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By Kathleen Shannon - Producer, Contact - News
Big Sky Connection - Montana Fair Housing is one of many private nonprofits across the nation that assist people facing discrimination in housing, which was outlawed decades ago. The organization was informed last week that its $425,000 federal grant has been terminated, effective immediately. Comments by Pam Bean, executive director, Montana Fair Housing.
Kathleen Shannon
March 5, 2025 - Since the Fair Housing Act was established in 1968 to make discrimination in housing illegal, nonprofits around the country have helped investigate cases and counsel victims.
But the Trump administration has cut federal grant funding to many of them, including Montana Fair Housing. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development sent Montana Fair Housing a termination notice for a $425,000 annual grant.
Pam Bean, executive director of Montana Fair Housing, said the grant made up 83% of the organization's funding.
"We had no notice, nothing," Bean explained. "The letter indicated our grant 'no longer met the goals and priorities' of the organization."
The letter, dated Feb. 27, stated the termination is effective immediately and is at the direction of the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk's government cost-slashing program. It comes weeks after HUD laid off hundreds of employees. Many are bracing for further cuts.
Bean pointed out Montana Fair Housing worked on 32 dispute resolutions last year, staving off as many legal complaints.
"Those services are going to be cut back as well," Bean noted. "That probably will lead to the filing of many more complaints."
Meanwhile, the Trump administration is working to change policies and legal definitions regarding sexual orientation and gender identity, a class of people protected by the Fair Housing Act. According to the National Fair Housing Alliance, there were more than 33,000 reported complaints of housing discrimination in the U.S. in 2023.
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PNS - Wednesday, March 5, 2025 - Democrats sue to prevent Trump's takeover of the Federal Elections Commission, a privatized postal service could make mail-in voting more difficult, and states move ahead with their own versions of the Equal Rights Amendment.
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PNS - Wednesday, March 5, 2025 - Trump says he's 'just getting started' amid Democratic protests; Changes in US immigration policy impact AR college campuses; HUD pulls federal Fair Housing grants in MT, US; and rule changes sought for SD citizen-backed ballot questions.
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By Kathleen Shannon - Producer, Contact - News
Big Sky Connection - Although the bill was dubbed the “Right to Work Act,” more than 200 Montana workers flooded the state Capitol on Friday to speak against it. After the bill – which would have made it optional to join a union at a unionized workplace – failed two different votes on Saturday, union workers are celebrating. Comments by Jason Hottel [HODD-uhl] union worker, Ironworkers Local 732; and Jim Soumas [SUE-muhs], principal officer, Teamsters Union Local 190.
Click on the image above for the audio. About 13% of Montana's workers were represented by unions in 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Adobe Stock)
Kathleen Shannon
March 4, 2025 - Union workers across Montana are celebrating the death of a bill which would have given employees the right to choose whether to join a union when hired by a represented company.
Known as the "right to work" bill, some said its title is misleading. More than 200 people signed up to speak against Senate Bill 376 at a hearing last Friday, and more joined them at a rally outside the Statehouse later in the day. Only two people testified in favor.
Jim Soumas, principal officer for Teamsters union Local 190, said it is "inappropriate" to expect unions to do their work with optional dues.
"It's like asking a business to provide a free service," Soumas pointed out. "There's cost to the union to provide professional representation and negotiation skills. We provide that for our members but that comes with a cost."
After the bill failed a committee vote Saturday, its sponsor, Sen. Mark Noland, R-Bigfork, tried to force it out of committee but 14 majority Republicans joined Democrats to block the move.
Jason Hottel, a member of Ironworkers Local 732, said early in his career, he worked in Idaho, a "right to work" state. He could not live off the wages, he said, so he moved back to Montana, a state with a strong union history.
"Since then, it's been night and day with what it's done for my life," Hottel explained. "The people around me and my children and everybody else involved with my life has been the biggest impact."
Hottel added he rallied at the Capitol to be an example for younger union workers. Montana is one of 23 states to have not passed so-called "right to work" legislation.
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