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Parents, guardians, advocates and consumers,
We need you to contact the local offices of our United States Elected Officials and let them know it is not OK to take away your right to work.
- President Joe Biden Whitehouse Contact Us Page
- Senator Schumer’s Syracuse Office 315-423-5471
- Senator Gillibrand’s Syracuse Office 315-448-0470
- Congresswoman Claudia Tenney’s Utica Office 315-732-0713
- NYS Assemblymember Dr. Anna Kelles Ithaca Office 607-277-8030
- NYS Senator Peter Oberacker Cortland Office 607-758-9005
JM Murray strongly opposes phasing out Section 14c of the Fair Labor Standards Act that allows us to offer the choice of work to over 100 individuals with disabilities at our 823 NYS Route 13 facility. Recently H.R. 2373 was introduced in the United States House of Representatives as a bill that would phase out Section 14c and deny you your choice and right to work. The New York State Assembly bill A03103 would be even more draconian as there is no funding nor any timeline for a possible transition period.
You can speak in your own words or we have these notes for you:
- No one is forced to work under the 14c certificate. In fact, we encourage individuals to seek competitive employment if that is their desire.
- The choice to work under the 14c certificate allows individuals the pride and dignity of earning a paycheck that they otherwise might not be able to achieve.
- Eliminating 14c and forcing folks into non-paid work options such as volunteered work or Day Habilitation programs should be at the individual’s choice and not legislated to them. Further, these non-work alternatives will increase financial burdens to all taxpayers.
- Paid work is the best and least expensive form of habilitation.
- Life is not fair. For most of the folks working under our 14c certificate, this is their desired and best option to work. No matter how hard they try or how many accommodations are made, full, competitive work simply is not attainable for everyone.
- Not all individuals with disabilities should be lumped into one group. Individuals with developmental disabilities have challenges that individuals with physical disabilities may be able to overcome. There is adaptive technology for vision or hearing impairment, for example, but there are limits to accommodations for the IDD population.
- Meaningful work is subject to the individual and their family. It should not be legislated.
- The average age of an individual working under 14c at JM Murray is 46. The average length of service is 13.3 years. The average work week is 20.58 hours. The average productivity level is 32.8%. Where will these 100 individuals find full competitive jobs and wages in an economically depressed county such as Cortland?
- In 2019, there were 75,408 hours worked under our 14c certificate. That equates to over 39 full time jobs. Why are our governments willing to threaten these jobs? If any leading employer were to eliminate 39 full time jobs would it not be a leading headline of local and state media?
- What other employer can say the best time of the work week for the bulk of their workforce is Monday morning and the worst is Friday afternoon?
- Unemployment for individuals with disabilities is significantly higher than non-disabled individuals. With the rising costs of labor and high unemployment rates, the ability to compete for limited jobs is another obstacle to overcome.
Parents, guardians, advocates and consumers,
JM Murray will continue to advocate for you, but we encourage your voices to be heard as well.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]