reviews

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"Subminimum wages are discriminatory and should be illegal.  Kudos to Doug Crandell for helping to shine a spotlight on this dirty little secret of American labor law. It's high time to end this practice and pay disabled workers a fair wage." 

—Andrew J. Imparato, Executive Director of Disability Rights California and former Disability Policy Director for Chairman Tom Harkin on the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions

“Doug Crandell has uncovered a little-known world of “non-profits,” revealing how they continue to exploit our nation’s most vulnerable citizens, behind cloaks of benevolent charity. Twenty-two Cents an Hour is a must read for everyone who cares enough about the well-being of citizens with significant disabilities and their families to fix America’s failed disability employment policies.” 

—Stephen Hall Ph.D, former Kentucky Commissioner of Behavioral Health, Development Disabilities, and Substance Abuse.

"Twenty-Two Cents an Hour is an extremely timely and valuable source of information, digging deeply into critical historical events and legislative decisions that have had significant impacts on the lives of youth and adults with disabilities."

—Patricia M. Rogan, Indiana University, coauthor of Closing the Shop

“The high unemployment rate of people with significant disabilities in America is a feature and not a flaw in the rehabilitation system. Doug Crandell understands this fact implicitly and details in Twenty-Two Cents an Hour how we’ve managed and normalized rather than solved the associated problems of isolation and poverty. Without irony nor specific language, Crandell’s research gently suggests the parallels between systemic racism and ableism which in both cases feed an insatiably paternalistic economy based on the exploitation of specific classes. We’ve known for almost a century how to assist people with the most significant barriers to employment in becoming successful at work; perhaps Crandell’s book will force the hand of policy makers and professionals whose benign neglect maintains an entire population of citizens separated from society’s most basic promises.”

—Cary Griffin, author of Making Self-Employment Work for People with Disabilities and the Job Developer’s Handbook.

“Twenty-Two Cents an Hour voices the story of subminimum wages for Americans with disabilities. Doug Crandell brilliantly portrays the long-felt “painful consequences” of this American disability policy, which still lingers today. In uncovering the past, Crandell helps us to imagine a future without subminimum wages, and the unrelenting poverty, segregation and marginalization of persons with disabilities. Twenty-Two Cents an Hour leaves the reader optimistic for a better idea of American “personhood,” where individual inherent worth and self-determination are celebrated. Crandell offers a glimpse of that future, achievable in our lifetime, such that the next generation of individuals with disabilities may have the opportunity to be full and equal citizens of America.” 

—Peter Blanck, Ph.D., J.D., Chairman Burton Blatt Institute, University Professor, Syracuse University

"In his groundbreaking book, Twenty-Two Cents an Hour: Disability Rights and the Fight to End Subminimum Wages, Doug Crandell chronicles the history of exploitation of individuals with disabilities in sheltered workshops. In doing so, he ensures that individuals with disabilities aren’t left behind in the quest to promote fairness and dignity for all. It is a must-read for anybody interested in ending the segregation and isolation of America’s last oppressed people."  

—Robert Evert Cimera, Ph.D., Kent State University, author of Making Autism a Gift: Inspiring Children to Believe in Themselves and Lead Happy, Fulfilling Lives. 

"Twenty-Two Cents an Hour is a powerful analysis of the history and use of 14(c) certificates in the United States that sends shivers. An important addition to the literature on disability employment policy."

—Susan Rinne, Co-Director, Work to Include