Thursday, July 18, 2013

IS THIS REALLY GOODWILL?

A report, on NBC News, sheds light on the fact that in many states, disabled people who work for Goodwill Industries are paid well below the minimum wage of seven dollars and twenty-five cents per hour.  Workers in some states make as little as twenty-two cents per hour.  Because of a loophole in the Fair Labor Standards Act, passed in nineteen thirty-eight, paying disabled workers well below minimum wage is legal in this country.  http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/25/19062348-disabled-workers-paid-just-pennies-an-hour-and-its-legal?lite 

So, while the bosses of Goodwill industries are making millions of dollars, disabled employees are making almost nothing.  The rationale being that the workers don't really care about the money and they are just happy to have a place to work.

This issue is about paying workers what they deserve for the work that they do. Letting them know they are valued employees.  No able-bodied person would work for as little as twenty-two cents an hour.  Why should a person with a disability be expected to?  I'm wondering how those in the corporate offices of Goodwill Industries sleep at night?

I remember getting my first paycheck.  It was such a good feeling when I bought something with the money I had earned.  I felt the same way when I sold the first copy of my children's book. Every disabled person who is employed deserves to know what that feels like. 

The disabled employees of Goodwill Industries just want to be treated fairly and earn a decent wage.  I don't think that's asking for too much.  Do you?   






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