[VABS] Fwd: [NABS-L] Fwd: REMINDER: Legislative Alert & Monthly Meeting Reminder for Legislative Advocacy Committee

André Hill andrehill6188 at gmail.com
Wed Jun 12 19:30:39 UTC 2019


This is an update to the previous email regarding our 14c initiative.

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Justin Salisbury via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Date: Wed, Jun 12, 2019, 3:12 PM
Subject: [NABS-L] Fwd: REMINDER: Legislative Alert & Monthly Meeting
Reminder for Legislative Advocacy Committee
To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Justin Salisbury <PRESIDENT at alumni.ecu.edu>


Aloha NABS members and leaders,

Update on the national online dialogue about the payment of subminimum
wages to workers with disabilities under section 14 C of the fair labor
standards act:

As some of you may have heard, the deadline has been extended to June 21.

I’m going to share a little bit of the backstory as I have heard it, not
because I want to throw shame on anyone, but because I want our members to
understand that we may be doing better than we realized.

As many of you know, we have also been doing a lot of advocacy to improve
accessibility in many areas. Ironically, this Online system that we were
supposed to be using to submit our comments was not accessible to many
people with different types of disabilities.

Thus, it wasn’t that lots of people with disabilities were not trying to
speak out against the practice. It was that the system was literally rigged
in a way that we couldn’t speak up.

I will not engage in any kind of conspiracy theory, and I encourage people
to avoid that even if it may be an instinct. Thankfully, now that we have
engaged in the right kinds of conversations with people at the US
Department of Labor, they have decided to extend the deadline so that more
people can participate, and accessibility barriers are being addressed.

In summary, there is no reason to be discouraged by the amount of arguments
in favor of the practice because the people with disabilities who are
speaking out against it simply may not appear right now in the online
system. Since we don’t know who is and who is not, it is vital that we do
speak up, every single one of us.

So, let’s all go and make our voices heard!

In the Hawaiian concept of Laulima, many hands make light work.

Mahalo!

Justin

Sent from my iPhone


Begin forwarded message:

From: Justin Salisbury <PRESIDENT at alumni.ecu.edu<mailto:
PRESIDENT at alumni.ecu.edu>>
Date: June 9, 2019 at 8:09:27 PM EDT
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
<mailto:nabs-l at nfbnet.org>>
Subject: REMINDER: Legislative Alert & Monthly Meeting Reminder for
Legislative Advocacy Committee


QUICK REMINDER



The Legislative Advocacy Committee is having our monthly conference call on
Sunday, June 16, at 8:00 PM eastern. You can use the following information
to attend:



Dial 712-770-5197

Access Code 265669


Additionally, as everyone should have seen a little over a week ago, in my
email below, we are in the middle of an amazing opportunity to get the US
Department of Labor to hear our voices about subminimum wages for workers
with disabilities. Unfortunately, most of the responses are coming from the
workshops. We need to make sure that they hear from us, too. We only have
until June 14!

You don’t have to be the world’s expert on the topic to make a difference.
You just have to say what you think.

Here’s what I want for each and every one of us:

When we graduate with our degrees and enter the workforce, no employer
should have the option to pay us less just because we have a disability.
This two-tiered system is broken, and it leads people to continue thinking
that we are automatically less productive because we are blind.

All we are asking is that the same laws that protect people without
disabilities should protect people with disabilities, as well. We are not
asking for special treatment; we are rejecting it.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me or to our national office if you
need help with this. Every voice makes a difference.

Talofa,

Justin


Justin M. Hideaki Salisbury
he/him/his

Board Member | National Association of Blind Students
   A proud division of the National Federation of the Blind
(808) 797-8606
president at alumni.ecu.edu<mailto:president at alumni.ecu.edu> | www.nabslink.org
<http://www.nabslink.org/>




From: Justin Salisbury
Sent: Friday, May 31, 2019 10:40 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
<mailto:nabs-l at nfbnet.org>>
Subject: Legislative Alert: the US Department of Labor Wants to Hear from
You


Greetings Fellow Federationists:

This week, the US Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment
Policy (ODEP) announced the opening of a National Online Dialogue about the
use of subminimum wages. It is seeking ideas, experiences, and stories from
advocates like you. This dialogue will continue until June 14. Please pass
on this information to your state student division and urge your members to
submit comments.

The National Federation of the Blind opposes the payment of subminimum
wages based on a worker’s disability, and our members have been active at
the state and federal level to end this practice. Our continued advocacy
has already led a growing number of states to pass legislation or policies
that prohibit the payment of subminimum wages. Likewise, the NFB supports
the passage of the Transformation to Competitive Employment Act (H.R.
873/S. 260), a pair of federal bills calling for the phase out of
subminimum wages over a six-year period.

Here is the announcement from the US Department of Labor, including the
link to submit your comments:

May 28, 2019

The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy
(ODEP), through its ePolicyWorks initiative, is hosting this national
online dialogue to gather perspectives on Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor
Standards Act. Please share your ideas, individual stories, and personal
experiences illustrating the impact of Section 14(c) on the employment of
people with disabilities. The goal of this online dialogue is to capture
perspectives about Section 14(c) based on individual input from those "on
the ground." Information gleaned from the comments will then be summarized
to provide ODEP an overview of Section 14(c) at the state and national
levels.



The Section 14(c) National Online Dialogue

https://14cdialogue.ideascale.com/<
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2f14cdialogue.ideascale.com%2f&c=E,1,4PF9slBskdtFpxmKp4qe0k4OamqtI3W3wKafqr8MTHROVe3sTWt_Eoj024z8mDW_NOv4xqbGqptSGNEV4ThjQfu0EhYMuAoew7i3aM0j&typo=1
>



 Thank you all for your leadership and participation in our movement!



Aloha,



Justin

Justin M. Hideaki Salisbury
he/him/his

Board Member | National Association of Blind Students
   A proud division of the National Federation of the Blind
(808) 797-8606
president at alumni.ecu.edu<mailto:president at alumni.ecu.edu> | www.nabslink.org
<http://www.nabslink.org/>




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