ALERT: Pay Disabled Workers Competitive Wages! End Segregated Workspaces

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. That’s why we’re advocating for Congress to include the Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act (TCIEA) in the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pension (HELP) Committee’s workforce markup package.

The Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act (S.533) is a bill that would create competitive integrated employment opportunities for disabled people. A package is when related bills get grouped together. In this case, the HELP Committee’s markup package has many workforce-related bills. We want TCIEA to be one of them! It is more likely to pass as part of a package than it is on its own. We also want more Senators to cosponsor the bill. (Cosponsoring means that a Senator supports a bill. Bills with more cosponsors are thought of as more popular.) 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 workforce markup package. 

TCIEA would help states and businesses provide good jobs for disabled people so that we can be active in the workforce and more financially independent. New Hampshire, Maryland, Vermont, Arkansas and Oregon all show an increase in employment rates for disabled people since they switched from subminimum wage to fairly-paid employment 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 workforce 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 workforce markup package. 

TCIEA would help states and businesses provide good jobs for disabled people so that we can be active in the workforce and more financially independent. New Hampshire, Maryland, Vermont, Arkansas and Oregon all show an increase in employment rates for disabled people since they switched from subminimum wage to fairly-paid employment 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 workforce 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.