A national effort must be undertaken to improve the overall quality of community employment outcomes both in terms of individual outcomes and proper funding of services and long-term supports. The movement of individuals into non-work day facilities, instead of into community employment, is not an acceptable outcome of the phase out of subminimum wage.

AtWork! has for some time been working towards eliminating subminimum wages. Each year more and more clients are finding opportunities in the community to work at labor market wages, and those who are on a pathway to employment through exploration, volunteering and job trials, are participating in AtWork!’s enterprises for fewer days. Ultimately, those who work in our enterprises will be those for whom landscaping, packaging and assembly and work in our recycle enterprise is an appropriate vocation. There will be no need to pay subminimum wages. AtWork! is moving forward toward this goal before there is a Federal mandate to do so and is three years ahead of the national movement.

Since establishment of the Federal minimum wage in 1938, a special minimum wage generally known as the “subminimum wage” has existed for individuals with disabilities. This provision allows employers, holding a 14(c) certificate from the US Department of Labor (DOL), to pay individuals with disabilities less than the federal or state minimum wage that is generally mandated for all other workers. Pay is related to the individual’s level of productivity, with the intent of paying individuals in proportion or commensurate to their productivity compared to workers without disabilities.

Currently there are approximately 5,600 employers who hold 14(c) certificates, employing approximately 425,000 individuals with disabilities at workshops and in group employment settings. Approximately 95% of these individuals are employed in sheltered workshops. Approximately ¾ of all workers receiving subminimum wages in sheltered workshops have an intellectual or developmental disability. More than half (54%) of workers in sheltered workshops earn less than $2.50 per hour, with 23% earning less than $1.00 per hour.

AtWork! supports the national movement calling for a phase out of this special subminimum wage provision. It should occur over time. No other minority group experiences this kind of discrimination. It needs to be gradual so that people aren’t harmed and alternative employment options can be developed or the businesses that employ them at subminimum and so they can figure out how to keep them working at minimum wage.

Last in a series of excerpts from a speech delivered by AtWork! CEO, Chris Brandt, at the AtWork! 2010 fundraising breakfast, March 25th, 2010.

This week on the radio I listened to President Obama say: “It’s a new season in America”. Let’s make it a new season for people with disabilities, too. Citizens with disabilities should have the support they need to find and keep a job and to contribute to the productivity of a sustainable culture. Hundreds of young people with disabilities between the ages of 21 and 35 sit at home with nothing to do because the system has failed them. They were not one of the lucky ones to graduate with a job and a service provider. Their stories are much different than Darwin’s. They are stories of isolation, disappointment and dwindling hope. Our state legislature will provide funding for only ¼ of the students with disabilities who will graduate from high school in the next 2 years. Who will sustain the investment we have made in these talented young people? Will you?

One final sustainability question that didn’t get on the radio: How many breakfasts does it take to sustain a nonprofit? Just like your body needs the sustenance of a good breakfast everyday, AtWork! needs the on-going contributions of our circle of support and our cohorts in the movement, to sustain the vital work we do on behalf of people with disabilities everyday. Enjoy your breakfast; it will fuel you for the work of the day. Contribute generously; it will fuel AtWork! to sustain the jobs, the hopes, and the dreams of the people with disabilities you have met and heard about today. And who knows, one person, one job at a time, you just might help create a sustainable culture here in Bellevue, Issaquah, Seattle, King County, and beyond.

Together we can make our vision of a sustainable culture a reality.

Excerpts from a speech delivered by AtWork! CEO, Chris Brandt, at the AtWork! 2010 fundraising breakfast, March 25th, 2010.

All of us must make and sustain a commitment to helping people with disabilities achieve equality and justice in our society if we are to sustain the American dream. America does not have a sustainable culture until it can unequivocally state: “With liberty and justice for ALL”.

What is your vision of a sustainable culture? The radio host had the final say and decided that a sustainable culture expects integrity and responsibility for obligations from its citizens. I decided that day that in my vision of a sustainable culture everyone knows that they belong, that people care if they show up and notice if they don’t. AtWork! helps people with disabilities find a place to belong. In my vision, everyone contributes and has purpose and meaning in their lives. AtWork! helps people with disabilities discover their talents and matches them with a business who needs their talents.
AtWork! made a commitment to leave no one behind. That means we will sustain our commitments to people with complex support needs, people that others might label as too disabled to work or unemployable. In AtWork!’s vision of a sustainable culture, my vision becomes true for everyone regardless of the severity or complexity of their disability.

