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Abstract
When they get referrals from state agencies that assist people with disabilities, [Anna Marie Porriello] and her staff of two start looking for possibilities in companies large and small. Though run by a union, IAM CARES does not serve only union workers or unionized employers.
Mertie Terry, a senior personnel representative with Northeast Utilities, is the chairman of the agency's business advisory council. The 25member group -- a mix of people with disabilities and representatives from business, labor, rehabilitation agencies -- amounts to an informal network to help Porriello keep up with job possibilities.
Terry said Porriello has had to break some ground in getting employers -- including nonunion employers -- to work with a unionsponsored group. That cooperative approach, however, is all the more important now that the federal Americans with Disabilities Act has gone into effect.
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Scot Parsons didn't know that the agency that helped him land an assistant analyst job at Travelers Corp. five months ago was affiliated with the machinists union.
It didn't really matter. Parsons, a quadriplegic who uses a wheelchair, had been referred to IAM CARES by the state Department of Rehabilitation Services.
The agency -- part of a national program run by the International Association of Machinists and funded by a federal grant -- helped him find job opportunities and get his resume to the right people.
Parsons, a 25-year-old University of Connecticut graduate from Bristol with an interest in finance, took it from there.
"I certainly would not have known about this job if not for IAM Cares," Parsons said. "They put out their feelers, got word about this opening, and I was lucky enough to get a chance."
That's the idea behind the program. The acronym CARES stands for Center for Administering Rehabilitation and Employment Services. The Connecticut office in Berlin's Kensington section opened in 1983.
"The program was instituted so people with a full range of disabilities could get better jobs," said Anna Marie Porriello, project director.
When they get referrals from state agencies that assist people with disabilities, Porriello and her staff of two start looking for possibilities in companies large and small. Though run by a union, IAM CARES does not serve only union workers or unionized employers.
Andrew Romegialli, directing labor representative for Machinists District 91, said Machinists at Boeing Co. in Seattle launched the program more than 10 years ago to help injured workers return to their jobs.
"Boeing had a good rapport with the IAM, and the program was helpful in placing disabled people," Romegialli said, adding that Porriello is getting solid cooperation from Connecticut companies.
"This is a service the Machinists offer to any worker," he said.
Mertie Terry, a senior personnel representative with Northeast Utilities, is the chairman of the agency's business advisory council. The 25member group -- a mix of people with disabilities and representatives from business, labor, rehabilitation agencies -- amounts to an informal network to help Porriello keep up with job possibilities.
"This is a unique program run by a labor group," Terry said. "They work hand in hand with business. It's not an us-and-them kind of thing anymore. These are two groups with the same interest -- keeping disabled people working or putting them to work."
Porriello is proud of the agency's accomplishments. In the fiscal year that started Oct. 1, 1991, IAM CARES has placed 92 people in fulltime or permanent part-time positions. It has served 149 people, she said.
"Those people are bringing in over a million dollars in taxable money in wages," Porriello said, making clear another benefit of getting jobs for people with disabilities.
Terry said Porriello has had to break some ground in getting employers -- including nonunion employers -- to work with a unionsponsored group. That cooperative approach, however, is all the more important now that the federal Americans with Disabilities Act has gone into effect.
Porriello said clients of her agency learn about what potential employers are allowed and not allowed to ask under the employment provisions of the new law.
In essence, employers cannot rule out a person with a disability if that person has the basic skills required for a job. Employers must be willing to make "reasonable accommodations" if they are not prohibitively expensive.
"When we prepare people to interview, we tell them to talk about their disability and the accommodations they may need," Porriello said. "The disability never makes a difference if the skills match is complete."
Parsons said he has found his office at Travelers to be fairly accessible. He needed few accommodations to take -- or to do -- his job.
His boss, Carrie Peterson, manager of the group universal life department at Travelers, said Parsons has fit in well with the other workers and needs no special treatment.
For Parsons, the job has proved a comfortable fit.
"I am very comfortable and very happy here," he said.
Michael Remez is a Courant business writer
(Copyright @ The Hartford Courant 1992)