Canadian Hearing Society Workers On Strike

Services for Deaf Ontarians limited as Canadian Hearing Society begins strike today.

TORONTO, Ontario -- Canadian Hearing Society employees, including those in Windsor, walked off the job Sunday night as efforts to arrange their first collective agreement in four years broke down.

Employees at 21 locations across Ontario are bargaining for better wages and to stop proposed changes to their sick leave, according to CUPE national spokesperson Barbara Wilker-Frey.

The offices in Windsor and London remain open, but are being run by management staff. Limited services are available on site.

The union represents 227 frontline workers who serve about 36,000 people every year. Wilker-Frey said many employees know firsthand how tough a strike will be on those who rely on the society for its various services.

"It was a really difficult decision for the local to decide to go out on strike because many of our members are part of that very same community and use the very same services that they offer to the wider community," she explained.

In a written statement, a spokesperson for the CHS said the people the organization serves are "at the heart" of every decision they make.

"We are disappointed that the union has chosen to strike and we will continue to work to get them back to the bargaining table," said CHS vice-president Gary Malkowski. "In light of CUPE's decision to strike, our focus right now is to provide our clients with the best possible care and service under these disappointing circumstances."

The Canadian Hearing Society offers emergency translation for legal matters and healthcare, but those services will be severely cut back while the strike is ongoing.

Wilker-Frey said the union has not heard from the society since the strike began, but added CUPE is ready to get back to bargaining as soon as possible.

SOURCE - CBC News

Related Posts: #DeafCanadians

Firing of Deaf Employee Costs Firm $240K

Deaf News: Deaf ex-employee’s court case puts bosses on notice for behaving badly in Mississauga, Canada.

TORONTO, ON -- The Canadian Press: A long-time employee tormented by her employer and unceremoniously dumped after she went Deaf had her damages award more than doubled to $246,000 by Ontario’s top court on Thursday.

In its decision, the Appeal Court ruled the egregious nature of the company’s “heartless” misconduct warranted significantly higher damages for Vicky Strudwick.

“In the lead-up to Ms. Strudwick’s termination, she was belittled, isolated, humiliated and made to suffer the effects of her disability to the greatest extent possible,” the Appeal Court said.

“This conduct was deliberate, malicious and designed to force Ms. Strudwick to quit a job she had held for almost 16 years.”

Court documents show that Strudwick worked for Applied Consumer and Clinical Evaluations, a family-run business based in Mississauga, Ont., that recruits people to participate in focus groups. She began by doing data entry, but later instructed recruiting staff, earning $12.85 an hour.

In October 2010, she went completely Deaf - possibly because of a virus.

Court records show that Andrew Hoffman, the general manager, and a supervisor, Liz Camilleri, then began a concerted campaign of abuse against Strudwick aimed at forcing her to quit.

They not only denied her any accommodation for her disability, but actually took steps to make her life even more difficult, the court said.

In May 2011, Hoffman fired her, allegedly for pulling a “stunt” at a company event, prompting Strudwick, then 56, to sue for wrongful dismissal and abuse.

Applied Consumer never delivered a statement of defence and was noted in default.

In August last year, Superior Court Justice Grant Dow awarded her a total of $113,782 and $40,000 in legal costs. Strudwick appealed the damages award as too low, while Applied Consumer - which has about 80 employees - argued the legal costs award was too high.

The Appeal Court affirmed the costs award, but found Strudwick deserved much more by way of damages given the “cruel” treatment to which her bosses had subjected her.

Examples included giving her instructions while preventing her from lip reading, then calling her stupid. They refused to let her turn her desk around so that she could see people as they approached.

“In the immediate lead-up to her dismissal, Ms. Strudwick was confronted in front of an estimated 13 other employees, yelled at and called a ‘goddamned fool’,” the Appeal Court stated.

Hoffman, who would later himself be fired, gave her a termination letter and a cheque for three months’ pay. When she refused to sign a release, he took the cheque back and had her marched out of the building in front of her co-workers.

Applied Consumer, which claims to foster an environment of “empowerment, engagement, fairness and responsibility,” then claimed she had been fired for insubordination and wilful misconduct - a tactic that delayed her access to employment insurance.

On appeal, Strudwick argued for more than $1 million, but the court said its hands were tied by her initial statement of claim, which sought $240,000 plus an amount for loss of benefits.

The Appeal Court said she deserved her full claim for damages in light of the “malicious and heartless” treatment meted out to her. It also awarded another $20,000 in costs for the appeal.

SOURCE - BlackBurnNews

Deaf Man Receives Note From Starbucks Barista

Starbucks employee's kind act for Deaf patrons hit the Internet.

LEESBURG, VA -- A Virginia man's Facebook post is creating some internet buzz after he shared a note from a Starbucks employee who offered a kind gesture.

Ibby Piracha, who is Deaf, told ABC News through an interpreter that he was surprised Friday morning to be greeted by the familiar barista with sign language.

