RESOLUTION 67-01




WHEREAS, one essential part of independent and
constructive living is the ability to travel safely in public thoroughfares;
and


WHEREAS, blind persons can learn special techniques that enable them to
travel efficiently with the aid of a white cane or dog guide as they
participate in the economic, civic and social life of their communities; and


WHEREAS, legislation requires that motorist and pedestrians recognize the
white cane and dog guide as indications of blindness and that caution should
be exercised in approaching a person using such items to safeguard his
progress; and


WHEREAS, even though there is such legislation, the blind pedestrian is not
safe if the public is not aware of the significance of a white cane or dog
guide, especially if the visually handicapped individual assumes the motorists
and pedestrians know these laws;


NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the American Council of the Blind in
convention assembled at the Broadview Hotel, Wichita,Kansas, this 22nd day of
July, 1967, that this national organization dedicated to furthering the well
being of blind persons, urge the United States postal authorities to design
and issue a postage stamp, similar to one used in Switzerland, which will help
to educate and alert the public as to the importance of the white cane and dog
guide in the safety and full living of blind persons who have made the effort
to be independent travelers despite their visual handicap;


BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this organization emphasizes that the design
on any such stamp should not call forth sympathy but rather admiration for the
thousands of blind persons who are making an effort to have constructive and
useful lives for themselves, their families and the community as a whole.


RESOLUTION 67-02




WHEREAS, the trend in recent years in many Vocational
Rehabilitation programs has given an increasing emphasis to auxiliary services
with a disproportionate emphasis on ultimate placement as a part of the
vocational objective of blind clients; and


WHEREAS, we believe that such auxiliary functions, including extensive
counseling are most beneficial when they are connected with the objective of
placement in remunerative employment; and


WHEREAS, we believe that emphasis on such auxiliary services without
ultimate placement substantially defeats the paramount purpose of Vocational
Rehabilitation and threatens to undermine the basic and most valuable purpose
of such programs;


NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the American Council of the Blind, in
convention assembled at the Broadview Hotel, Wichita, Kansas, this 22nd day of
July, 1967 that this organization register its objection to the present trend
away from placement and urge Vocational Rehabilitation agencies, both national
and state, to rededicate their policies to basic services including placement
which will return blind clients to gainful employment.


RESOLUTION 67-03




WHEREAS, the use of braille is basic to the
communication of the blind; and


WHEREAS, notwithstanding modern improvements in writing and communicating
by sound recordings and magnetic tapes, the use of braille by students and
others in meeting their every day needs requires a knowledge and ability to
function with such basic tools including the slate and stylus; and


WHEREAS, instruction in the use of such basic tools has been discontinued
by many schools to the later detriment of blind persons;


NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the American Council of the Blind in
convention assembled at the Broadview Hotel, Wichita, Kansas, this 22nd day of
July, 1967, that we focus attention upon this omission and urge all
residential and other schools educating blind children to continue or to
re-establish the teaching of the fundamentals of braille writing including the
use of the slate and stylus.


RESOLUTION 67-04




WHEREAS, one of the primary goals of the American
Council of the Blind is the improvement of employment opportunities for blind
persons; and


WHEREAS, qualified blind persons are now being employed by both private
firms and governmental agencies as computer programmers; and


WHEREAS, the Federal Aviation Agency, located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
has employed three blind individuals as computer programmers; and


WHEREAS, the Control Data Corporation of Minneapolis, Minnesota is
employing a blind switchboard operator using telabraille, thereby opening new
opportunities for employment in the field of telephone answering and
switchboard operation;


NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the American Council of the Blind in
convention assembled this 22nd day of July, 1967, in Wichita, Kansas, that
letters of commendation be directed to Mr. William Shelton, Chief of Personnel
at the Federal Aviation Agency in Oklahoma City, Mr. J. Moody, Chief of Data
Processing Division at the Federal Aviation Administration in Oklahoma City,
Mr. John Black at Control Data Corporation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the
initiative and progressive planning shown by them in these related areas of
potential employment for the blind; and


BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that letters be directed to Edward F. Ross,
director of the employment program for the blind, U.S. Civil Service
Commission, Mary E. Switzer, Commissioner, Vocational Rehabilitation
Administration, and to others who would assist in the promotion of computer
programming and telabraille switchboard operation as fields of gainful
employment for blind persons.


