Equitable Growth Enacting a minimum wage for tipped workers is on the ballot in two U.S. cities. Here’s what the research says (by Kate Bahn)
Hamilton Spectator - Who will vulnerable Canadians vote for?
The Conversation - Partisanship fuels what people with disabilities think about COVID-19 response
ASA-IPM Newsletter - What will the “new normal” look like for people with disabilities and chronic health conditions?
LSE-USA Centre - Civil rights laws alone aren’t going to help disabled people in a post-COVID America
Thirty years ago, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed by Congress with the aim of addressing the persistent social and economic marginalization of disabled Americans. But, writes David Pettinicchio, weak enforcement and narrow interpretations of the ADA have since limited its effectiveness. He argues that the ADA was only the beginning: now we must extend its values across all social policy arenas.
Le Café Show - ICI Première Radio-Canada - Radio Interview (French) - Les oubliés de la crise sanitaire
The Conversation - COVID-19: Financial future grim for Canadians with disabilities, health conditions
At the University of Toronto and University of Alberta, we conducted a nationwide survey, to be published at a later date, that revealed Canadians with disabilities and chronic health conditions are very worried about getting COVID-19. Respondents also said they feel like their voices aren’t being heard by policy-makers. They’re concerned about their long-term economic situation.
Huffington Post (article by Carly Stern) Coronavirus Made Accessibility A Priority. Disability Activists Have Been Fighting For It For Decades.
"The law began to shift employers’ expectations that it was the worker’s responsibility to adapt in order to fit a specific mold. “It has forced us all, including employers, to think about how environments are disabling,” said David Pettinicchio, a University of Toronto researcher who wrote a book about the act."
"The law began to shift employers’ expectations that it was the worker’s responsibility to adapt in order to fit a specific mold. “It has forced us all, including employers, to think about how environments are disabling,” said David Pettinicchio, a University of Toronto researcher who wrote a book about the act."
TVO / The Conversation: How to end the economic marginalization of people with disabilities
We analyzed assets for more than 33,000 Canadians. We found that, even after considering education, employment, and financial situation, households that included a person with a disability had 25 per cent less in non-housing assets than those that did not include persons with disabilities.
American Prospect - The Bipartisan Failure to Address Long-Term Home-Based Care for Disabled Americans
Whether through specific provisions in something like Medicare for All or through separate rights-based legislation, without explicit language making it illegal to place disabled people in institutions who would otherwise benefit from living in the least restrictive environment with necessary supports, history tells us that the status quo will stay in place.
Washington Post - Why disabled Americans remain second class citizens
Without either party as a true champion, time and again, compromises made for political expediency have undermined disability rights and produced legislation that is vulnerable to being watered down.
Without either party as a true champion, time and again, compromises made for political expediency have undermined disability rights and produced legislation that is vulnerable to being watered down.
The Hill: We can't take civil rights laws for granted
Disability activists have always cautiously celebrated a law that was supposed to change everything. Since its enactment, opposing political and business forces have colluded to undermine its main tenets.
CIUT Radio - Disability and Labor Market Barriers
People living with disabilities often face labour market barriers, and on average, are not afforded the same professional opportunities as individuals without disabilities. One reason for this is that employers often hold negative attitudes and beliefs about people with disabilities. Additionally, occupational segregation limits the earnings potential of disabled workers as they are often clustered into low-skilled occupations that tend to pay lower wages.
U of T Magazine - When Getting a Job is Mission Impossible
The reality – borne out by surveys – is that many people with disabilities never get further than an interview. Ontarians with disabilities are almost three times more likely to be unemployed than the working age population as a whole, and tend to earn considerably less when they are hired, says David Pettinicchio, a professor of sociology at U of T Mississauga.
HuffPost: Twenty-Seven Years Later and Disability Rights Are Still Under Attack
The Americans with Disabilities Act turns twenty-seven years old this July. So why do threats to well-established policies like this persist? The answer lies in the nature of American politics and the history of disability rights policy.
The Americans with Disabilities Act turns twenty-seven years old this July. So why do threats to well-established policies like this persist? The answer lies in the nature of American politics and the history of disability rights policy.
The Medium: Are Protests Effective?
