These resolutions were passed by the NFB of Montana Treasure State Convention on October 27, 2013, in Billings.
RESOLUTION 2013-01 Calling for the Removal of Section 511 of the Workforce investment Act of 2013
WHEREAS, It has been legal to pay workers with disabilities subminimum wages under Section 14(C) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) since 1938; and
WHEREAS, Legality notwithstanding, paying workers with disabilities subminimum wages is unfair, discriminatory, and immoral, and the National Federation of the Blind is determined to end this unjust practice in the land of the free by eliminating Section 14(C) from the FLSA; and
WHEREAS,Title V, Section 511 of the Workforce Investment Reauthorization Act purports to limit the tracking of youth with disabilities into subminimum wage employment, but actually creates an unprecedented and
unacceptable link between Vocational Rehabilitation and the systemic exploitation of workers with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, Section 511 would be a tacit endorsement of the subminimum wage provision found in Section 14(C) of the FLSA and its antiquated contention that people with disabilities cannot be competitively employed; and
WHEREAS, Section 511 links the Rehabilitation Act, which was established to assist people with disabilities in obtaining competitive integrated employment, with Section 14(C) of the FLSA, which is based on the false
premise that people with disabilities cannot be competitively employed and therefore can be paid subminimum wages; and
WHEREAS, The language of Section 511 is only contained in the Senate version of the bill, S. 1356, and not in the House version: NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Montana in convention assembled this Twenty-seventh Day of October, 2013, in the city of Billings, Montana, that this organization call on its United States Senators, The Honorable Max Baucus and The Honorable Jon Tester, to support fair wages for all American workers by actively working for the removal of
> Title V, Section 511 from S. 1356 before its passage by the United States Senate, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call on our entire Montana Congressional Delegation to cosponsor the Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act of 2013.
Resolution 2013-02 Calling for the Restoration of Intercity Bus Service in Montana
WHEREAS, The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) shut down Rimrock Stages on March 22, 2013, leaving Montana intercity bus service in shambles; and
WHEREAS, Blind citizens of Montana, along with other nondrivers, have long relied on intercity bus transportation to travel the great distances between Montana cities; and
WHEREAS, Currently, the only route with intercity bus service at all runs between Billings and Missoula, and even our own State Capitol of Helena does not have intercity bus service; and
WHEREAS, This lack of intercity bus service has a serious significant negative economic impact on the citizens of and the visitors to our state; and
WHEREAS, Seven months after Rimrock’s shutdown, plans for restoring intercity bus service in Montana are still in serious disarray: NOW THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Montana in convention assembled on this Twenty-seventh Day of October, 2013, in the city of Billings, Montana, that this organization call on Governor Steve Bullock to bring the full resources of his office to bear on restoring safe,reliable, and affordable intercity bus service in Montana.