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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-01-26 Correspondence - Disability Rights MT - This One Is for EmployersFrom:Disability Rights Montana - Growth Rings To:Bozeman Public Comment Subject:[EXTERNAL]This One Is for Employers Date:Monday, June 1, 2026 8:03:02 AM 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. Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Every paid subscription supports Disability Rights Montana’s work across Montana. Federal funding is nowhere near sufficient to meet the advocacy and culture change work that is needed. You can help fund the future you want to see! This One Is for Employers Disabled workers don’t need another lecture. Business leaders do. Join aone-hour conversation this Friday. READ IN APP This week, I’m writing about disability in employment. But maybe not in the way you expect. Too often, when people talk about disability and work, the conversation turns into tips, advice, warnings, and lectures aimed at disabled people. The disability- industrial-complex (those do-gooders paid to “help”) especially loves telling people with disabilities what is good for them. And honestly at times, I need a good reminding to cut that out. But that’s not what I have for you today. Disabled workers already do a lot, and they already know a lot. They don’t need another lecture. You know who does need to be brought into the conversation, though? Employers. JUN 1 This issue of the newsletter is written directly to and for business leaders. Whether people call you a Founder, Owner, President, CEO, ED, director, manager, supervisor, or team leader, whether you are in a for-profit, non-profit, or government workplace, I’m asking you to read what follows, watch the video below, and then show up for a peer-to-peer conversation this Friday during the noon hour about how we take responsibility for the accessibility and welcoming nature of the spaces where we hold positional authority. I’m a disabled leader, with several disabled employees, doing work to advance the civil rights of disabled people. You may or may not have a disability. You may or may not think of your primary role as leading disabled workers or disabled advocacy. But you undoubtedly have people with disabilities in and around your workplace and they look to you for guidance and support. I think you have things to share with peers, and odds are you have things to learn from peers when it comes to making the spaces we’re in more welcoming. The lessons we learn and apply will, of course, help build workplaces that better welcome disabled people, but I think they will also help others who may not currently be well served in the settings we lead. I’m asking you to join me for one conversation, this Friday from 12:00-1:00. If you’d like to have more after that, we can talk about it then. But for now, let’s think of it as a one-time book club. Except, more of an un-book club, because I’m dyslexic and have a somewhat antagonistic relationship with the written word, I’d rather make a TED Talk club. Those of us who are interested can watch the TED Talk above, think about what we agree with, what we don’t, what we learned, and what we thought we already knew, and then come talk with some peers who are responsible for the performance, well-being, and overall welcoming culture of their workplaces. Come talk with other leaders about the ideas that came to mind, whether they were raised directly in the TED Talk or simply knocked loose by an example or story. Maybe we can help each other. Maybe you have something to teach. Maybe you have something to learn. My guess is that it’s probably all of the above, and I’d love to talk with you. If this appeals to you, please watch the video below and register for an invitation to this conversation among conscientious leaders who want to help each other think through how to make our workplaces more welcoming. Register for Leadership Conversation Sincerely, David p.s. Now, if you made it all the way to the end of this and you’re not in a position of formal leadership in your workplace, maybe you’re looking for a job or you have a job but aren’t in formal leadership, I want you to know that I think people can lead from every position, that you matter, and that I’d like to learn from you too. But today, I wanted to make sure we were not asking you to do more labor to teach supervisors how they need to do better, and I hope you can appreciate why I put the focus where I did in this issue of the newsletter. If you’re looking for a job or dealing with disability-related employment issues at work, I’ll drop a link here so you can head over to our website and check out our recently updated Disabled Workers Handbook. There are also several short videos there that may spark some thoughts about issues you care about as a disabled worker. And if you want something deeper than a 30-second YouTube Short, the handbook goes much further. Disabled Worker Resources Thank you for your understanding of why I focused this issue on people in positions of leadership, and I wish you a great week. You’re currently a free subscriber to Life Beyond Compliance. Upgrading to paid subscriptions supports Disability Rights Montana’s work across Montana. Federal funding is no where near sufficient to meet the advocacy and culture change work that is needed. You can help fund the future you want to see! Upgrade to paid LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2026 Disability Rights Montana1022 Chestnut Street, Helena, MT 59601 Unsubscribe