Pettinicchio explained that protests allow awareness of issues that don’t seem to be focused on by political leaders. Political activism is important especially now. He stated that “protests help galvanize people around important issues and they can indirectly shape policy directions. "[Protests] alone may not be enough. For mobilization to be successful moving forward, it requires thinking about long-term and short-term goals and objectives, as well as the use of a multi-pronged approach that can include direct action, as well as systematic efforts to monitor policy, contact policymakers, and for regular citizens to remain engaged in the political process in the long run," he continued. “The effectiveness relies on unity of ‘political elites’ movement and organizational leaders, activists and regular citizens."
Pettinicchio explained that protests allow awareness of issues that don’t seem to be focused on by political leaders. Political activism is important especially now. He stated that “protests help galvanize people around important issues and they can indirectly shape policy directions. "[Protests] alone may not be enough. For mobilization to be successful moving forward, it requires thinking about long-term and short-term goals and objectives, as well as the use of a multi-pronged approach that can include direct action, as well as systematic efforts to monitor policy, contact policymakers, and for regular citizens to remain engaged in the political process in the long run," he continued. “The effectiveness relies on unity of ‘political elites’ movement and organizational leaders, activists and regular citizens."
The Hill: Disability and the Trump administration — what's next?
In 2000, Sessions proclaimed on the senate floor that: “We have created a complex system of federal regulations and laws that have created lawsuit after lawsuit, special treatment for certain children, and that are a big factor in accelerating the decline in civility and discipline in classrooms all over America.” He was referring to the 1975 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act – a policy guaranteeing children with disabilities the right to free and appropriate public education. Access to mainstream education was a key feature of the disability rights struggle.
CIUT Radio - Beyond the Headlines interview on the potential consequences of Trump win on Canada.
@Byond_Headlines Nov 14 "What types of factors shaped this outcome? People are looking for a single explanation, but that's problematic." @d_pettinicchio #BTH
Hillary Clinton's America: "The America I Know and Love"
(with Michelle Maroto)
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have presented two different pictures of the U.S. economy, especially when it comes to unemployment. Not surprisingly, Hillary Clinton has played up many of the economic gains made throughout Barack Obama’s presidency – including the significant decline in the number of long-term unemployed Americans since 2008. But she has also had to contend with inequality and disadvantage that has persisted since her husband, Bill Clinton’s, presidency.
Washington Post - The gay rights movement could take on the NRA - and actually win (with Jenny Carlson)
It’s an all-too-familiar routine for Americans: mass shooting, dramatic calls for change, inaction...But this time, things might be different. Not because of the record number of people killed in Orlando or because this heinous act was a terrorist attack, a hate crime and a mass shooting. It’s because the victims were part of a social movement with deep organizational infrastructure and political know-how largely unmatched within the gun-control movement. It’s because the attack targeted gays — and their community is organized.
Huffington Post - Clinton is Thinking Big on Disability
“When it comes to jobs, we’ve got to figure out how we get the minimum wage up and include people with disabilities in the minimum wage...right now there is a tiered wage when it comes to facilities that do provide opportunities but not at a self-sufficient wage that enables people to gain a degree of independence as far as they can go.” Clinton is alluding to a broader structural and attitudinal problem in American society when it comes to disability as a labor market barrier.
Huffington Post - Disability: A New Campaign Issue About Not-so-new Concerns
Autism may be a new campaign issue, but lack of resources and discriminatory attitudes and practices contributing to increasing gaps in employment and earnings is nothing new.
The Hill: Airlines versus people with disabilities
Accessible transportation was an issue that use to generate bipartisan support in Congress. Republicans and Democrats alike got behind Republican Sen. Bob Dole’s 1986 Air Carriers Access Act.
Accessible transportation was an issue that use to generate bipartisan support in Congress. Republicans and Democrats alike got behind Republican Sen. Bob Dole’s 1986 Air Carriers Access Act.
FiveThirtyEight - Has The ADA Broken Its Economic Promises To People With Disabilities?
A study published last year using 2011 ACS data found that people with sensory disabilities like blindness and deafness had the smallest earnings gap compared with people without disabilities, while people with multiple disabilities and cognitive disabilities had the largest.
A study published last year using 2011 ACS data found that people with sensory disabilities like blindness and deafness had the smallest earnings gap compared with people without disabilities, while people with multiple disabilities and cognitive disabilities had the largest.
Metro News - Fake resumes to track hiring inequity
Business Insider - Disabled Americans are worse off now than they were 25 years ago
Twenty-five years ago this past Sunday, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law. Today, people with disabilities are less likely to be employed than they were before the law was enacted. Workers with disabilities earn, on average, about $14,000 less than similar workers without disabilities. About one in every three disabled Americans lives in poverty.
