Amazon's War on Workers: New Disability Policy and Union-Busting Tactics Spark Outrage

Amazon is making it harder for disabled employees to get permission to work from home. 

The company recently told employees with disabilities that it was implementing a more rigorous vetting process. Affected workers must submit to a “multilevel leader review” and could be required to return to the office for monthlong trials to determine if accommodations meet their needs. The revised disability policy—which hasn’t previously been reported—is roiling a workforce already alienated by a five-day return-to-office mandate. Meanwhile, the National Labor Relations Board ruled (in a case involving Amazon) that mandatory “captive audience” meetings are illegal. These are the gatherings where companies tell employees the alleged evils of unionization, and are one of their most potent weapons against labor organizing. 

Please if you feel like I feel voice your concern, and depending on your level of outrage any of the following will do!

1. Contact Amazon Directly:

Customer Service: While this might not be the most direct route, you can reach out to Amazon's customer service by phone at 1-888-280-4331 and share your concerns.

• Social Media: Use platforms like Twitter or Facebook to directly message Amazon or tag them in posts using relevant hashtags.

2. Reach Out to Regulatory Agencies:

• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC): The EEOC enforces laws prohibiting job discrimination. You can file a complaint with them if you believe Amazon's policy violates these laws.
• National Labor Relations Board (NLRB): While this might not be directly related to the disability policy, the NLRB oversees labor relations and can investigate potential unfair labor practices.

3. Contact Advocacy Organizations:

• Disability Rights Organizations: These organizations often advocate for the rights of people with disabilities. Contact them to learn about potential legal actions or public campaigns you can support.

4. Public Pressure:

• Sign Petitions: Look for online petitions against Amazon's policy and sign them to show your support.
• Write Letters to the Editor: Share your concerns with local newspapers and online publications.
• Boycott Amazon: Consider reducing your purchases from Amazon as a form of protest.

Remember, your voice matters. By taking action, you can help ensure that disabled workers are treated fairly and have the opportunity to work remotely if needed.

How Hollywood Got Autism Awareness Month All Wrong…

I am so grateful for every person who used their platform to bring awareness to autism. Awareness was the first step to improving the lives of individuals and families impacted by autism. I fought for awareness and now it's time for a new verb.

This is not a dis on anyone or anything, it’s just I've been living with this same message for 17 years. And, as I was thinking what to say for Autism Awareness month?  What needs to be said? What would make a difference? I just kept coming up blank, then it hit me “It’s not about awareness anymore”.  We are aware now!  We have made progress and it’s time to get a new slogan and new mission that changes the lives of all the people our society is now “Aware” of.   And I hope Hollywood will get on board and embrace a new campaign.Let's face it, now we need to be about action, next steps. Maybe we begin with a new slogan; Autism Inclusion Month,  or Autism Action Month, or Autism Support Month.

I’ve been on this journey for 17 years now, much of which is documented in this blog.  If you are one of the people who have read this blog through the years you know it begins with my testimony to the California Senate Blue Ribbon Commission when I shared how having a young child with autism was a nightmare families could not wake from.  Getting an early diagnosis was almost impossible as most pediatricians did not know the signs, and if you could not afford the $3,500 private developmental pediatricians wanted for assessments you were probably flat out of luck.  Then if you were fortunate enough to be told your child does have autism “A permanent lifelong disability for which there is no known cause of cure” they just sent you home to sort things out.  Unlike any other major illness or disability where families are embraced by the system and provided with protocols of care and resource’s families living with autism were abandoned by the system.  With no skills or tools families were just sent home to care their child – who typically required 24/7 support, cope with their grief and do the full-time job of trying to navigate complicated systems of care to find hope!    A devastating reality resulting in a 86% divorce rate for families, isolation, depression and financial ruin because the needs of an autistic child were so intensive parents could not work and care for their child.

This was the unimaginable fate of so many families due to lack of awareness.  But as awareness improved and 1 in every 64 children had a diagnosis of autism, things changed and today most people know about autism.  The result physicians have been trained, therapies are available, states have funds for early diagnosis and intervention.  A great accomplishment!  And now it’s time to move on.

Today most funds for autism are earmarked for early intervention, doing little for those individuals with autism who are now in middle school, high school, and aging out of the system.  We have done little to improve our social settings to include families and individuals with autism. Today as I think about Nick’s upcoming birthday, yep he’s an April kiddo born in Autism Awareness Month!  I am not optimistic about his future, in fact, I’m the opposite.  I am scared for my son and his sister who will inherit the burden of care.  And this is how I feel as the parent of a kiddo who has made incredible strides in his independence as a result of early intervention.

