WHEREAS, S2147, (a bill making sheltered workshops eligible for contracts under the Small Business Administration) fails to require sheltered workshops to undertake needed reforms in the treatment of their employees in order to qualify for small business contracts; and
WHEREAS, sheltered workshops frequently exploit the handicapped employees they were created to serve, by paying subminimum wages and denying upward mobility; and
WHEREAS, if sheltered workshops want to participate in small business opportunities, then they should operate as competitive small businesses and provide comparable benefits to their employees; and
WHEREAS, Senator Paul Sarbane co-sponsored S2147, then ignored the requests of blind constituents to withdraw his co-sponsorship, and also failed to offer amendments to S2147 proposed by the National Federation of the Blind; and
WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland is the largest organization of blind consumers in Maryland, and represents an important and unique perspective that deserves serious consideration: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland in Convention assembled this seventh day of September, 1986, in the City of Columbia, Maryland, that this organization condemns and deplores Senator Sarbane's insensitivity to the plight of blind sheltered shop employees; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization urges Senator Sarbane to consult with representatives of the National Federation of the Blind before taking positions on sheltered workshop legislation.