Twenty-five years ago this past Sunday, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law. Today, people with disabilities are less likely to be employed than they were before the law was enacted. Workers with disabilities earn, on average, about $14,000 less than similar workers without disabilities. About one in every three disabled Americans lives in poverty.
Talking Points, Disabled Americans Are Worse Off In The Job Market Than They Were 25 Years Ago
The problems began decades before the bill was signed. In 1971, Representative Charles Vanik and Senator Hubert Humphrey tried to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include people with disabilities—but they met immediate resistance. Many politicians, employers and even some activists saw discrimination based on disability as different than discrimination based on race or gender.
The problems began decades before the bill was signed. In 1971, Representative Charles Vanik and Senator Hubert Humphrey tried to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include people with disabilities—but they met immediate resistance. Many politicians, employers and even some activists saw discrimination based on disability as different than discrimination based on race or gender.
Globe and Mail, Opinion - Did Canada Break a Promise to its Disabled Citizens?
Despite their differing approaches, both Canada and the U.S. face challenges in keeping their promise to improve the economic wellbeing of their disabled citizens.
Despite their differing approaches, both Canada and the U.S. face challenges in keeping their promise to improve the economic wellbeing of their disabled citizens.
The Town Talk - ADA falling short of reaching its goals
Adults with disabilities are about 40 percent less likely to be employed than those without disabilities, and employment rates have declined almost every year over the past quarter-century. In fact, they’re lower now than they were in 1988, when the ADA was introduced to Congress. That is a tragedy for all the individuals shut out of jobs, of course, but also for families, communities and government.
Adults with disabilities are about 40 percent less likely to be employed than those without disabilities, and employment rates have declined almost every year over the past quarter-century. In fact, they’re lower now than they were in 1988, when the ADA was introduced to Congress. That is a tragedy for all the individuals shut out of jobs, of course, but also for families, communities and government.
USA Today, Opinion - How to Aid the ADA
Sunday marks the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Hailed as the greatest piece of civil rights legislation since the 1964 Civil Rights Act— an "emancipation proclamation" for people with disabilities — the ADA had profound material and psychological impacts, from removing physical barriers to increasing public awareness of the plight of the disabled. When President George H.W. Bush signed the ADA into law in 1990, he referred to it as "the world's first comprehensive declaration of equality for people with disabilities."
But 25 years later, the United States has fallen behind other nations when it comes to how we treat people with disabilities.
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Sunday marks the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Hailed as the greatest piece of civil rights legislation since the 1964 Civil Rights Act— an "emancipation proclamation" for people with disabilities — the ADA had profound material and psychological impacts, from removing physical barriers to increasing public awareness of the plight of the disabled. When President George H.W. Bush signed the ADA into law in 1990, he referred to it as "the world's first comprehensive declaration of equality for people with disabilities."
But 25 years later, the United States has fallen behind other nations when it comes to how we treat people with disabilities.
***
The Morning News - Bad Land
How do we help people feel safe enough that they don’t need four guns and a shed full of ammo?
Get involved. For the best social capital is built naturally, with communities coming together—both inside and outside government—and then linking in ever-larger circles. Sociologists Blaine Robbins and David Pettinicchio examined social capital and homicide globally and found that, above all else, social activism exhibits a “significant negative association with homicide rates, net of other influences.”
“This is because politically oriented individuals are also more likely to serve the needs of their community and assist in collective endeavors aimed at reducing crime,” they wrote. “All of which follows the classic Tocquevillian premise: a willingness to take part in political affairs generates a willingness to contribute to the common good, including the production and maintenance of a safe and secure society.”
Yes, they are talking about community organizing. They are also talking about what I did in Pakrac, where we called it social reconstruction and where big players like the European Union and the United Nations called it building civil society. But it’s also called serving on the school board or signing a petition to save a wetland or showing up at a planning board meeting to support a new business. It is about interfaith movements to help the homeless, attending political meetings (from socialists to tea party groups), and bending the ear of your state senator at the volunteer fire department’s pancake breakfast.
Of course, the work of Robbins and Pettinicchio shows only correlation, not absolute proof. But I accept now that nothing is going to prove causation when it comes to homicide (or guns), and, in my judgment, the literature on social capital provides enough proof to make a moral judgment, even if it is naturally imperfect.