17 years into this diagnosis we live in the social isolation today, as we did when he was diagnosed. This year like all the other years, he has not be invited to any typical child’s birthday party and his birthday party will be attended by adults and perhaps a few others on the spectrum.   We still go into the community and people pretend not to see us, or they look at Nick in fear when he makes noises and jumps suddenly.  But today my most crushing reality is once Nick ages out of the school system – unlike his typical school peers who will go on to jobs, vocational programs, colleges or universities – there are few viable options.  The image of “Wall walkers” comes to mind. Special needs individuals being driven around town in white vans making mindless trips to the mall, the 99 cent store, maybe Target.  Or for a treat a trip to McDonald's where they are all seated away from the other customers who are uncomfortable or a theme park where they connected by matching shirts or string that attach them like cut out dolls, dressed in clothes that make them look unloved and allowed to wear toddler hats.  That’s what families have to look forward to after years of “Awareness” 

So, yes awareness have improved. Early intervention is funded. Kids are being diagnosed and families are being lead to believe the future will be better.  I’m here to say, that is perhaps the cruelest part of this whole journey; to work so hard for years expecting “better” to find that while your child was growing up, and you were doing all you knew to do, the system was not keeping up with you and one day you would end up right back where you started, alone with a young adult who still needs 24/7 care and nowhere to go.  

That’s reality, and in some ways, it’s a more crushing blow than the first, because back then in the there was still hope.  And as a society, we were still more forgiving of an adorable autistic toddler, no matter how inappropriate his behavior, than of an autistic adult.  

That’s why it’s time to move on and work on directly impacting the lives of families living with autism, beyond ages 1-5.  It’s time for “Autism Inclusion Month” and just like awareness it begins in our communities, it begins with us, simple kindness something like this.

Let’s start an inclusion revolution. 

Here are a few ideas.

When you see an individual with autism – Say hi, even if they don’t say hi back.

Invite families you know who are living with autism to your parties, to your homes for dinner.

Help parents who are caring for an individual with autism; drop off a meal, a Starbucks, a bottle of wine.

Invite a mom who is caring for her child with autism over for a cup of tea,  volunteer to run an errand or any gesture of kindness you would give to any neighbor or friend in need.

Then for those of us who are the ones living with autism, we need Autism Action Month. A month where as a community we come together to push the bar forward.  A month where we unite in large numbers, make our voices heard, and advocate now for system change including programs and funding that will support our children after Highschool and insure there are supports in place for the inevitable when we are no longer here to care for them.

Project AutTrain: Health Care Access for Adults with Autism

Project AutTrain: Health Care Access for Adults with Autism

Vote On Idea

In the next decade, over half a million children with autism will move into adulthood with many being non-verbal and facing increased health risks and with few medical professionals available to understand their unique needs. Pediatricians have been trained on the signs of autism in order to encourage early diagnosis and intervention, however, physicians and other medical professionals who work with adults have received virtually no education. This project will build a group of professional trainers from the UCLA Medical Center Faculty and other UCLA organizations, regional center experts, therapists, parents, and autistic adults. This group will provide training to medical professionals and students on issues of physical and mental health, sexuality, health care delivery, and communication related to adults with autism. The project will be led by the Autism Society of Los Angeles, a leader for over four decades in the areas of professional training, skills building, and advocacy recognized both locally and nationally.

Dr. Linda Demer and Judy Mark of the Autism Society of Los Angeles have created a project led by the Autism Society of Los Angeles that we hope will get funded by a community grant from the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. We are working to educate physicians in L.A. County on effective methods to care for adults with autism who often face significant challenges in communication and sensory issues when trying to access health care.  We will also work to increase the number of doctors who actively care for adult patients with autism.  We hope that this project will become a model for other communities.

The only way to get this grant is through a voting process with the top four vote-getters winning.  We are reaching out to you as a self-advocate, family member, or professional in the field to help ASLA win this critical grant.  

The process to vote seems slightly complicated but it actually only takes a minute to go through all of these steps.  I’ve written out exactly what you need to do.  And you only have to do it one time!  Here are your specific directions:

1.  Click on the "Vote On Idea” link below.

2.  You will see our project listed with a grey arrow next to it.  Click on the arrow.  

3.  You will be taken to a log in page.  Assuming you’ve never been registered before, scroll down to the small words in blue: “Register Now."

4.  You will then go to a page to create your account.  You need to put in your email address, click that you are not a robot (it may ask you to identify some photos) and then register.

5.  A few minutes later, you will receive an email to verify your email address.  Click on “yes this is my email”  (Some people have not been receiving this email automatically.  If this happens, you can go back to step 4 and ask them to resend the email.  It will definitely work this time.)

6.  It will now take you to a page to set your profile.  Choose a user name (it could just be your email address) and a password.  Then click save.  (Do not stress about remembering your password because you will never need it again.)

7.  You are now at the main page to vote.  Scroll down to our project - Project AutTrain - and click on the grey arrow next to the name. It will turn brown and the number will go up.  Yay!!!

And then you are done.  We truly wish it were simpler but we so appreciate your help and we know that this grant will make a huge difference in the lives of adults with autism.  There are so few grants available in our area to do this important work that we must work hard to get this one.

Each email address can only vote once.   Voting will take place throughout the month of April. Please pass this on to others and encourage your friends, colleagues and families to vote. 

Thank you so much for your time to help ensure good health outcomes for adults with autism.