SHELTERED WORKSHOP CELEBRATES 100 DAYS

By Tony Hall

PERRYVILLE, Mo. Handicapped workers at Perry County's Sheltered Workshop have names now.

All of the 58 who assemble small pieces of plastic or metal for contractors have a work station with a large placard showing their names. It is one of many changes that workshop manager Bill Tweedy had initiated 100 days ago when VIP Industries of Cape Girardeau turned over management to the Perry County Sheltered Workshop Inc.

Wages are up, the number of contracts for work is growing and additional employees have been added, Tweedy said.

The workers' spirits are up, too.

"When we announced on Friday that we've been operating for 100 days now, everyone stood up and cheered," Tweedy said.

The break from the old workshop started March 24, when Tweedy and his three assistant managers told workshop operator Hillary Schmittzehe they were quitting to protest the harsh working conditions for the handicapped.

As members of the community came out in support of Tweedy and the others, changes began.

Membership was altered in the Senate Bill 40 board, which allocates money to the workshop and related services. The board in turn voted not to renew VIP's contract, making room for new management.

Since July 5, the workshop has again been Tweedy's day-to-day responsibility.

He now shares that with more employees. A total of eight full-time supervisors work instead of four, plus four part-time supervisors. This has eliminated much of the time pressures, Tweedy said.

"When there are only a couple of you trying to get a product out, you don't have time to give them special attention," he said.

About 10 more handicapped workers are coming now that the workshop has new management, Tweedy said.

Salaries have also grown, although the increases came from VIP just before the former contractor left, Tweedy said.

VIP management knew that it wouldn't have to be accountable for the raises made in June, he said, but the new workshop still honored them.

Minimum hourly pay for handicapped workers has been raised from 52 cents an hour to $1, and the average has grown from $1.90 to $2.56, Tweedy said.

At the 91 sheltered workshops in Missouri, wages average about a third of what is paid to non-handicapped workers performing similar jobs, the state Department of Education reports.

Wages could grow faster in Perryville.

Previously, workers were evaluated every six months to determine if their productivity for the piecemeal assignments had improved. Tweedy promises evaluations will be more frequent if someone is working more quickly.

Not satisfied with profits

Despite assets of more than $652,000, Tweedy is not satisfied with current profits.

When improvements with lighting and work stations are included, the workshop has lost about $4,000 a month, he said.

However, these losses in part to one-time expenses will be more than made up for by the end of the year, Tweedy said. No contractors who provide piecemeal work for the handicapped have been lost. One has been added, and two others are interested.

The two interested firms had spoken with VIP before but were always quoted high bid prices, Tweedy said. Lower prices and increased volume will allow workers to do more and earn more.

On Friday, Robin Habeck brought three large envelopes of plastic parts that had been assembled away from the workshop by some of the more severely handicapped adults she supervises. This kind of cooperation never would have been possible with VIP, said Habeck, who has operated a day program called My Camp for 14 years.

"I see everyone pulling together for the handicapped now," she said.

Several new work stations allow the handicapped to perform assembly jobs sitting instead of standing.

This has given people who weren't able to stand for six hours a day the chance to do more challenging work, Tweedy said.

"We need to be the ones working around their disabilities," he said.

Cliff Dobbs is glad about the changes he has seen in the new workshop. When he started working in 1980, he earned 54 cents an hour. Last year he earned $3.21. Now he makes $4.28.

"Bill has taken care of me," Dobbs said.

The memory of VIP hasn't been completely left behind at the workshop. A bronze plaque in the workshop cafeteria had VIP's name embossed, but someone has covered it with yellow tape. Tweedy does not know who did it.

The handicapped workers want to take a workshop vote to have it removed, he said, but removal must be approved by the workshop's board.

"We want to do things in a proper manner now," he said.