WHEREAS, Blind Industries and Services of Maryland ( BISM) is affiliated with National Industries for the Blind ( NIB) and, for the past few years, has
paid over $ 200,000 annually to NIB for the right to participate in Federal contracting under the Javits Wagner- O’Day Program;
WHEREAS, payments to NIB from BISM’s Federal contracts are made for alleged purpose of providing NIB with the working capital necessary to help the blind
by means of obtaining more Government and industry contracts for organizations across the country, such as BISM;
WHEREAS, instead of helping the blind, NIB has diverted the proceeds derived from BISM’s Federal contracts and those of other organizations into a campaign
of litigation and public relations against the blind;
WHEREAS, specific elements of this campaign include ( 1) intensive lobbying in Washington, D. C. and in several states to prevent the passage of minimum
wage laws for the blind people who work in the NIB system; ( 2) public relations efforts to cover up the sweatshop conditions in several leading NIB affiliates,
excluding BISM; and ( 3) litigation against blind workers in two NIB workshops who have voted to be represented by labor unions;
WHEREAS, by these acts NIB is failing to be accountable to its affiliates, such as BISM, and to the blind workers at BISM, whose labors produce the proceeds
which are being diverted by NIB into a campaign against the blind; Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland assembled this 1st day of November, 1981, in the City of Grantsville, Maryland, that
we deplore NIB’s disregard of the rights of blind workers and its misuse, against the blind, of funds derived from the work of the blind.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization seek assistance from all members of the Maryland Congressional delegation in calling for a thorough investigation
of NIB’s misuse of funds from BISM and other agencies across the country.