National Federation of the Blind Presidential Releases - English

Presidential Release #479: January 2019 (English Audio) The presidential release is a monthly audio message from President Mark A. Riccobono that highlights the current activities of the National Federation of the Blind. It is shared with every chapter of the organization. Please listen now, or share at your upcoming meeting or event. Listen to previous episodes at nfb.org/presidential-releases. Items Covered Happy New Year World Braille Day January 4  Consumer Electronics Show (next week in Las Vegas) 2019 National Convention (book your rooms now at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino) New NFB strategic plan (in February Braille Monitor) Two new Aira plans for NFB members 2019 Washington Seminar (a message from John Paré) Dream Makers Circle update Federation Family notes Customary endings  Related Resources 2019 National Convention (Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino reservations— call 877-632-9001) Subscribe to an NFB Aira plan—call 800-835-1934 or visit aira.io/nfb Washington Seminar Dream Makers Circle Listen to the January 2019 Release

Presidential Release #478: December 2018 (English Audio) The presidential release is a monthly audio message from President Mark A. Riccobono that highlights the current activities of the National Federation of the Blind. It is shared with every chapter of the organization. Please listen now, or share at your upcoming meeting or event. Listen to previous episodes at nfb.org/presidential-releases. Items Covered Holiday greetings Thank you to the record number of blind voters who completed NFB's Blind Voter Survey Op-ed in The Hill about 14c (American Nightmare: How Workers with Disabilities Are Denied Economic Prosperity) Deadline for Washington Seminar rooms December 28 NFB-NEWSLINE® now available on the Amazon Echo Federation Family notes Customary endings A special song from a blind choir from Guatemala Related Resources NFB-NEWSLINE skill for Amazon Echo Washington Seminar information American Nightmare: How Workers with Disabilities Are Denied Economic Prosperity NFB Pre-authorized Contribution Plan Dream Makers Circle Listen to the December 2018 Release

Presidential Release #477: November 2018 (English Audio) The presidential release is a monthly audio message from President Mark A. Riccobono that highlights the current activities of the National Federation of the Blind. It is shared with every chapter of the organization. Please listen now, or share at your upcoming meeting or event. Listen to previous episodes at nfb.org/presidential-releases. Items Covered Blind voters in the 2018 midterm elections and the need to capture data Alameda County, California, and equal opportunity for participation by blind voters Walmart being sued over the inaccessibility of self-service check-out kiosks Letters in Braille from Santa Claus Creating Facebook fundraisers Federation Family notes Customary endings Related Resources Santa Letters 2018 Midterm Elections Blind and Low-Vision Voter Experience Survey Alameda County press release  Walmart press release NFB Pre-authorized Contribution Plan Dream Makers Circle Listen to the November 2018 Release

Presidential Release #476: October 2018 (English Audio) The presidential release is a monthly audio message from President Mark A. Riccobono that highlights the current activities of the National Federation of the Blind. It is shared with every chapter of the organization. Please listen now, or share at your upcoming meeting or event. Listen to previous episodes at nfb.org/presidential-releases. Items Covered Meet the Blind Month and White Cane Awareness Day Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act Ability One filing Urging chapters to use the pledge at chapter meetings Braille Readers Are Leaders contest National Federation of the Blind night at Orioles Park Federation Family notes Customary endings Related Resources Meet the Blind Month White Cane Awareness Day US House of Representatives Passes Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act National Federation of the Blind Sues US AbilityOne Commission Braille Readers Are Leaders contest Video of President Riccobono's first pitch at the Orioles game Listen to the October 2018 Release

