Equality:

Disabled Persons' Rights

The struggle for disability rights is not a question of us and them. It is not a question of a charitable government taking pity on lesser human beings. It is not a question of throwing money at an issue and hoping for a quick fix. It is a question of recognizing that ALL of us deserve a just society and that the ALL includes persons with disabilities. It is a question of recognizing that the same corporate domination that harms the earth, robs citizens of their constitutional right to equal participation in government, and endangers the health and well being of our children, limits the potential of people with disabilities and in turn limits us all. It is a question of recognizing that guaranteeing the rights of people with disabilities guarantees all citizens, all disadvantaged groups, all responsible businesses, the many opportunities of growth, fulfillment and worthwhile public endeavor that the United States can offer.

The Americans With Disabilities Act is now 10 years old – but it has only begun to correct the fears that have kept people with disabilities in isolation since the beginning of history. Disabled people are still too often refused access to health care, transportation, school, housing and jobs. Disabled women and people of color are hit especially hard. By eliminating each and every form of discrimination, we can create the just society to which we aspire – a society whose fairness inspires the confidence that will enable Americans from every sector to reach their full potential.

EMPLOYERS NEED THE SUPPORT OF A JUST AND CIVIL SOCIETY

To illustrate the universality of disability rights (to take disability rights issues out of the disability ghetto where we usually find them) it is instructive to look at how a fully integrated society would benefit employers, both public and private. Mistakenly, employers often see their interests as juxtaposed AGAINST those of persons with disabilities. Nothing could be further from the truth. Especially in this day of work force shortages we as a society can not afford to exclude an entire group of people simply because of the manner in which they do or do not move their legs, use their eyes, or process information.

Employers need all available expertise and creativity. Thanks to the integration of students with disabilities into our public schools over the past 26 years, there is now a rising swell of highly trained graduates with significant disabilities.

Employers who have taken full advantage of this pool of talent – among them IBM and NASA – have set very high expectations for their disabled employees, while exposing them to the rigors of fast-paced mentoring programs. The employees have in most cases exceeded the expectations of their employers, and thus put the moderate costs of work site and job task modification in perspective – these costs are seen as a normal and reasonable cost of doing business.

Hiring disabled applicants is a good start, but an employer needs the support of a just and civil society – backed up by the ADA – to be sure that their new employee has a good chance of succeeding on the job. Every neighborhood near each site of the employer must have wheelchair accessible housing and public transportation in place. The telecommunication system including the Internet must be usable by employees with every type of disability. Airlines, trains, and buses must accommodate business travelers with disabilities anywhere promptly.

Many employers provide local transport with a variety of trucks and vans, none of which is easily or safely usable by a wheelchair rider. Low-floor minivans are available, with gently sloped entry ramps and nearly a foot of extra headroom giving easy entry for heavy deliveries. Unfortunately the lowering of the floor is done after the minivan is manufactured, adding more than 50% to the cost of the van. A large enough order from the postal service – easily justified to save the backs of postal workers – could result in the original manufacture of low-floor minivans for nearly the same price as a standard minivan. Once these vans became available at a lower cost they could provide transportation to many wheelchair riders, taxi and delivery services.

People with disabilities need a wide variety of other equipment to get around and to function effectively, but wheelchairs and much other adaptive equipment are priced so high that they are often unavailable to the people who need them most.

The wheelchair industry, controlled by a virtual monopoly of one maker of poor-quality chairs for thirty years, was opened up to dozens of new competitors by a Justice Department antitrust settlement in 1979. With new competition, prices dropped to one-half of what they had been while the chairs became much better. But recent swallowing of many of these small companies by one large company threatens to return the market to its former monopoly status.

As employees with disabilities adapt to the changing schedules, locations, and other needs of their employers, they in turn will need the support of a well-developed civil society. The goal of most workers, disabled or not, is to create a seamless web of support for their families. If they worry about health or safety, the worker’s productivity suffers. Available child care, nearby and in synch with the schedules of the employer, must be physically accessible either to a disabled parent or to a disabled child.

In-home extended care for elderly family members can be vastly safer and less expensive than nursing homes; the lessened worry can boost the employee’s productivity. Last year the Olmstead decision of the U.S. Supreme Court stated that a person receiving long term care should receive it in the “least restrictive setting appropriate.” The proposed bill MiCASSA [Medicaid Community Attendant Services and Supports Act – HR 4416 – Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL)] will take funds away from nursing homes and make them available for in-home care. I strongly support MiCASSA.

Health care is paramount to the care of an extended family, but many employers offer no health insurance. High prices and the exclusion of pre-existing conditions make adequate insurance unavailable to many people with disabilities. Central to building a civilized society in the U.S. is the provision of Universal and Accessible Health Care.

Contact with an Independent Living Center, run by disabled people with years of experience in solving the day-to-day puzzles of living well with a disability, could be invaluable. State-of-the-art adaptive equipment developed in the network of Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers, under the direction and consultation of people with disabilities, could be made available to the employee.

Group health insurance must remain available and affordable to employers that hire disabled persons. Individual health coverage must also remain in effect for the disabled employee during all periods of unemployment; only Universal Health Care could protect against the catastrophes that occur during gaps in coverage.

Adult education facilities for advanced training must be physically accessible and ready to accommodate students who are blind or deaf.