Snow-covered myopia

The alarmist snow closures are getting even more ridiculous. Today all of the transportation for a network of programs that provide services for people with disabilities was cancelled. The transportation company hires almost entirely salaried workers who get a paid "snow day" today.

This isn't the case for most of the people who are forced to stay home because of the transportation company's decision to shut down despite the roads being completely passable.

The employees with disabilities mostly do piecework. You know when you buy a package of 6 of something? If you bought it from a small, local company, the 6 items were probably counted out, placed in a bag, sealed, and packed for shipping by people with disabilities.

The workers are paid for each piece on which they complete their designated task. They might be paid 10 cents for each bag they run through a sealer. They are only guaranteed pay of 2 hours at the minimum wage for each day they report to work. They are paid nothing when they can't come to work, and it goes without saying that none of them can afford their own ride when transportation decides to take a snow day. These folks do get some SSI benefits (or SSDI in the rare case of folks who have acquired their disability after having worked) but the small increase they'll get from having missed a day of wages isn't anywhere near the actual amount they'll lose for the day.

Most of the people who make the agency possible did not make any money today. Aside from the small salaried staff of professional job coaches at the work centers, most of the people who provide services to the folks at these programs are paid for actual work they do. The people who come in to do counseling at these sites did not make any money today. The people who come in to work on specialized tasks with these folks, like personal hygiene, or crossing the street, or counting money did not make any money today. The employees who make slightly more than minimum wage supervising the workshop did not make money today.