Is Goodwill really a good place for people with disabilities to work?

Question

Out of all the Goodwill stores I've been to and I have been to quite a few, I have never seen any people with a disability worker there. It's just interesting. Also, I've been reading reviews of just how terrible they treat their employees. Has anyone had any experiences working at Goodwill? Was it bad or good. If it was bad, why?

Answer 1

I can think of 3 people who have "worked" at Goodwill & a handful of others who have been sent there to work for free for a week as part of their assessments for VR assistance



2 of the 3 people who worked for Goodwill did things like count out 4 screws out of a large vat of same size screws & place them into tiny plastic bags ( to later be sealed & labeled for sale at hardware stores) --- because this is "piece work" they can legally be paid well below minimum wage -- personally, I think this is wrong. It is not right for them to work & get paid $2.00 per hour. The argument is that this is the only work they can functionally do & that if a fully-abled worker did the same work, they would get 4x-5x as many screw sets completed in the hour.... essentially arguing that the "target wage" is $8 per hour based on anticipated production & that production requirements are drastically reduced in order to give these disabled people an opportunity to earn some money



1 of the people who worked for Goodwill was stuck in the back sorting clothes.... despite the fact that she could have done administrative/management/pr work, they saw her as "disabled" so they gave her a "disabled person's job" --- needless to say she took this because it was all she could get at the time



the people that I know who have been sent there for assessment were all placed into tasks that they could not possibly do & with this got a bad review --- rather than tasks they could do & get a decent review



one example is a woman who needs shoulder surgery on both shoulders. She could have easily worked as a cashier & had the experience to prove she had the skills. Instead, when VR sent her to Goodwill for an assessment, Goodwill placed her in a donation intake area & got upset with her when she would not (could not) move small, lightweight pieces of furniture to another area. They even dismissed her based on "refusal to cooperate" & because of this she was told she no longer qualified for VR job placement assistance --- she later went over their heads to the state & got sent to a better assessment site, but this process took 18 months (this means 12-16 months without a job & without the income from working)

Answer 2

Goodwill has what is called sheltered workshops which are not located at their stores. They employ many disabled people who mostly assemble things - like they might put cardboard boxes together, or staple things together - the kinds of menial jobs which don't require any skill or training. It's the type of boring, routine work that would drive most people crazy. I would suppose that like all places of employment, some workshops have good managers and others poor managers. Just because a sheltered workshop in your area might have a bad reputation doesn't mean that they all do. These workshops enable people who wouldn't otherwise have employment to get out of the house, work with others like themselves and earn some money. I don't see a downside to this.



Some disabled employees do well enough that their Goodwill job coach might place them with companies who are willing to hire the handicapped and who offer unskilled jobs for them to do. Usually their job coach visits them on the job site frequently or whenever needed.



I know that in my town there are many, many employers who hire people from Goodwill to work in their shops or as maids or janitors. Their wages are usually covered by Goodwill so its a win/win situation all the way around.

Answer 3

Some/most Goodwills only have people with visible disabilities working in the warehouse where they can't be seen. This is just one of the complaints people have against Goodwill. They also pay sub-minimum wage, which many people think should be outlawed as it is abused so badly. It was intiitially intended to be a short-term wage while people were learning their jobs, but instead can be lifelong.

Answer 4

Some disabilities are invisible (epilepsy, diabetes, learning disabilities, mental illness). A person would have to reasonably be able to perform essential job functions safely/correctly to work at the stores.



My Goodwill does pay people the minimum wage. It is not a sheltered workshop. This is why the prices are 'high' compared to other Goodwills.



All of that said, I still do not like them.



Several of the staff (professional workers) are horrible with providing social services. They lie about available community resources--and do not provide even qualified workers with job accommodations for the temporary group positions.



One of the managers at the resale stores is allowed to threaten customers 'just because' in violation of their own corporate policy. I was 'trying' to buy business suits.



Their 'social service' director' called me mentally ill specifically because I did not want to label a diagram showing I knew what a keyboard. was. Her employee was also upset I did not want to share what my favirote musicians were--when we were instead supposed to be completing intake.



They lied to my VR counselor re: my cooperation. And they would not even let me use their own grievance policies. They're just there for 'show'.



I've only met two staff people at that organization I really like, and one of them resigned!!



I don't like this organization at all. I think it's for the benefit of the CEO/board vs the immediate community.

Answer 5

depends

there are more people there that understands each other better.

however disability people don't have to just work at good will.

payment arrangements can be different -depends what each person agrees to.

one place i go to where my folks live has more disability people working (people there are good with each other) and a few at ours -none.

Answer 6

When it's the ONLY Work available, it's the Best Place there Is. ;)