National Industries for the Blind: Continuing to Raise Expectations and Create Opportunities

National Industries for the Blind: Continuing to Raise Expectations and Create Opportunities

Braille MonitorNovember 2016

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National Industries for the Blind: Continuing to Raise Expectations and Create Opportunities
by Kevin Lynch
From the Editor: I can do no better job in introducing this article than did President Riccobono in his remarks welcoming Kevin Lynch to the stage at the 2016 National Convention on July 3, 2016. Here is what the President said:

“Our next program item and last program item for the afternoon is National Industries for the Blind: Continuing to Raise Expectations and Create Opportunities. You heard in the Presidential Report that we have been actively engaging with National Industries for the Blind. We have been having a very honest dialog about the past and also the future, and I think that we have come to find that National Industries for the Blind is sincerely interested in addressing our concerns and raising expectations as evidenced partly by the fact that they have almost completely eliminated the use of 14(c) in all of the NIB-associated shops across the country [applause]. They have instituted other organizational policies that make it clear they have a real dedication to this. They're also trying to navigate other concerns that we brought to them, and in some ways they're fixing problems before we know about them, which is a good sign of leadership.

One of the reasons is their president and CEO, Kevin Lynch. We've been engaging with Kevin over the last couple years, and I have found, and I think you will find, that Kevin is sincerely working to find ways to link arms, not just symbolically with the National Federation of the Blind, but at a very deep level wants to be partnered with the National Federation of the Blind because he knows it is the right place to be. Here is the president and CEO of National Industries for the Blind, Kevin Lynch:”
Good afternoon, everyone. Mark, thank you so much for the introduction and also for inviting me to be here today. I have to say, though, it's a little bit of a challenge coming after Dr. Maurer and Kathy Martinez, both of whom I respect greatly for their knowledge and also the influence they have provided to me over the years. I'd also like to recognize a few other people who have been helpful that are in the audience: Dr. Schroeder, as well as Don Morris and Jim Omvig. I'm very grateful for those individuals and the friendship and the wisdom they have provided.

For those of you who aren't familiar with National Industries for the Blind, our mission is to enhance the independence of people who are blind. We work with a nationwide network of nonprofit agencies to create and sustain employment for people who are blind in many different career fields. And, like NFB, we've been around for a long time, nearly eighty years in fact. And through strengthening partnerships with organizations like NFB, we are making progress. Together we've broken down the misconceptions and the barriers they create in expanding career options for people who are blind.

NIB's roots are in the manufacturing industry, and manufacturing continues to provide a significant number of jobs to people who are blind. We are proud to be one of the nation's largest networks involved in the fields of sewing products, paper converting, and other product lines like fire hose assembly. A lot of these industries left the United States of America and went overseas. Today there's hundreds more products assembled and packaged by Americans who are blind [applause].

We are very proud to supply uniforms and equipment to our military personnel to help keep them safe when in harm's way. We also provide prescription eyewear for our nation's veterans and ensure that their prescriptions are safely protected by the plastic vials that we make. Today we're producing cutting-edge, environmentally-friendly cleaning products, and more recently we began developing LED lighting, which will reduce the government's consumption of electricity.

Over the years we've evolved. We've demonstrated that, with the right training and assistive technology, people who are blind can work in any career field [cheers]. Today we provide more career options for people who are blind than at any other time in our seventy-seven year history. For example: a decade ago we recognized the need to provide opportunities in professional services for an emerging generation of highly-educated people who are blind. Now people who are blind work at NIB networks and are operating 24/7 contact centers. They're closing out contracts that return hundreds of millions of dollars to the federal government, and they’re managing complex supply chains that deliver critical goods and services to government and military personnel around the world. We are very proud of these successes, but what we see as the ultimate goal is the growing trend of our employees being hired by the federal government as defense prime contractors. That's a success.

We recognize that to build successful careers, our employees need more than just the job opportunity. They also need the right professional training and development. NIB launched the Business Leaders Program, which has helped more than 8,000 people who are blind build their business acumen through formal training and on-the-job experience. Graduates from the programs are now call center supervisors, base supply center store managers, and CEOs of our associated agencies and national organizations [applause]. Last year NIB partnered with George Mason University to strengthen our business management training program and develop a new generation of leaders. As we look to the future NIB will continue to focus on making investments in programs designed to increase choices, remove the perceived barriers, and fill the expectations of all of our employees.

These investments start with the basics, what you would expect from any employer in any industry: competitive wages, not subminimum wages; positive and diverse work environments; opportunities for advancement; and professional development and training. We've also made investments to help people who are blind stay competitive in the job market. We launched a hands-on training program called Promote to prepare people who are blind for careers requiring advanced technical skills. Last fall eight employees who are blind completed this intensive four-week program that provides advanced computer software training, and we are getting ready to launch our second round of classes. We've also launched a pilot program to help ensure people who are blind build the technical skills needed for careers in the high-demand field of cyber security. Twenty people who are blind completed this training program that prepares participants to take and pass their A+ certification.

Like the NFB we also take strong positions on important issues affecting people who are blind: like our strong stance on the payment of at least the federal minimum wage; or recognizing the freedom of individuals who are blind to make informed choices about where to work, just like anyone else; or calling on Congress to do more to remove the cash cliff barrier for Social Security Disability Insurance. We've launched our Advocates for Leadership and Employment Program to empower people who are blind to engage members of Congress and their staffs about these important issues. NIB's advocates program has today grown to twenty-six advocates, who are successfully keeping these and other issues front-and-center among lawmakers.

Now while we are proud of our accomplishments, we also recognize that there's more to be accomplished. We need to bring all of our associated agencies up to the best-in-class standards we all expect. Today, out of the sixty-five producing-associated agencies, we still have two that are paying less than minimum wage. As Dr. Maurer once said to me, "Even one agency paying less than minimum wage is too many." And we agree.

The NIB board wholeheartedly agrees and has put into place a variety of incentive programs that are only available to agencies that make this commitment. Furthermore, no nonprofit executive who pays less than minimum wage can sit on the NIB board. We have to ensure that NIB and our associated agencies continue to advance modern disability policies and also work to change perceptions about what people who are blind can do in the workplace.

NIB has a major role in investing in new, innovative opportunities to offer many types of employment choices. For example, we are working on ways we can encourage and assist individuals who have the entrepreneurial spirit and desire to become business owners. Adding this resource to NIB's offerings will give a full range of employment and career options.
Now we know that success requires strong partnerships with organizations like NFB. I fully encourage and support the ongoing opportunity to listen to ideas and proposals from across the disability community so that we are working to develop effective solutions together. Thank you, National Federation of the Blind, for the important work and advocacy you provide. NIB is committed to work with you in advancing opportunities for all people who are blind. Thank you very much.

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