Traveling in August typically means getting away for some rest and relaxation; but for Patricia Shiu, a recent 10-day, eight-city trip was anything but a vacation. The Buffalo News reporter Matthew Parrino caught up with the director of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) during the last stop of her junket.
Shiu’s visit included a speech at the Olmstead Center for Sight in commemoration of the 22nd anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Olmstead Center is the parent organization of the National Statler Center, which has helped make employment gains for individuals with disabilities through career training programs, specifically with regards to hospitality and call center jobs.
The purpose of the tour for Shiu was to advocate for greater inclusion of people with disabilities into the workforce across the United States; specifically with regards to a new rule proposed by the OFCCP back in December that would require federal contractors to track recruiting and hiring practices with regards to these individuals. Concerns from the private sector over costs and criteria for compliance have delayed implementation of the rule. “What gets measured gets done,” Shiu has famously said as she continues to make the case that the “good faith” level of accountability has not led to more jobs for qualified candidates with disabilities.
Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County community seems to be in agreement with Shiu. A story by Len Barcousky in Monday’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says a new study calls for the establishment of an “office of employment accessibility and inclusion” and to “set specific goals for hiring more people with disabilities.”
Two years ago, the Allegheny 365 committee brought together educators, employers, government officials, and advocates for people with disabilities to tackle the challenges of employment and access for residents of all abilities. Committee co-chair Joyce Bender hopes the report makes, “Pittsburgh known as the employable city for people with disabilities.” As the owner of a consulting firm that works to find jobs for this population, Bender knows how much a job can make life matter. She tells Barcousky:
… [O]pportunities to compete and get jobs translates into freedom for people with disabilities. “The first question people ask is, ‘What is your name?’ ” [Bender] said. ‘The second one is ‘Where do you work?’ Without employment, you are never really free.’
Freedom recently took the form of a retail store in Long Beach, California, where the Arc of Los Angeles and Orange County just purchased a dollar store under the Just-A-Buck franchise to provide employment training opportunities for people with disabilities. In her article for the Contra Costa Times, staff writer Viridiana Vaca-Rios says that the purchase ensures real-world job experience will be on the resumes of individuals who take part in the Arc’s employment program. For people like Natalie Hernandez, the skills she acquires at Just-A-Buck will keep her working towards self-improvement goals she has set for herself:
‘I just started this week, and I have already learned how to use the cash register and credit card machine,’ Hernandez said. ‘I want to work and keep myself busy. I don’t want to not do anything. I want to be able to learn and talk to people.’
You can help make life matter for people with disabilities by providing them with an opportunity to work and learn. Talk to a representative from ATI’s Contract Services or StarWorks program today to find out how to get started.
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Image by Jay Baker (Maryland GovPics), used under its Creative Commons license.