‘Don’t Let Marriage Issue Distract Us from the Real Issues in Election’

by James Parks, Oct 29, 2006

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) union members are warning working families not to allow our opponents to distract workers from the real issues in this election by using wedge issues such as marriage equality to divide them.

This past week, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled the state legislature must provide the same rights and benefits to same-sex couples that married couples currently receive. The court left it to the legislature to determine how to ensure equality.

Jeremy Bishop, program director of Pride At Work (PAW), one of six AFL-CIO constituency groups, says:

With the elections less than two weeks away, we are sure that our adversaries will try and use this decision to divide working people, as they have tried to do with LGBT issues, immigration, and race-baiting in the past.

Opponents of working people’s interests use marriage as a wedge issue to divide us and distract us. We hope you’ll agree with us that what is important in this election is electing candidates who will help: find an end to the war in Iraq, hold corporations accountable, put an end to government corruption, and increase our pitiful minimum wage.

Nancy Wohlforth, co-president of PAW and secretary-treasurer of the Office and Professional Employees, says:

For those on the right who say this is another sign of “judicial activism” nothing could be further from the case. The court essentially mandated the legislature, representatives elected by the people, to find a solution. For those who think this decision goes against the will of the people, it should be noted that 56 percent of New Jersey residents support legalizing same-sex marriage in New Jersey, so the court is echoing the demands of New Jersey residents themselves.

The AFL-CIO union movement, which stands up for all workers, has been a leading force in securing domestic partner benefits for unmarried couples and adding sexual orientation and gender identity to non-discrimination clauses by including these demands in their collective bargaining agreements.

In Minneapolis, a local union president is displaying her commitment to ensuring that LGBT workers are not discriminated against. Michelle Sommers, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005, is opposing the decision of Minneapolis’ Metro Transit to permit a city bus driver not to drive buses carrying advertisements for Lavender, the city’s only LGBT magazine.

Even though Lavender’s management has a history of being hostile to unions, Sommers says the bus system would be crippled if the bus drivers were able to decide which buses they drive due to advertising content.

Wohlforth says Sommers’ stand shows the power of the union movement:

Michelle understands what the labor movement understands; that creating a tolerant and welcoming workplace for all workers, regardless of any particular identity is essential to a healthy workplace. In this case, Michelle’s stand against the decision is an attempt at protecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender workers at Metro—who would obviously be threatened by a management, which accepted the voice of anti-gay attitudes to ring louder than its alleged commitment to diversity.

We in the union movement are all too familiar with these classic divide and conquer tactics. I have no doubt that management is relishing the opportunity to use issues like these as a way to pit workers against each other. Michelle’s stand is not only a statement of her support of the LGBT community, but also evidence of her deep commitment to all of the workers of her local.     

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