East Bay Business Times

April 11, 2008

Safeway CEO Burd campaigns to bring disabled into work force

By David Goll

During April, Safeway Inc. plans to raise at least $7 million for Easter Seals, Special Olympics and other programs that help the disabled and shine a light on an issue typically off the radar of most economists and the general public - unemployment among disabled people.

Experts in the field say the unemployment rate is about 70 percent for working-aged people from 21 to 64 who have mental and/or physical disabilities. There are more than 40 million Americans of all ages with disabilities, according to the Institute of Medicine.

"And it has been steady at 70 percent for about the past 30 years," said Barbara Duncan, spokeswoman for Protection and Advocacy Inc., a Sacramento disability rights and advocacy organization that also has offices in Oakland, Los Angeles and San Diego. Duncan is based in Oakland.

"And that's an across-the-board figure," she said. "It's even higher among people with certain disabilities within the larger group."

By contrast, unemployment in March for the general population was 5.1 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. And while some contend that figure is low, since it doesn't measure people who have stopped looking for work, there is still a huge employment gap between those with disabilities and those without.

"The majority of disabled people in this country live very close to or below the poverty line," Duncan said. "Even during times of great wealth, the vast majority of people with disabilities are unemployed or seriously underemployed."

During his 15-year tenure as president and CEO of Safeway, Steve Burd has increased his company's hiring of people with mental and/or physical disabilities. Today, they comprise about 5 percent of the supermarket giant's work force, or about 10,000 employees.

Burd said they are employed in a wide array of jobs throughout the company, including as courtesy clerks, baggers and checkers in Safeway's 1,743 North American stores, and in office jobs at divisional offices or corporate headquarters in Pleasanton.

Just before a splashy event April 4 at the company's remodeled lifestyle store at the Alameda Towne Centre - which featured appearances by Bart Connor, Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast; NBA star Sam Perkins, who also won an Olympic gold medal; and Timothy Shriver, chairman of the Special Olympics and brother of California's first lady, Maria Shriver - Burd talked about why he feels so strongly about the issue.

"We have hired (disabled) people from all different backgrounds, including college graduates, for many different kinds of jobs," he said. "Because it is such a challenge for people with disabilities to find jobs, they become incredibly loyal workers who show up each and every day. When you manage a store, you spend a lot of time each day hoping all of your staff shows up for work. These are people who are good, capable, reliable employees who make a great contribution to our business."