RESOLUTION 67-05




WHEREAS, the majority of the workers at the St. Louis
Lighthouse for the Blind have been on strike since March 2, 1967 because of
poor working conditions, and because the administration of the Lighthouse has
refused to recognize and negotiate with a grievance committee; and


WHEREAS, the striking workers have joined District 9 of the International
Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers in an effort to secure
assistance in these negotiations; and


WHEREAS, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
has supported the striking workers through the payment of $40.00 per week to
each striking worker; and


WHEREAS, the St. Louis organizations of RITE, Inc. and the TOWER CLUB have
endeavored to act as mediators in this dispute but have been rejected by the
Lighthouse administration;


NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the American Council of the Blind in
convention assembled this 22nd day of July, 1967, in Wichita, Kansas, that the
American Council of the Blind go on record as supporting the efforts of the
striking workers at the St. Louis Lighthouse for the Blind and offer its
services to these workers in any way which could lead to a solution of their
problems;


BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors of the American Council
of the Blind is hereby instructed to implement this resolution by whatever
methods it deems appropriate.



RESOLUTION 67-06




WHEREAS, Social Security benefits have not kept pace
with the rising costs of living; and


WHEREAS, the lag between such increases and the cost of living and the acts
of Congress raising such benefits works a great hardship upon all Social
Security beneficiaries; and


WHEREAS, this hardship can be avoided if Congress amends the Social
Security Act to provide for automatic increases in benefits in accordance with
increases in the Consumer's Price Index;


NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the American Council of the Blind in
convention assembled on this 22nd day of July, 1967, in Wichita, Kansas, that
the ACB support amendments to the Social Security Act providing for automatic
increases in benefits based on the Consumer's Price Index.


RESOLUTION 67-07




WHEREAS, employees of sheltered workshops are presently
excluded by decisions of the National Labor Relations Board from the rights,
benefits and protection afforded to employees in other industry in the
National Labor Relations Act; and


WHEREAS, the American Council of the Blind believes that this law should be
equally applied to all citizens including blind and other employees of
sheltered workshops;


NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the American Council of the Blind in
convention assembled this 22nd day of July, 1967, at the Broadview Hotel,
Wichita, Kansas, that we endorse the principle of equal application of the
National Labor Relations Act and its attending rights, benefits and protection
to employees of sheltered workshops and that appropriate action be taken to
prevent future discrimination against such employees under the National Labor
Relations Act.


RESOLUTION 67-08




WHEREAS, the American Council of the Blind has worked
directly to establish and to expand credit union services for blind persons in
several states; and


WHEREAS, on June 1, 1966, this organization submitted a project proposal to
the Community Action Division of the Office of Economic Opportunity embracing
a plan for credit union consumer education projects in fourteen states; and


WHEREAS, to date this project proposal has not been officially approved or
rejected nor has the applicant agency been permitted or assisted to make a
formal application for this project; and


WHEREAS, such consumer education projects have been approved and funded for
other applicants; and


WHEREAS, the failure of the Office of Economic Opportunity to act upon this
project proposal has deprived large numbers of blind persons who are within
the low-income segment of the population of the benefits of the Economic
Opportunity Act without good cause;


NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the American Council of the Blind in
convention assembled this 22nd day of July, 1967, at Wichita, Kansas, that the
Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity and other appropriate public
officials be called upon to correct this omission to provide the much-needed
benefits of this consumer education project to this substantial number of
blind persons.


