[ASAN] Tune-In Tonight to NBC's "Rock Center with Brian

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Tune-In Tonight as NBC's "Rock Center with Brian Williams" Takes on Subminimum Wage

Tonight at 10 PM EST/9 CST, NBC's Rock Center with Brian Williams will air a ten minute segment on subminimum wage employment of people with disabilities, highlighting exploitative practices by Goodwill Industries and other subminimum wage employers. The segment will feature comments from ASAN President Ari Ne'eman, National Federation of the Blind President Dr. Marc Maurer and other national advocates and experts working for fair wages for people with disabilities.

To the surprise of many, Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act allows employers to pay disabled workers less than minimum wage through special wage certificates issued by the Wage and Hour Division of the US Department of Labor. Subminimum wage keeps many workers with disabilities in poverty their entire lives. Most will never leave sheltered workshops, despite being paid well below minimum wage. Recent efforts by the US Justice Department to fight this practice have led to changes in Oregon and Rhode Island. NBC's story highlights the low wages paid to Goodwill employees with disabilities and contrasts that with the six-figure salaries paid to Goodwill executives.

ASAN supports the elimination of sub-minimum wage employment for people with disabilities through a comprehensive approach, including phasing out Section 14(c) on an expedited timetable and providing supports for people with disabilities to be employed in integrated settings.

Read more information about this story at the NBC website here:
http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/20 ... -its-legal
Watch a video promo at this link:
http://www.nbcnews.com/video/rock-center/52257275

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network
PO Box 66122 | Washington, DC 20035 US

I was one such "client" who got pennies per hour, about 30 years ago. luckily I was still living with my parents then. most of my "client" coworkers were on subsidized housing or living with their parents or were in halfway houses.

Watch the segment from NBC, featuring the ASAN's Ari Ne'eman, which was aired yesterday:
http://www.nbcnews.com/video/rock-center/52280748

i'm wondering that if goodwill and such are forced to pay fair wages, will they close American processing plants?