Disability History: Protesting Sub-Minimum Wages for People with Disabilities

Message by John G. Paré Jr., Executive Director for Advocacy and Policy, National Federation of the Blind on their Facebook page on August 29, 2014:

Yesterday ADAPT, APSE, LPA, NCIL, NFB, and TASH conducted a very successful protest regarding SourceAmerica’s (formerly NISH) practice of paying people with disabilities less than minimum wage. Photo attached.

Special thanks to NCIL and APSE for there terrific participation and inspiring remarks.

On this Labor Day weekend, let’s pledge to redouble our effort to phase out and repeal section 14c of the Fair Labor Standards Act. This provision was wrong in 1938 and it is even more egregious today!

With over 400,000 of our disabled brothers and sisters toiling away in sheltered subminimum wage employment, on this Labor Day, let’s remember that it is sadly no time to celebrate.

SourceAmerica will undoubtedly launch a new wave of publicity to promote its programs, but no matter how much money it spends, subminimum wages will still be wrong.

Yesterday, at our protest, the passion for high expectations, the demand for equality, and the call for fair wages were palpable.

There is no place for subminimum wages in the lives of disabled Americans. We will live the lives we want. We will not stop our advocacy until all disabled Americans have the same wage protection as their non-disabled peers.

National Federation of the Blind

Website: https://nfb.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NationalFederationoftheBlind

Twitter: @NFB_voice