Watch Original News With Captioning

"I usually use my phone and I'll text them what I want to order," Piracha of Leesburg, Virginia, said. "She was saying she looked on YouTube because she had a lot of customers that came in using text. I was very surprised she was willing to learn sign language and it shows she respects Deaf people ... she's an inspiration."

Piracha, 23, said the female barista handed him a note that read, "I've been learning ASL just so you can have the same experience as everyone else."

Piracha posted a picture of the kind words to Facebook, where it received over 2,000 “shares.”

"I was very shocked to go in there one day and have her sign a little bit and I kind of smiled, thinking about it and I even told the Starbucks manager, 'You know, I was very impressed by your employee."

The manager at the Starbucks where Piracha received the note told ABC News that while he could not comment on this particular incident or name the employee, he confirmed Piracha's account.

“We are proud that our store partner employee is taking this initiative to learn American Sign Language to better assist and serve her customers,” a Starbucks spokeswoman told ABC News. “We always love to hear stories of meaningful connections between our partners and customers.”

Piracha said he hopes his Facebook post gets the message across that "the hearing world and the Deaf World are trying to communicate."

"I definitely want people to understand that Deaf customers can have a really great review," he added.

SOURCE - ABC News

Related Starbucks:
Starbucks Opening Café Staffed By Deaf Baristas
Starbucks Opens First U.S. 'Signing Store'
Deaf Woman's Video At Starbucks Goes Viral
Deaf Man Receives Note From Starbucks Barista
Deaf Customers Sue Starbucks Over Mocking
Deaf Korean Starbucks Barista The Signs
Starbucks Sued For Discrimination Deaf Employee

Fap Guy Calls Deaf Video Service 4,000 Times

"Fapping Guy" calls Deaf video service 4,000 times, allegedly got naked, masturbated in front of ZVRS employees.

NEW YORK CITY -- A Brooklyn man is using a video calling service for the Deaf to reach out and touch himself, the company providing the service alleges in a lawsuit.

David Marcano is one of the most fervent users of software offered by a Florida company, ZVRS, which gets federal money every time a hearing-disabled person uses its product to place a call, the company claims.

The software allows the Deaf to call one of ZVRS’s sign language interpreters via video chat. The interpreters act as operators, placing calls to third parties on behalf of the Deaf person and then translating the call.

But Marcano, 51, isn’t Deaf, and his calls don’t need any translating, the company says in Brooklyn federal court papers.

Marcano has made 4,646 calls to ZVRS since Jan. 1 “for the sole purpose of masturbating in view of ZVRS’s employees,” the business says.

“In every call made through ZVRS’s software platform, Marcano appears on the video call for the purpose of exposing his genitals or masturbating to ZVRS’s female staff,” according to the suit which seeks unspecified damages.

As soon as ZVRS cancels Marcano’s account, he uses false information to create a new one, they gripe. He’s called from eight different numbers, and contacted them as recently as Sept. 21, the company charges.

He has signed up for new ZVRS accounts under the names “Davey Mareno,” “Davey Mar,” “Dave Maccan,” “Dave Mard” and “Dave Macan,” among others.

The calls have cost the company productivity and business and left ZVRS’s employees with emotional distress, the firm claims.

ZVRS also is seeking an injunction against Marcano to stop his hands-on use of their service, accusing him of fraud and breach of contract because he signed up for software he doesn’t need.

Marcano didn’t respond to messages sent to each of the 24 e-mail addresses ZVRS says he used to create the fake accounts.

SOURCE - NEW YORK POST

Related:
Video Relay Service For Deaf - Phone Sex Scene
Jehovah's Witnesses Tell Deaf People To Stop Masturbating

Related Weird News:
Chinese Fetus Soup Hoax
Disturbing 'Momo Challenge' Hoax Spreads
Devil Baby Attacks New York City
Mysterious City In The Clouds Over China
America’s Creepy Clown Craze, Explained
Hurricane Matthew 'Skull' In Eerie Satellite Image
Artificial Intelligence May Kill Us All By 2050
Rise of the Sex Robots - Mini Documentary
How German Sounds Compared To Other Languages
Beauty Vlog 'You Look Disgusting' Goes Viral
You Might Be Buying Trash On Amazon
Can I Squeeze Your Boobs
Fap Guy Calls Deaf Video Service 4,000 Times
Video Relay Service For Deaf - Phone Sex Scene
Jonny TV - Masturbation Prank On Video Chat
The Indian Head Shakes Explained
The 'Hollywood Graveyard' Tour
Meteorite Hits Russian Urals Video Compilation
Tianjin Explosion & Aftermath Video Compilation
The Ultimate Horror Video Compilation
Top 10s Creepiest Urban Legends Compilation
Short Film: Are You Lost In The World Like Me?
Stop Webcam Child Sex Tourism
The True Story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin
The Worst Road Rage Incidents Of All Time

Related Posts: #WTF - #WeirdNews