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ASSURING OPPORTUNITIES: Background: Regardless of statements to the contrary, strategies to address the acknowledged nationwide condition of unemployment among the blind have never been a priority for the Federal government. Labor market statistics are not gathered to document the extent of the problem. However, knowledgeable experts agree that the rate is between 70% and 75% unemployment or underemployment for working-age blind people. Three of every four blind adults are unemployed although most want to work. This pernicious unemployment rate remains despite the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability, including blindness. Without a commitment from the government to address the issues responsible for unemployment of the blind and with programs ill equipped to offer sufficient jobs, the promise of the ADA will remain unfulfilled for many blind Americans. Enacted in 1936, the Randolph-Sheppard Act has a targeted mission to provide employment in small business management and operation for blind people. This law provides a priority for the operation of vending facilities by blind persons on Federal property. These businesses range in size and complexity from small newsstands to large cafeterias and dining halls. Average earnings for blind vendors under the Randolph-Sheppard Act are approximately $40,000 annually. However, several factors, including lack of Federal leadership and failure by some agencies to cooperate, have caused this program to decline to fewer than 3,000 blind vendors during fiscal year 2004. The Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act (originally enacted in 1938 as the Wagner-O'Day Act) also provides blind and "severely disabled" persons with opportunities to work, but all of the positions must be classified as "direct labor," not management or supervision. These jobs result from government procurement contracts awarded to nonprofit organizations that have light manufacturing or service units sometimes known as "sheltered workshops" or "industries divisions." The contracts for over 11,600 products and services are awarded under mandatory source procedures specified in the law. Program Deficiencies: Although opportunities under the Randolph-Sheppard Act are valuable, factors both inside and outside the program continue to limit the number of businesses available for blind vendors and place obstacles in the path of future growth. The State agencies, which license and support the vendors with training, technical assistance, supplies, and equipment, often see themselves as stewards of sparse resources and bypass opportunities for program expansion. Federal agencies required by law to cooperate by providing sites for vending facilities regularly place roadblocks in the path of the blind and the state agencies. Although the U.S. Department of Education has Federal administrative responsibility for government-wide leadership to implement the Randolph-Sheppard Act, it now shows little interest in this program and recently declined to appear at a U.S. Senate oversight hearing called to examine implementation of the law. Also the Randolph-Sheppard Act as written and administered discourages blind vendors from breaking free from the subsidies provided, offering few advantages and many risks to those who want to do so. Over thirty years ago Congress expanded the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act beyond employment of the blind to cover organizations that employ people with "severe disabilities," but failed to address systemic shortcomings in the law. Through its statutory 75% direct-labor requirement, this 1930's-era law discourages promotion of disabled employees into positions of management, not to mention mid-level supervision. Discriminatory segregation of disabled employees from those without disabilities (including providing disabled-only bathrooms and lunch tables) continues to occur. Recent investigations have revealed several instances in which nondisabled managers receive shockingly extravagant salaries, while the average wage for direct labor workers is only about $8,000 annually. The Need to Modernize: A generic "cross-disability" approach to address the seemingly intractable rate of unemployment of the blind promises continuation of the unacceptable status quo. Surrounded by fear and cloaked in misconceptions, the limitations resulting from blindness are viewed as overpowering and all pervasive. The all too common misconception, that the blind are largely unable to be productive, is widely accepted in society. This is as true among those who work in generic, cross-disability programs as it is among members of the general public. More than the loss of eyesight, this common misconception contributes to the dismally high rate of unemployment of the blind. The time has come for a more enlightened and rational approach. Rather than simply combining programs using a cross-disability model, the real needs of individuals with unique disabilities should be met with common-sense solutions. For the blind this means that Federal administration of the Randolph-Sheppard Act should be combined with an expanded capacity to promote business and employment opportunities outside of the more conventional vending facilities program. Proposed legislation: Congress should enact the Blind Individuals' Business Development and Employment Opportunities Act to significantly expand the number and variety of high-quality jobs available to blind people. This legislation would: List of 3 items 1. Establish a Federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce to administer the Randolph-Sheppard Act and expand employment for the blind through creation of Qualified Blind Business Enterprises (QBBEs) and Qualified Blind Employment Enterprises (QBEEs) that would be eligible for a competitive procurement priority to be applied in awarding Federal contracts; 2. Establish management and workforce criteria that any for-profit or nonprofit corporation must meet to be certified as a QBBE or a QBEE, including requirements for ownership and management by blind people, a requirement that at least one-third of the workforce of a QBBE or a QBEE be blind and that their pay be proportionate to the percentage of the workforce they represent, and labor standards that prohibit payment of less than the Federal minimum wage and recognize the right of all employees to collective bargaining; and
Action Requested: List of 2 items 1. Please support blind Americans by working for passage of the Blind Individuals' Business Development and Employment Opportunities Act, when introduced, to expand the number and variety of high-quality jobs available to qualified blind individuals. 2. Please advise members of the National Federation of the Blind of your interest in sponsoring or cosponsoring this legislation. Contact Information: Pat Beattie |
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