[Ohio-talk] article by President Riccobono

[Ali Benmerzouga]

Thanks for sharing Mr. President.

A very good article.

It is really sad and painful. It looks like there is a lot of work waiting for Federationists – getting rid of the 14(c) certificates and those taking advantage of it by dipping and double dipping. Shame on them!

Let’s go and build the Federation!

Yes, blindness does not hold us back from stopping those trying to exploit us, treat and consider us a second class  and clearly prevent us from reaching and realizing our dreams and live the life we really want!

Take care y’all.

Ali



From: Ohio-Talk <ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Richard Payne via Ohio-Talk
Sent: Monday, December 3, 2018 3:50 PM
To: 'NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List' <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Richard Payne <rchpay7 at gmail.com>
Subject: [Ohio-talk] article by President Riccobono

I wanted to share this with you because it speaks to what we are constantly fighting for.
Dear Affiliate Presidents:

Below is an article by President Riccobono that appeared in The Hill last Friday.

American Nightmare: How workers with disabilities are denied economic prosperity
By Mark A. Riccobono
The Hill – 11/30/2018

“Workers paid only a few dollars per hour.” “Disabled workers exploited for profit.” “Employers pay next to nothing for manual labor.” If you read these headlines at the top of your newspaper, would you think you were reading about sweatshops in some distant developing country? If someone were to tell you that every day hundreds of thousands of workers with disabilities are paid less, typically far less, than the minimum wage in cities like Boston, Los Angeles, Cleveland, or Salt Lake City, would you believe them? Would the thought ever cross your mind that this could happen right here in the United States?

The stark reality is that everything you just read is true. People with disabilities are paid subminimum wages and it’s completely legal for companies to do so<https://www.vox.com/2018/5/3/17307098/workers-disabilities-minimum-wage-waiver-rock-river-valley-self-help>.

The Fair Labor Standards Act, passed in 1938, was a landmark law enacted with the specific intention of protecting the rights of American workers. It established such modern norms as a 40-hour workweek, overtime pay, restrictions against child labor, and the federal minimum wage. However, it also introduced an exception to that minimum wage with the inclusion of Section 14(c), which allows employers to obtain a special wage certificate granting the permission to pay people with disabilities at a rate “lower than the minimum wage.” There it is in black and white, discrimination codified into United States law.

According to the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, 321,131 Americans with disabilities are currently employed under 14(c) certificates. That is more than 300,000 people who are legally able to be paid less than the minimum wage by employers like major restaurant and hotel chains, consignment stores and school districts. Even more disturbing is that most of these organizations are nonprofits, which receive set aside government contracts for hiring workers with disabilities while paying those same workers subminimum wages. This is perhaps the most insidious and cruel form of “double-dipping.”

Many argue that giving disabled Americans something to do, even if it means paying us next to nothing, is better than us doing nothing. They will argue that earning a paycheck, even if a week’s check amounts to just a few dollars, provides a sense of dignity for disabled Americans. They argue that providing some place for disabled Americans to go, even if it is a workshop where we perform repetitive and mind-numbing labor, is better than sitting at home. They argue that all of these things foster feelings of pride and independence in disabled Americans. This misguided notion of charity is actually pity, and is insulting to disabled workers, because it presumes we do not know and can’t understand the value of money. I’m not convinced that anyone can feel proud and independent when their paycheck for a week of work is not enough to afford a value meal at a fast food restaurant. Are you?

To put it bluntly, Americans with disabilities do not want your pity. We want your respect. We want you to respect us enough to extend the opportunity to work in a meaningful job, to work side-by-side with you toward a common goal, and most importantly to earn a living wage so that we can be independent.

The American Dream is generally understood as the opportunity for anyone, regardless of background, to achieve success and prosperity through hard work and determination. Section 14(c) creates a second class of citizens, based solely on disability, that are unable to experience the benefits of that dream. Americans with disabilities are determined, we are willing, and we are most definitely able to work hard, but regardless of how hard we work, success and prosperity will always be well out of reach as long as Section 14(c) is on the books. Our nation’s commitment to end discrimination against people with disabilities must include ending the payment of subminimum wages, otherwise it is nothing more than a hollow platitude.

https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/civil-rights/419107-american-nightmare-how-workers-with-disabilities-are-denied






Richard Payne,  President
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
937-396-5573or 937/829/3368
Rchpay7 at gmail.com<mailto:Rchpay7 at gmail.com>
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