Get involved. For the best social capital is built naturally, with communities coming together—both inside and outside government—and then linking in ever-larger circles. Sociologists Blaine Robbins and David Pettinicchio examined social capital and homicide globally and found that, above all else, social activism exhibits a “significant negative association with homicide rates, net of other influences.”
“This is because politically oriented individuals are also more likely to serve the needs of their community and assist in collective endeavors aimed at reducing crime,” they wrote. “All of which follows the classic Tocquevillian premise: a willingness to take part in political affairs generates a willingness to contribute to the common good, including the production and maintenance of a safe and secure society.”
Yes, they are talking about community organizing. They are also talking about what I did in Pakrac, where we called it social reconstruction and where big players like the European Union and the United Nations called it building civil society. But it’s also called serving on the school board or signing a petition to save a wetland or showing up at a planning board meeting to support a new business. It is about interfaith movements to help the homeless, attending political meetings (from socialists to tea party groups), and bending the ear of your state senator at the volunteer fire department’s pancake breakfast.
Of course, the work of Robbins and Pettinicchio shows only correlation, not absolute proof. But I accept now that nothing is going to prove causation when it comes to homicide (or guns), and, in my judgment, the literature on social capital provides enough proof to make a moral judgment, even if it is naturally imperfect.
Scientific American - The Joker’s Wild: On the Ecology of Gun Violence in America
Remarkably, this kind of social activism is the single most important factor associated with reduced violence for any neighborhood in the world. According to University of Washington sociologists Blaine Robbins and David Pettinicchio, in the first global study to examine social capital and homicide, only social activism consistently predicts homicide at the national, neighborhood, and individual levels.
This is because politically oriented individuals are also more likely to serve the needs of their community and assist in collective endeavors aimed at reducing crime. All of which follows the classic Tocquevillian premise: a willingness to take part in political affairs generates a willingness to contribute to the common good, including the production and maintenance of a safe and secure society.
Are we up to the challenge? In case anyone doubts it just consider the selfless acts of heroism that were on display at around 12:20am Friday morning. With smoke filling the air and bullets flying, Jon Blunk, Matt McQuinn, and Alex Teves all sacrificed their lives to protect the people who were most important to them. Each reacted instantly by covering their loved ones with their own bodies and taking the bullets that were otherwise intended for the person beneath.
See also repost in Huffington Post - "On the Origin of American Gun Violence"
This is because politically oriented individuals are also more likely to serve the needs of their community and assist in collective endeavors aimed at reducing crime. All of which follows the classic Tocquevillian premise: a willingness to take part in political affairs generates a willingness to contribute to the common good, including the production and maintenance of a safe and secure society.
Are we up to the challenge? In case anyone doubts it just consider the selfless acts of heroism that were on display at around 12:20am Friday morning. With smoke filling the air and bullets flying, Jon Blunk, Matt McQuinn, and Alex Teves all sacrificed their lives to protect the people who were most important to them. Each reacted instantly by covering their loved ones with their own bodies and taking the bullets that were otherwise intended for the person beneath.
See also repost in Huffington Post - "On the Origin of American Gun Violence"
National Affairs - Social Capital, Economic Development, and Homicide: A Cross-National Investigation
National Affairs - Religion and the Acceptability of White-Collar Crime: A Cross-National Analysis
National Journal - Strong Neighborhoods Control Gun Violence
Trust is one thing, but researchers Blaine Robbins and David Pettinicchio of the University of Washington say that inspiring citizens to become politically active could make the greatest difference in reducing violence. Their research shows a strong negative correlation between social activism and homicide rates worldwide, even more than the link between crime and income inequality. “Being involved matters,” Pettinicchio says.
The concept isn’t new, he adds. It was espoused almost 200 years ago by Alexis de Tocqueville, who argued that a willingness to engage politically also means a willingness to contribute to the common good.
The concept isn’t new, he adds. It was espoused almost 200 years ago by Alexis de Tocqueville, who argued that a willingness to engage politically also means a willingness to contribute to the common good.
National Career Development Association - New Dawn for Career Development: Announcing the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
"Maroto and Pettincchio found that the employment rates and income levels of adults with disabilities continues to decrease despite federal efforts."
"Maroto and Pettincchio found that the employment rates and income levels of adults with disabilities continues to decrease despite federal efforts."
