Disabled people deserve to work at the same places and for the same pay as nondisabled people. This isn’t news — but in 2024, some of us are still being paid less than the minimum wage in segregated workplaces. This is called subminimum wage, and it most commonly happens in sheltered workshops. It is discrimination, and it is unacceptable. The Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act (S.533) is a bill that would give states and businesses the help they need to create competitive integrated employment opportunities for disabled people. Competitive integrated employment (CIE) means a job where disabled people are paid at least minimum wage and work with both disabled people and nondisabled people. CIE jobs also have to follow some other rules that you can learn about here. 

To learn more about TCIEA and get the answers to common questions about the bill, check out this guide.

We want Congress to include the Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act (TCIEA) in the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pension (HELP) Committee’s apprenticeship markup package. An apprenticeship is when someone gets paid to learn how to do a job. A markup package is a group of bills that a committee reviews at the same time. The package that TCIEA is a part of is called the apprenticeship markup package because other bills in the package are about apprenticeships. TCIEA is not about apprenticeships, but since it is about employment, it is in this package. TCIEA is more likely to pass as part of a package than it is on its own.

We also want more Senators to cosponsor TCIEA. Cosponsoring means that a legislator supports a bill. Bills with more cosponsors are thought of as more popular. We need your help to get more Senators to support and cosponsor TCIEA! 

Here’s how you can take action:

First, see who your Senators are by entering your state here.

Then, see if your Senators are on the HELP Committee. Check if they are on the member list here. 

If either of your Senators is on the HELP Committee, call the congressional switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Senator’s office. You can say “Please connect me to Senator [first and last name]’s office.” 

Once you are connected to your Senator’s office, you can use our script:

My name is [your full name], and I am from [your city]. I am a constituent of Senator [Name]. I’m calling to ask Senator [Name] to add the Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act, or TCIEA, to the Senate HELP Committee’s apprenticeship markup package. 

TCIEA would give states and businesses the resources they need to provide good jobs for disabled people so that we can have good jobs and be more financially independent. Employment rates for disabled people go up when states switch from subminimum wage to fairly-paid jobs in the community.

Disabled people want to work, and TCIEA would help us meet that goal. I would like to ask the Senator to include TCIEA in the HELP Committee’s apprenticeship markup package, ensure its passage this congressional session, and cosponsor TCIEA if they have not already.

If one of your Senators is not on the HELP Committee, we’ve still got steps you can take. You can call the leaders of the HELP committee, Chair Sanders and Ranking Member Cassidy. Their contact information is:

Chair, Senator Bernie Sanders (202) 224-5141 and
Ranking Member, Senator Bill Cassidy (202) 224-5824.

You can use this script to plan what you will say:

My name is [your full name], and I am from [your city]. I am a constituent of Senator [Name]. I’m calling to ask Senator [Name] to add the Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act, or TCIEA, to the Senate HELP Committee’s apprenticeship  markup package. 

TCIEA would give states and businesses the resources they need to provide good jobs for disabled people so that we can be active in the workforce and more financially independent. Employment rates for disabled people go up when states switch from subminimum wage to fairly-paid jobs in the community. 

Disabled people want to work, and TCIEA would help us meet that goal. I would like to ask the Senator to include TCIEA in the HELP Committee’s apprenticeship  markup package, ensure its passage this congressional session, and cosponsor TCIEA if they have not already.

Wondering what to expect from a call to your elected officials? Check out this guide to making a call to your Members of Congress. If you can’t make a phone call, that is fine — sending an email will work too! You can find your Senators’ contact information on their websites.

Please call or email as soon as possible! Together, we can increase good jobs for disabled people and end subminimum wage. It’s past time to give disabled workers integrated, equal employment.

Autistic Self Advocacy Network

PO Box 66122
Washington, DC 20035

 

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