Schumer addresses job concerns at AVRE
Jon Harris
jharris@pressconnects.com | @PSBJonHarris
BINGHAMTON – U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer spoke Monday at the Association for Vision Rehabilitation and Employment, launching a push to save jobs at the Court Street center that could be threatened due to recent federal changes.
Of the 65 employees at AVRE, 40 are blind or visually impaired.
"It's important this program continue to exist because it's a godsend for Binghamton's blind population," said Schumer, D-N.Y.
According to Schumer, a 1971 law requires the federal government to purchase certain supplies and services from nonprofit groups like AVRE, which participates in a program called AbilityOne that employs the visually impaired to make Skilcraft products, such as file folders, copy paper and cleaning supplies.
But, Schumer said, recent changes in how the federal government distributes and procures its supplies along with government-imposed price markups on Skilcraft products have hurt AVRE. Sales of products manufactured at AVRE in Binghamton have dropped by more than $1 million in the last year, putting the operation at risk.
Schumer has called on the federal government to comply with the law and purchase products from groups that participate in the AbilityOne program. The senator also called for an investigation into the price markups on AbilityOne products.
Currently, Schumer said, more than half of AbilityOne products are marked up significantly, some as high as 80 percent. In a letter to U.S. General Services Administration Acting Inspector General Robert Erickson Jr., Schumer said the AbilityOne price hikes are causing federal agencies to purchase products from other vendors, hurting organizations like AVRE.
On Monday, Schumer said the GSA is monitoring one year of sales and is currently six months into the investigation.
Ken Fernald, president and CEO of AVRE, said it would be difficult for many of the organization's blind and visually impaired employees to find a new job in the area if the AbilityOne Program no longer exists.
"By leveraging the purchasing power of the U.S. government, the AbilityOne program is able to create good job opportunities for that segment of the workforce," Fernald said. "Unfortunately, there have been threats against the program, against those jobs."
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