KTVU Fox TV interviews Kat Maudru about National Disability Employment Awareness Month and PRIDE Industries’ I AM ABLE Disability Job Fair.
Employment Services
The fully accessible event was hosted by PRIDE Industries in celebration of National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
Roseville, Calif – PRIDE Industries, the leading employer of people with disabilities, hosted its first annual I AM ABLE Disability Job Fair on Wednesday, October 18, 2023.The event, held during National Disability Employment Awareness Month, garnered significant interest, with over 600 candidates with disabilities in attendance.
“PRIDE Industries’ first I AM ABLE Disability Job Fair was a resounding success, reinforcing the importance of equal employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities,” said Jeff Dern, President and CEO at PRIDE Industries. “The event highlighted the commitment of employers in the Sacramento Region to create a more inclusive workforce. It served as a platform for candidates to showcase their skills and for employers to recognize the immense talent within the disability community.”
More than 20 companies participated in the job fair, including Raley’s, UC Davis Health, Amazon, Shriner’s Hospital, Tri Counties Bank, Sacramento Regional Transit, Sacramento Superior Court, Golden1 Credit Union, Audacy, California State University, Sacramento, Thunder Valley Casino and Resort, California Department of Transportation, and First Northern Bank. “These organizations demonstrated their commitment to diversity and inclusion by actively recruiting job seekers with disabilities,” said Dern.
Businesses at the event were able to interview dozens of qualified job seekers. “The quality of the candidates we met is tremendous,” said Daniel Chapnick, Talent Programs Specialist for Raley’s. “It’s clear they’re highly motivated and enthusiastic—just what we’re looking for.”
In addition to businesses, nonprofit organizations and government agencies that support the disability community were on hand to offer important employment resources.
“This event gave us a wonderful opportunity to meet with and actively assist dozens of people with disabilities,” said Spencer Hoke, Regional Business Specialist at the California Department of Rehabilitation.
The I AM ABLE Job Fair is the only disability job fair in the region, and it’s unique for another reason as well: It was created by people with disabilities for people with disabilities. The event was designed and vetted by an “Accessibility Team” whose members are deaf, blind, autistic, or use wheelchairs. Accessibility for all was a top priority, and in order to accommodate the diverse needs of participants, the event offered on-site American Sign Language (ASL) translators, Braille signage, Spanish interpreters, a quiet interview space, light rail transportation, and service animal water and relief areas.
During the job fair, PRIDE Industries offered resume critiques and interview assistance to job candidates. Prior to the job fair, online training on how to maximize their job fair experience was provided. And, training webinars were conducted for employers, in order to educate them on effective engagement with candidates with disabilities.
Plans are already underway for next year’s I AM ABLE Disability Job Fair.
“We were expecting 200 job seekers, and more than 600 joined us today,” said Dern. “The extraordinary turnout we had today makes it clear just how important it is to make more job fairs like this one available.”
About PRIDE Industries
PRIDE Industries delivers business excellence with a positive social impact. A social enterprise, we provide facilities operations and maintenance services, custodial services, contract manufacturing, supply chain management, packaging and fulfillment services, and placement services to private and public organizations nationwide. Founded in 1966, PRIDE Industries’ mission is to create employment for people with disabilities. Through personalized employment services, we help individuals realize their true potential and lead more independent lives. PRIDE Industries proves the value of its inclusive workforce model through operational success across multiple industries every day.
Media Contact
Kat Maudru
PRIDE Industries is a social enterprise delivering business excellence to public and private organizations nationwide.
The nonprofit social enterprise was recognized for its commitment to building an inclusive workforce.
NEW YORK, NY – PRIDE Industries has just been named a 2023 Leading Disability Employer by the National Organization on Disability (NOD), earning the right to display the NOD Leading Disability Employer Seal. This important recognition, given once a year, spotlights the transformative contributions made by business leaders in promoting employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. It also honors those organizations that prioritize diversity, equity and importantly, accessibility, setting a high standard for others to follow.
“As the nation’s leading employer of people with disabilities, we are honored to once again be recognized by the National Organization on Disability,” said Jeff Dern, President and CEO of PRIDE Industries. “PRIDE Industries has embraced inclusivity for more than five decades. And that’s why I can say with certainty that a diverse workforce is a strong workforce.”
Leading Disability Employer Seal recipients are determined based on data provided by companies on the NOD Employment Tracker™. The Tracker is the only free assessment tool that helps companies understand which employment practices correlate to improved talent outcomes related to hiring, retention and advancement of people with disabilities. It benchmarks organizations of any size in six disability and veterans’ inclusion focus areas, including strategy, talent outcome metrics, climate and culture, talent sourcing, people practices, and workplace tools and accessibility.
