chicago

*        May 19-21, 2016: NFB STEM2U Minneapolis

*        June 19-25, 2016: NFB EQ (first iteration)

*        July 31-August 6, 2016 (second iteration) 

*        August, 2016: WBU-ICEVI General Assembly 

 

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.

 

Mark A. Riccobono, President

National Federation of the Blind

200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place

Baltimore, Maryland 21230

Phone: (410) 659-9314

Fax: (410) 659-5129

Email: officeofthepresident at nfb.org <mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org> 

Twitter: @Riccobono and @NFB_Voice

Web:  <http://www.nfb.org/> www.nfb.org

 

 

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: winmail.dat
Type: application/ms-tnef
Size: 9958 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbwv-talk_nfbnet.org/attachments/20151001/4a2ae907/attachment.bin>