Presidential Release #475: September 2018 (English Audio) The presidential release is a monthly audio message from President Mark A. Riccobono that highlights the current activities of the National Federation of the Blind. It is shared with every chapter of the organization. Please listen now, or share at your upcoming meeting or event. Listen to previous episodes at nfb.org/presidential-releases. Items Covered It is back-to-school season. Thanks to our relationship with the American Action Fund, Braille calendars are now available. Update on the status of ridesharing companies: Lyft: We know there are some accessibility issues with CAPTCHA technology that impact submitting service animal complaints to Lyft for some people using iOS, and we have alerted Lyft to these concerns. In the meantime, Lyft does accept service animal complaints by telephone (844–250–3174). Also, we have raised several concerns to Lyft about the manner in which complaints are processed, and the outcomes of driver termination decisions based on the details that many of you have shared with our paralegals and attorneys. As for systemic numbers, our testing shows that service animal denials on Lyft are fluctuating at an average of 18 percent of test rides within a range of 14-25 percent during our testing period. That number should be considered in the context that Lyft’s overall ridership numbers appear to be in hyper growth, though we don’t have access to the exact growth numbers that Lyft closely keeps as a trade secret. We could more confidently make conclusions about the reliability of this statistic if we could increase the sample size of Lyft tests from our members over the coming quarters. Uber: We have evidence suggesting that Uber is letting a significant number of drivers off with a warning when it should be automatically terminating those drivers. We have raised this concern to the third party monitor and may be heading to court in the coming months to enforce the settlement if we cannot get Uber to make some concessions and improvements on the manner in which it investigates and disciplines its drivers. In the meantime, we need you to continue testing. We urgently need you to share situations in which you complained to Uber with compelling objective evidence that the driver “knowingly” denied a service animal, such as witnesses, video footage, or text messages, and Uber nonetheless let the driver off with a warning. Conclusion: Your reports of denials are all read by our legal team. We need you to continue sharing the anecdotal details of your experiences. Our team uses those anecdotes to look for fact patterns and new unanticipated problems. We need you to continue reporting all complaints to Uber/Lyft and participate in our testing program. Without your consistent reporting, the data may inaccurately show that discrimination is declining when in fact only the reporting of discrimination is declining. We know people are still being denied rides and that one denial is too many. We are actively speaking with both of these companies on a regular basis to advocate for improvements because neither company is reflecting the dramatic improvement that we would hope to see through our settlement and the monitoring work. Our Pre-Authorized Contribution program (PAC Plan) allows us to give regularly to the National Federation of the Blind. This month we thanked some of the many chapters that regularly contribute. October is Meet the Blind Month and October 15 is White Cane Awareness Day. This October is special because we are celebrating the tenth anniversary of our free white cane program, which distributes thousands of canes to blind people all over the United States each year. To celebrate this milestone, we’d love to hear your story about the moment you realized what a powerful tool for independence your white cane is. Share it with us on Twitter (@NFB_voice) or on Facebook (search for National Federation of the Blind). You may want to focus your Meet the Blind Month events on white cane awareness this year. Cane walks are always popular, or perhaps you could find ways to educate the public on the white cane law, which protects blind people who use white canes or guide dogs from discrimination. Keep watching our social media channels and our website for more Meet the Blind Month ideas, and let us know what your chapter or affiliate is doing by using the hashtag #MTBM. Stay tuned to social media, our website, and the Nation’s Blind Podcast for more about this October celebration of blind people traveling where we want and living the lives we want. Federation Family notes Customary endings  Related Resources  American Action Fund Braille calendars Information on submitting complaints/comments to Uber and Lyft NFB Twitter page (@NFB_voice) #MTBM on Twitter NFB Facebook page Listen to the September 2018 Release

Presidential Release #474: August 2018 (English Audio) The presidential release is a monthly audio message from President Mark A. Riccobono that highlights the current activities of the National Federation of the Blind. It is shared with every chapter of the organization. Please listen now, or share at your upcoming meeting or event. Listen to previous episodes at nfb.org/presidential-releases. Items Covered It's raining in Baltimore. NFB EQ and NFB BELL Academy are taking place this week in the building.  We had a successful AER strike July 26 through July 28 in Reno, Nevada. Unfortunately, accreditation is moving forward and they ambushed a resolution one of our members, who is also a member of AER, proposed. Among our priorities is that AFB was named a central nonprofit entity by AbilityOne. NIB has been working with us. We are looking to add staff members here in Baltimore. If you or someone you know want a career more than a job, want to work for the movement, and want to work in a demanding, high-energy, and highly motivated environment, email a resume and cover letter to HR@nfb.org. We have positions in events, front desk, access technology, advocacy, and membership. The National Federation of the Blind is partnering with Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Treats® to create Braille and audio “Love Notes” so parents can share messages of love and encouragement with blind children. The “Love Notes” are an accessible version of the writable wrapper on Rice Krispies Treats®, which allows parents to include messages in their children’s lunchboxes. The new, accessible “Love Notes” are available in two forms: Braille stickers and re-recordable audio boxes. The Braille stickers are heart-shaped to match the space on Rice Krispies Treats® writable wrappers for written notes. Each Braille sticker sheet includes eight uplifting messages for parents to share with their children, such as “You’ve Got This” and “Love You Lots.” The re-recordable audio box holds a Rice Krispies Treat and, when opened, plays a 10-second pre-recorded message. The audio box messages can be re-recorded over a thousand times. A video has been produced to promote this partnership, featuring our members, Eme and Tabby Mitchell. The plan is to distribute over 6,000 sheets of Braille stickers and co-branded NFB/Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Treats® alphabet cards, as well as over 1,500 re-recordable audio boxes. A print/Braille “welcome letter” will go out in every delivery to reinforce the importance of Braille and ensure everyone gets the same welcome. The National Federation of the Blind will be prominently featured on the website about this program, including a link to subscribe to our Imagineering Our Future e-newsletter. Our participation in this initiative reflects our commitment to helping parents raise blind children who are prepared to be confident, happy, and productive members of society, as well as our emphasis on Braille literacy and accessibility. To check out the website and order "Love Notes" for your child, visit ricekrispies.com/lovenotes. Federation family notes Customary endings  Related Resources  Career opportunities Resumes and cover letters (email to HR@nfb.org)  Rice Krispies Treats® "Love Notes" Listen to the August 2018 Release