“Organizations like PRIDE Industries understand that by harnessing the talents of people with disabilities, they reap the benefits of a more innovative, diverse and dedicated workforce,” said NOD President Carol Glazer. “The Leading Disability Employer Seal honors organizations who have not only embraced inclusivity but have taken concrete steps to break down barriers for individuals with disabilities and create an environment for all to thrive.”
About PRIDE Industries
PRIDE Industries delivers business excellence with a positive social impact. A social enterprise, we provide facilities operations and maintenance services, custodial services, contract manufacturing, supply chain management, packaging and fulfillment services, and placement services to private and public organizations nationwide. Founded in 1966, PRIDE Industries’ mission is to create employment for people with disabilities. Through personalized employment services, we help individuals realize their true potential and lead more independent lives. PRIDE Industries proves the value of its inclusive workforce model through operational success across multiple industries every day.
About National Organization on Disability (NOD)
The National Organization on Disability (NOD) is a private, non-profit organization that seeks to increase employment opportunities for the 60-percent of working age Americans with disabilities who are not employed. To achieve this goal, NOD offers a suite of employment solutions, tailored to anticipate, and meet leading companies’ workforce needs. NOD has helped some of the world’s most recognized brands be more competitive in today’s global economy by building or enriching their disability inclusion programs. For more information about NOD and how its portfolio of professional services, Leadership Council and Employment Tracker™ can help your business, visit www.NOD.org.
Media Contact
Kat Maudru
PRIDE Industries is a social enterprise delivering business excellence to public and private organizations nationwide.
Don Nelson, Vice President of Government Facilities Services for PRIDE Industries, was interviewed on ABC-7 in El Paso by Mark Ross to call attention to National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
Jobs for people who are deaf can be hard to come by. But at Fort Bliss, where PRIDE Industries has provided a broad range of facilities management services since 2007, it’s different.
“From the very start, we hired at least one deaf individual,” said Cynthia Baca, Recruiting Manager for Talent Acquisition at PRIDE Industries. “By the end of the year, several deaf employees were working here at Fort Bliss.”
Today 41 deaf people work at Fort Bliss, thriving in positions that run the gambit from general maintenance work to supervisory roles.
People of All Abilities Deserve Access to Employment
Envisioning an inclusive world where people of all abilities have equal access to achieve their employment goals, PRIDE Industries knows that abilities come in all kinds of packages. And, every day, the Fort Bliss team puts this vision to work.
PRIDE Industries’ late CEO Michael Ziegler said it this way: “The magic that happens when someone who typically cannot get a job finally gets a job—it’s incredible. Their lives change.”
Barriers to Jobs for People Who are Deaf
Unfortunately, many employers maintain a bias that is a barrier to jobs for people who are deaf. According to the Yang-Tan Institute at Cornell University’s 2016 analysis, fewer than 40 percent of those with significant hearing loss work full-time. A 2019 study by the National Deaf Center found that only 53 percent of deaf people were employed overall. Even more troubling—this marks a steep decrease since the 1970s despite deaf individuals earning degrees at four times the rate they did then. Experts in the field attribute this to continuing discriminatory hiring practices, employer misconceptions, and unwillingness to provide basic accommodations.
After experiencing these barriers with his former employers, Jesus Rosales, Facilities Supervisor for the carpentry shop at Fort Bliss, found the opposite at PRIDE Industries.
“From the start, I’ve had access to interpreters and training that I didn’t have anywhere else,” he signed through an interpreter. “I saw that deaf people could be promoted to higher positions. There is no limit here.”
Work Control Specialist Christina Turon concurs.
“With my previous employer, there were a lot of barriers to accessibility. No interpreters. No alarms. During meetings, I’d try to watch my coworkers’ lips at the same time I was watching out for forklifts and back trailers. It was all very obstructing to my abilities.”
Christina contrasts that with her experience with PRIDE Industries at Fort Bliss.
“Here, it’s amazing,” signed Christina. “I feel supported. They provide interpreters. They understand Deaf culture. There’s more accessibility and learning opportunities. Everyone here communicates the way I do.”
They Speak My Language
It’s important to note that many in the Deaf community don’t view deafness as a disability but, rather, as a culture—a vibrant one with its own language: sign.
“That’s a big part of why I feel so motivated to come to work every day,” signed Jesus. “The people here speak my language and understand me.”