RESOLUTION 67-09




WHEREAS, the constitution of the World Council for the
Welfare of the Blind provides for equal representation on national delegations
for organizations representing the blind; and


WHEREAS, the United States delegation is currently considering its
nonconformity with this constitutional provision; and


WHEREAS, the reapportionment of representation on the United States
delegation should be made soon to permit newly added organizations of the
blind to plan for attendance at the 1969 assembly of the World Council; and


WHEREAS, the American Council of the Blind is a representative national
organization of the blind and is qualified and eligible for representation in
the United States delegation at this time; and


WHEREAS, no useful purpose would be served by further delay to consider
possible alternative methods of apportioning representation in the United
States delegation;


NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the American Council of the Blind in
convention assembled in Wichita, Kansas, this 22nd day of July, 1967, that the
present United States delegation be requested to include the American Council
of the Blind in this delegation before the end of 1967.


RESOLUTION 67-10




WHEREAS, there is a great need to enlist many more
Council members and potential members in the work of this organization; and


WHEREAS, many sincere and capable blind persons are inexperienced in such
work and would be willing to devote time and energy to the achievement of the
Council's purposes if they possessed sufficient knowledge of effective methods
of working with this organization; and


WHEREAS, the Council can reach, train and utilize such potential volunteer
workers most effectively and rapidly through personal interactions;


NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the American Council of the Blind in
convention assembled this 22nd day of July, 1967, at Wichita, Kansas, that
plans for regional educational and training seminars be made and implemented
where ever possible to enlarge the number of participating volunteer workers
to facilitate the achievement of the Council's purposes;


BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that, upon invitation of affiliated organizations,
the American Council send speakers to the respective affiliates to take part
in convention or other programs.


RESOLUTION 67-11




WHEREAS, the American Council of the Blind seriously
questions the legal authority of the Post Office Department, the General
Services Administration and other federal agencies to extend by regulations
and by union contracts to Employee Welfare Committees the privilege of
profiting from the operation of vending concessions on federal property in
competition with or the exclusion of state licensing agencies and blind
operators licensed under the terms of the Randolph-Sheppard Act; and


WHEREAS, the American Council of the Blind also disputes the authority of
such federal agencies to permit Employee Welfare Committees to select
competing vendors to operate concessions on federal property from which profit
inures to the benefit and use of individual employees for which such employees
render no service to the Federal Government and the profits so derived are
entirely separate and distinct from that paid to each employee by the
government; and


WHEREAS, the authority of such federal agencies and the validity of such
contracts and practices were not adequately attacked in the Theisen case; and


WHEREAS, the adverse decision in the Theisen case stands as a precedent
limiting the scope of the Randolph-Sheppard Act and thereby materially
reducing employment opportunities for blind persons; and


WHEREAS, we believe that a united effort should be exerted to reverse the
Theisen decision and to roll back the encroaching competition of allied
Employee Welfare Committees and private, profit-making machine vendors;


NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the American Council of the Blind in
convention assembled this 22nd day of July, 1967, at Wichita, Kansas, that the
president notify State Licensing Agencies, blind operators and organizations
of the blind of the Council's position and of its willingness to participate
in and to support further litigation in a suitable case to protect the
employment opportunities of blind persons in the Randolph-Sheppard programs.


RESOLUTION 67-12




WHEREAS, the American Council of the Blind has many
members at large in areas where there are no affiliated state organizations;
and 

WHEREAS, these members at large could function more effectively in the
achievement of the Council's purposes if they were associated together in
regional organizations of the Council; and


WHEREAS, participation in the work of such regional organizations would
greatly stimulate the interest of such members and potential members in
forming state and local affiliates within the region;


NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the American Council of the Blind in
convention assembled at Wichita, Kansas, this 22nd day of July, 1967, that a
plan for regional organizations of the American Council of the Blind be made
and implemented where ever possible and ultimately extended to the formation
of affiliated state and local organizations within each region.