Presidential Release #473: July 2018 (English Audio) The presidential release is a monthly audio message from President Mark A. Riccobono that highlights the current activities of the National Federation of the Blind. It is shared with every chapter of the organization. Please listen now, or share at your upcoming meeting or event. Listen to previous episodes at nfb.org/presidential-releases. Items Covered It was a great convention! The numbers were great, energy was inspiring, and the discussions were thoughtful and meaningful as always. The Presidential Report and Banquet Speech are posted on the website. We have recorded a series of PSAs. These can be found on the NFB website, as well. Announcement of location for 2019 convention (Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nevada) Greyhound Agreement Dream Makers Circle participants announced The Independence Market e-commerce site is down until further notice. Job Fair at convention and job at the NFB Federation Family notes Customary endings  Related Resources 2018 presidential report 2018 banquet speech Convention highlights PSAs Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness Dr. Edward Bell (email) Job openings at the NFB Listen to the July 2018 Release

Presidential Release #472: May 2018 (English Audio) The presidential release is a monthly audio message from President Mark A. Riccobono that highlights the current activities of the National Federation of the Blind. It is shared with every chapter of the organization. Please listen now, or share at your upcoming meeting or event. Listen to previous episodes at nfb.org/presidential-releases. Items Covered Discussion of the Federation's ground-breaking settlement with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) Update on legislative priorities including: Marrakesh Implementation Act TIME Act and elimination of unfair wages Access Technology Affordability Act Right-to-parent efforts across the country Federation Family notes Customary endings including a salute to May the 4th Related Resources  Press release for the CMS settlement Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing from April 18 Factsheets for TIME Act and Access Technology Affordability Act Blindparents.org Listen to the May 2018 Release

Presidential Release #471: April 2018 Show Notes A monthly message about the activities of the National Federation of the Blind from President Mark A. Riccobono. Items covered this month include: * Seattle joins in the effort to eliminate subminimum wages for people with disabilities * Kenneth Jernigan Scholarships for first-time attendees of the national convention * NFB's Career Mentoring Program * Discussion of the philosophy of the National Federation of the Blind * Federation family notes * Customary endings Resources: * Here is the press release regarding Seattle's move to eliminate subminimum wages for people with disabilities. * 2018 National Convention  * Submit applications for the Kenneth Jernigan Scholarships by April 15 to kjscholarships@nfb.org * NFB 6 Dot Dash Race * Sign up to be a career mentor  * April issue of the Braille Monitor   

Presidential Release #470: March 2018 Show Notes Every month, President Mark Riccobono provides a brief audio report on the current activities of the National Federation of the Blind. Listen now or share at your upcoming meeting or event. Learn more about the National Federation of the Blind at nfb.org or listen to archived episodes at nfb.org/archives-presidential-releases. Items covered in the March 2018 release include: 2018 National Federation of the Blind Annual Convention July 3-8 (Orlando, Florida) Success in working with Delta Air Lines to change its policy related to service animals Special pricing exclusively for Federation members on a service plan from Aira Discussion of the organization's Code of Conduct. Federation family notes An interesting perspective related to fire on the roof Customary endings Resources: 2018 NFB National Convention Delta Air Lines press release Exclusive AIRA pricing Federation Code of Conduct

Presidential Release #469: February 2018 Show Notes A monthly message from Mark A. Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind, to be shared with every chapter of the organization. Items covered in the February 2018 release include: The 2018 Washington Seminar Marines and Tet exhibit at the Newseum sponsored by the NFB National Federation of the Blind legal program Notes about the Federation family Resources: Legal program Ride share testing 2018 Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium, March 22–23, Contact us at (410) 659-9314

Presidential Release #468: January 2018 Show Notes Every month, President Mark Riccobono provides a brief audio report on the current activities of the National Federation of the Blind. Listen now or share at your upcoming meeting or event. Learn more about the National Federation of the Blind at nfb.org or listen to archived episodes at nfb.org/archives-presidential-releases.

Presidential Release #467: December 2017 Show Notes Every month, President Mark Riccobono provides a brief audio report on the current activities of the National Federation of the Blind. Listen now or share at your upcoming meeting or event. Learn more about the National Federation of the Blind at nfb.org or listen to archived episodes at nfb.org/archives-presidential-releases.

Presidential Release #466: November 2017 Show Notes Every month, President Mark Riccobono provides a brief audio report on the current activities of the National Federation of the Blind. Listen now or share at your upcoming meeting or event. Learn more about the National Federation of the Blind at nfb.org or listen to archived episodes at nfb.org/archives-presidential-releases.

Mark A. Riccobono