QUEENS AGAINST GOODWILL

Hi. My name is Ericka and I am not a “Queen”. I am however a strong advocate for the equal treatment of workers with disabilities. This includes an end to sub-minimum wages for people with disabilities. I don’t think we should assume that because someone is disabled, they are “lesser” than their coworkers without disabilities. We certainly should not be grading someone’s ability to do a job “efficiently” based on their disability.

The certificates given to businesses are old-fashioned and discriminatory in nature. They only serve as a way for a business to exploit their workers for monetary gain. From the sounds of it, states are starting to take notice as well. It was recently in the news that New Hampshire and now Maryland are becoming the only states that will GUARANTEE a fair minimum wage for workers with disabilities.

When I first heard about the Queens Against Goodwill, I was excited and confused. I loved the idea of actually calling out businesses for their ridiculous practices but it is my understanding that more companies than just Goodwill use certificates as a way to discriminate against disabled workers. I do not understand how companies can justify paying someone less due to disability! I hope through the Queens Against Goodwill campaign, companies take notice and make significant changes!

Thank you Ericka for being an ally in our campaign for equal pay for people with disabilities!
Are you a Queen/King that also thinks people with disabilities should be paid fairly? Send us an email at QueenTeam@cdrnys.org!

Image description: In the image, man the on the left has pink and light brown hair, he is wearing a black sleeveless dress and a long strand of white pearls. The woman on the right is wearing a black top hat, black glasses, a black suit jacket with white t-shirt and tan pants. They are both holding a cardboard sign and in black text it says “We would rather wear each other’s cloths than shop at Goodwill”.