“They speak my language” is a refrain among deaf employees on the PRIDE Industries team. That’s because, in addition to the Deaf community using it, the Fort Bliss job coaches are all trained in sign language.
While Deaf culture includes an emphasis on sign language, it doesn’t stop there. According to the World Federation of the Deaf, it includes “beliefs, attitudes, history, norms, values, literary traditions, and art shared by those who are deaf.”
That culture is alive and well at Fort Bliss.
“During Deaf Awareness week, the team organized and attended a number of local events,” said Cynthia. “They reached out to the community as well—to include interpreters, members of the sign club, and college students.”
A Work Ethic That Generates Results
The team’s work ethic is also on point, as is its capacity to generate excellent results.
So notes Tim Young, PRIDE Industries Vice President of Talent Management, who has spent the bulk of his career working in customer service environments.
“There’s a misconception out there—that the level of execution, performance, operations, and customer service would be different with an organization like PRIDE Industries,” said Tim. “And it’s not. All our employees provide a very high level of service.”
Specifically, at Fort Bliss, PRIDE Industries management received 1,764 positive customer evaluations in the last 12 months alone. Moreover, the team’s OSHA incident rating (number of safety incidents) clocks in at half the industry’s average.
When People of All Abilities Are Given a Chance
Growing from one deaf employee in 2007 to 41 in 2023, building a vibrant work culture, and demonstrating business excellence, the team at Fort Bliss is a great example of the “magic” that can happen for organizations when barriers to employment are eliminated.
Healthy Meal Delivery Service Finds a Skilled, Reliable Workforce
Amid a restaurant labor shortage, PRIDE Industries provides employees for kitchen and warehouse positions for MealPro, a company that makes healthy eating easy and affordable. Customers can either order from fitness-specific diet plans like keto meals, choose favorites from an a-la-carte menu, or they can create custom meals from scratch. If customers have medical conditions, heart-healthy meals and low-sodium meals, among others, are available
MealPro delivers their pre-made meals to customers’ doorsteps nationwide using major carriers. Customers who live close to one of MealPro’s stores can pick up meal boxes at their convenience, or one of the company’s courteous drivers will deliver the packaged meals.
The Challenge: Restaurant Labor Shortage
Like many businesses in the food industry, MealPro is impacted by a significant restaurant labor shortage, low retention rates, and high absenteeism. The turnover rate in the food service industry hovers around 75 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. To get its product to customers, MealPro needs a workforce that is skilled, motivated, and reliable in the kitchen and in its delivery service.
“The restaurant labor shortage is real, and we fish in the same talent pond,” said Andrew Sartori, MealPro’s Founder and CEO. “We need employees who show up on time and take their jobs seriously.”
The Solution: A Reliable, Skilled Workforce
To bridge the talent gaps MealPro turned to PRIDE Industries. PRIDE Industries is a social enterprise with a mission to provide employment opportunities for people with disabilities. The organization is now a vital partner for MealPro in addressing its workforce needs.
“The employees we hire from PRIDE Industries come to work on time and are happy to be here,” said Sartori. “They are very detail oriented. In fact, one of the gentlemen we hired can cross-reference a list with 500 items. He is a phenomenal worker.”
MealPro is so Impressed by PRIDE Industries’ mission and the quality of its employees that Satori extended the partnership to include Chef Dan Catanio’s Culinary Staples Foundation. Chef Catanio developed a program to train youth with disabilities in Sacramento and Placer counties for employment in the culinary field, with a particular focus on jobs in the food service industry.
“Our goal is to help give our students the skills and confidence they need to work in restaurants and other food service businesses,” said Chef Catanio.
When students complete the program, PRIDE Industries steps in with job placement and support services to foster students’ success.
The Result: A Delicious Partnership
The partnership between MealPro, Culinary Staples, and PRIDE Industries is generating a reliable talent pool for MealPro and beyond. Contrary to misconceptions, there are proven business benefits to hiring people with disabilities. Research published by the National Institutes of Health found that businesses that hire people with disabilities measurably improve profitability due to lower turnover and long-term retention, reliability, punctuality, productivity, and customer loyalty and satisfaction.
This collaboration not only improved the company’s operations but also inspired it to contribute to the economic health of the region by offering culinary training opportunities to youth with disabilities. The positive impact on employees, business performance, and the local community underscores the value of such partnerships in the food industry.
“The employees we hired from PRIDE Industries come to work on time and are happy to be here. They are very detail-oriented. In fact, one of the gentlemen we hired can cross-reference a list with 500 items. He’s a phenomenal worker.”