Some of you have made that commitment too. Many of you have joined us in this last great civil rights movement for a sustainable culture. A culture renown for equal opportunity for people with all types of disabilities, including cognitive and multiple disabilities. A culture celebrated for its sustainable opportunities for people with disabilities to live in typical places where other people live, not in institutions where your only neighbors are inside a fence and have disabilities too. A society distinguished by sustainable jobs for people with disabilities that match the interests and talents of this untapped and eager workforce and that create sustainable benefit to a business’ bottom-line.

Read this blog on May 4th, to learn more about how you can contribute to a sustainable culture.

Excerpts from a speech delivered by AtWork! CEO, Chris Brandt, at the AtWork! 2010 Breakfast, March 25th, 2010.

Last week I was driving between Issaquah and Bellevue with a talk radio show playing in the background. I wasn’t paying much attention because I was thinking about what I would say to you all today. I mulled over the theme sustainability and what it takes to sustain a person with disabilities in a good job and how employers benefit from including people with disabilities in a sustainable workforce. Then I started thinking about the things that make our society sustainable and the issues that continue to plague us like homelessness, hunger, poverty, illiteracy, and an unemployment rate of 75% for working age adults with disabilities.

My ears perked up, as the radio announcer said: “I’m no longer certain that America has a sustainable culture.”

How often does that happen? There you are intensely reflecting and the radio host starts talking about your deepest thoughts. I was flabbergasted and started paying attention. I learned that for the radio host, a culture is only sustainable if people keep their commitments, even if the going gets rough and the culture provides an easy escape from responsibility. He was talking about people who are upside down in their mortgages walking away and into foreclosure even though they can still afford their house payments.

The question for his listeners: “Is it ever okay to walk away from your legal commitments, your promises?” The call-ins to the show were split and those that advocated for walking away based their decisions on the circumstances of the moment.

Read this blog on April 29, to learn about how AtWork! is contributing to a sustainable culture.

Accessible Homes is committed to providing the most unique highest quality accessible products and services to our customers. We take extreme pride in enriching and enabling the physically challenged and aging population with ADA approved products. Accessible Homes is a "CAPS" Certified Aging in Place Company registered with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

Parking Mobility is a Vancouver Canada based website that enables users to report when a car is parked without a disability placard with their mobile phones. The goal is to make parking more accessible for those who need it and reduce violations by those who don’t. The site also has a map that identifies disability parking throughout the metropolitan area. They would like to see other cities take up this cause and provide a similar service.

Mathew Stoloff is an attorney who focuses on matters involving disability rights, student rights, special education, employment law and animal law. He writes an excellent blog around these issues and has a Twitter account @matthewATlaw that we follow.

Leslie O'Donnell @FroggyPrinceMom says she is a previous teacher, unofficial psychologist, professional jeweler, oddball, friend, wife, at-home-mommy, and special needs kids reporter…choose your own adventure.

Carly Fleischmann @CarlysVoice has been profiled by CNN, NBC and CTV. Her Twitter site says “As long as I can remember I have been diagnosed with autism. I am not able 2 talk out of my mouth however I have found another way to communicate by spelling on my computer.” You can learn more about Carly at her website.

Marianne Russo @ChildAnxiety is the moderator of The Coffee Klatch M-F 9am Wed 9pm est. An interactive forum for parents of special needs children.

Rob Rose @TRIFCorg is a local Bellevue Washington Rotarian, a professional portrait photographer who owns Brandt Photography. What he really loves to do is help children with disability in Nepal! He has a foundation, the Rose International Fund for Children, that has a terrific website.

We were first introduced to Surf dog Ricochet through a YouTube video. This wonderful dog rides a surf board with people with disabilities, not only keeping the board stable for the rider but also able to help right someone in the water should they fall off. He raises money for charity with his amazing talent. Watch videos and learn more at his website. His Twitter account is @pawinspired.

More web fun and resources in our next blog, April 22nd.