A Nation-Wide
Initiative
The California
Business Leadership Network (CABLN) is an extension of the
nation-wide Business Leadership Network
(USBLN) established in 1994 by the former President’s
Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (PCEPD),
now coordinated through the Department of
Labor's
Office on Disability
Employment Policy. There are
active BLN Chapters in more
than 30 States. See other BLN Websites here.The BLN mission
is to "engage the active participation of the business community to enable qualified individuals
with disabilities to obtain work and succeed in the workplace."
The BLN in California
|
In California, the BLN was initiated the
California Governor’s Committee for Employment of
People with Disabilities. After extensive planning and input from
employers, the CABLN project officially began under the
leadership of IBM Corp.
Widely-recognized for its demonstrated success
in including people with disabilities in its workforce, IBM
took the key leadership role in developing the BLN in California.
The CABLN is currently staffed jointly by Rob
McInnes and Shayn
Anderson from the Governor's Committee |
Ron
Grogan
Director of HR
IBM, STD
|
Led by "Lead Companies" in
their communities, the CABLN is an employer-to-employer
network of
small, medium and large companies that enables employers to:
- Share best practices.
- Keep current on useful resources, developments and
information.
- Effectively utilize community-based resources.
- Work collaboratively on common issues.
Members throughout the State receive monthly updates
via email on timely issues, events and information. (For a sample, click
here) Our website is constantly being updated
and added to - providing a wealth of information on employment and
disability issues.
Local CABLN
"Chapters"
In addition to the centralized resources of our Website and
regular email Updates, the CABLN
is developing local-area "Chapters" in key locales
throughout the State. Following our
"4X4" Model, local "Lead Companies" work together to provide leadership
to employers in their communities on issues of disability. This includes
hosting local Educational Forums - informational networking events.
The Best Endorsement
Former California congressman Tony Coelho, who has a disability himself, explains: "What BLN does is to take companies that are
hiring people with disabilities and have them be the advocate for us with other employers.
So it's fellow employers that are telling their colleagues they've had great experiences
hiring persons with disabilities. And that's the best endorsement you could ever
get."
Little Targeted
Recruiting!
Five years after the passage of the ADA, HRMagazine polled its readers and asked them
"Does your company actively recruit employees with disabilities?" A startling
83% responded "No". The Business Leadership Network, through
employer-to-employer recruiting of new companies, is seeking to reduce that number!
Top
Priority
 Tom Donohue, President & CEO of the
US
Chamber of Commerce, is the Head CEO for the BLN: "It is an honor
for me to utilize the Chamber’s network of more than 3,000 state and local
chambers to help qualified people with disabilities achieve greater
independence through employment. The combination of an aging population, low
birth rates, increased economic growth and the emergence of the global
economy has made the search for skilled workers a top priority for most
businesses."
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