Montana's Labor Newsletter - April 18
- andy9302
- Apr 21
- 4 min read
Over the past few months, workers from across Montana have joined together to protect working families from numerous anti-worker bills and won, ensuring that none of them ended up in Montana law. From school voucher bills, to attacks on nurses, to dues reduction and attempts to curtail our freedom of speech and association, workers beat back legislation that would have harmed our communities, our families, and our local economies.
Together, we also defeated another attempt to make Montana a so-called “Right to Work” state. Hundreds of workers from across Montana showed up at the Capitol in Helena, with some driving through the night to get to Helena and voice their opposition at a 7am hearing. Workers are joining together, fighting back, and building power across Montana from the shop floor to the state legislature and beyond.
The end of this legislative session is in sight now that HB 2, the state budget, has passed the Senate. HB 2 will now head to the House to be concurred in following several amendments in the Senate. Several bills are still moving through the legislature that impact workers, including a bill to lift starting teacher pay and a dangerous workers compensation bill, SB 345, which was passed out of House Business and Labor this morning and is headed to a floor vote.
SB 345 would give insurance companies more power to deny care by overriding treating physicians—the doctors who actually know and care for injured workers. It would also force workers to travel anywhere the insurer demands, even out of state, just to be examined by someone with no history or relationship with the patient.
Bill to Give First Responders Workers Comp for PTSD Advancing
Joel Gaertig with the Montana State Firefighters Association testifies in support of SB 394
An important proposal that would help protect Montana first responders is moving forward at the legislature.
SB 394, sponsored by Senator Cora Neumann, would allow first responders to receive workers compensation benefits if they are diagnosed with PTSD by expanding Montana workers’ compensation to include post-traumatic stress disorder.
Montana is one of just a few states that don’t include PTSD in its worker compensation law.
First responders put their lives on the line to keep our families safe and our communities secure, and they frequently experience traumatic events while on the job. Joel Gaertig with the Montana State Firefighters Association said the bill would help prevent suicide and resignations:
“One life prematurely taken is one life too many. If there's an avenue to get our first responders help for mental health injuries on the job, it's also our response to make sure they're taken care of so we can protect our community.”
In addition to being the right thing to do, Sen. Neumann also pointed to the steep costs it takes to retrain and re-equip first responders who are no longer able to do their jobs due to PTSD as another reason to support the bill.
“We will pay in the long run if we don’t cover this,” Neumann said. “This will have a major impact on our first responders’ lives. When they’re healthy, our communities are healthy.”
This critical bill is now making its way through the Montana House of Representatives after clearing the Senate with bipartisan support and successfully passed out of the House Business and Labor Committee Friday morning. It will now head to the House floor.
Attacks on federal workers who serve our communities, keep us safe, and provide critical public services to our communities will only serve to undermine the services that keep our state strong. If you’re a federal worker who has been impacted, there are resources that can help. Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network is connecting thousands of lawyers with federal workers for free legal support. Visit WorkersLegalDefense.org to learn more.
Job and service cuts are creating deep uncertainty for workers, their families, and our communities. Federal workers process social security checks, provide healthcare services to veterans in Montana and fight forest fires. They work as smoke jumpers, forest rangers, and keep our public lands healthy and accessible. The federal government has proposed to cut 80,000 jobs from the VA and is planning on closing social security offices across the country, including here in Montana, creating uncertainty for workers and communities.
These actions undermine the working people who make sure our food is safe to eat, care for our veterans and protect our public lands. We need policies that support working families, the services we rely on, and the workers that make our communities thrive. If you are a federal worker who has been wrongfully terminated from your job or a current federal worker concerned about your employment rights, follow the steps at the link below to access free legal support and resources.
Montana's Federal workers in the news:
Forstag, a smokejumper at the Missoula Smokejumper Base, used the platform to defend public service and the men and women who give their lives to protect our country’s public lands.
Last month, Montana AFL-CIO Executive Secretary Jason Small talked to smoke jumper and NFFE Local 60 Vice President Sam Forstag about the cuts to federal workers and how these actions could impact fire season and access to our public lands in Montana. Watch or listen at the links below!
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