[Ohio-Talk] Fwd: [RSVENDORSCOMMITTEE] Open Letter to Randolph-Shepaprd Community - The Exchange

[President Capital chapter]

Hello NFB of Ohio family,

I wanted to forward you this announcement from the national Association of blind merchants, a proud division of the national Federation of the blind. Just another example of how the NFB is fighting for the rights of blind people.
Annette Lutz
President
Capital Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
614-288-4323
President.capital.nfboh at gmail.com

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Everyday we raise the expectations of blind people because we know that low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want, blindness is not what holds you back. 

Begin forwarded message:

From: Terry C Smith <terrysmith at epbfi.com>
Date: February 4, 2024 at 1:57:54 PM EST
To: RSVENDORSCOMMITTEE at listserv.ed.gov
Subject: [RSVENDORSCOMMITTEE] Open Letter to Randolph-Shepaprd Community  - The Exchange
Reply-To: rsvendorscommittee list <RSVENDORSCOMMITTEE at listserv.ed.gov>


CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.


An Open Letter to the Randolph-Sheppard Community 
NABM Files Suit to Protect the Priority 


Dear Randolph-Sheppard Stakeholder: 

On Friday, the National Association of Blind Merchants took the unprecedented step of filing a lawsuit against the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES). Blind Entrepreneurs have been denied their statutory rights to operate vending facilities on military bases for far too long. As the largest and most influential organization representing the interests of Blind Entrepreneurs, the responsibility to fight to protect the priority falls on the National Association of Blind Merchants, a proud division of the National Federation of the Blind . We cannot be at the mercy of any government entity to act on our behalf. We must do it ourselves. 

Every significant advancement in the program in the last half century, including the 1974 Amendments, vending at the interstate rest areas, and military dining contracts, came about as the result of efforts by the organized blind. Now it’s time we crash the party on our military bases. 

There is no question that the Randolph Shepherd priority applies to vending facilities on military bases. However, you will find a Randolph Shepherd vending machine on fewer than 20% of the military bases in this country. The reason is clear and simple. AAFES is blocking us. They argue they have a primacy to operate vending, fast food, and other retail services on military bases. This position is not supported by the Exchange’s own authorizing legislation and it is in direct conflict with both the Department of Education and Department of Defense regulations. We are asking the courts to review the AAFES Operations Manual, which was recently re-published by the Army and Air Force with DoD approval, and to declare that the sections about AAFES’ purported primacy and right of first refusal are unlawful. That is because Blind Entrepreneurs do, in fact, have the first right of refusal to operate vending facilities on military bases. 

Like with any lawsuit, there are no guarantees.  We are totally confident on the merits of the case but we are equally confident AAFES and DOD will use every possible procedural maneuver to have the case dismissed. But we don’t win if we don’t at least try to get in the game. And the Administrative Procedures Act says that when there is no other adequate channel for fixing an unlawful government action, we can ask a Court to review it. That is exactly what we have done. And if AAFES is afraid of the scrutiny, there must be a reason why.

If we prevail in this case, it could be more significant than the passage of the Kennelly Amendments in 1983 which granted a priority to blind vendors to operate vending machines at the interstate rest areas.  

Lauren McLarney with Rosenberg Martin Greenberg LLP in Baltimore is representing us in this matter. She is excited about the case and looks forward to arguing this case in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas, where it was filed. 
We will keep our community abreast of developments as they occur.  


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org/attachments/20240204/a373f6cd/attachment-0001.html>