Public Employee Press

Disabled is not unable, says committee

The DC 37 Disability Advisory Committee celebrated Disability Month on April 9 at union headquarters. Committee Chair Eileen Muller, the president of Brooklyn Library Guild Local 1482, welcomed Executive Director Lillian Roberts and members of the committee for their traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony.

"Our mission is to advocate on behalf of our disabled members and educate them about their rights," said Muller.

"The mission of this committee is extremely important," said Roberts. "Our union will never forget our members who struggle with disabilities. We will always fight to make sure that their rights are protected so that they can have productive careers and lives."

"It's important to help not only our members but the community at large understand that disabled does not necessarily mean unable," said Muller. "It's ability - not disability - that counts."

She pointed out the many Americans - such as actors Tom Cruise and Robin Williams and singer Ray Charles - who have enjoyed great success in their fields despite disabilities.

The committee organized a display in the DC 37 gallery that featured books about successful people like the famed physicist and author Stephen Hawking, who still teaches despite being paralyzed, confined to a wheelchair and communicating through a speech-generating device.

Hawking has been married twice and has three children. His book, "A Brief History of Time," has sold 10 million copies, and President Bill Clinton awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.