Pride At Work: We’ve Come a Long Way, We Still Have Further to Go
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As union members get ready for the 2009 AFL-CIO Convention, Pride At Work (PAW), an AFL-CIO constituency group, is among several union-related organizations meeting in Pittsburgh to plan for the future.
It’s the 10th anniversary for PAW as an official constituency group of the AFL-CIO. PAW focuses on the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) workers. Co-president Nancy Wohlforth said this morning that she’d never have believed how far the organization would come and how much they’d be able to accomplish—but that there are still many challenges ahead.
Wohlforth, who will step down this year as co-president, said PAW members have proven themselves a valuable asset in working family campaigns across the union movement and, in turn, they’ve been able to make great strides in educating and assisting unions about LGBT issues. Thanks to the efforts of PAW, unions across the country are making sure that contracts offer nondiscrimination provisions, as well as health and pension benefits for domestic partners. Unions also are stepping up to fight for equality not just in the workplace, but in state policy.
Employment Non-Discrimination Act ‘Long Overdue’
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), introduced today by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), is “common sense legislation [that] would bar discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression…it is urgently needed and long overdue,” says AFL-CIO President John Sweeney.
Click here to read Sweeney’s full statement.
SharedAgenda.org Promotes Freedom from Discrimination, Freedom to Form Unions
A national campaign is promoting the Employee Free Choice Act as critical to the economy, fair workplaces and the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) workers.
A new website, SharedAgenda.org, is bringing together supporters of the Employee Free Choice Act and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. The new site is being launched in concert with a national postcard campaign asking senators and House members to co-sponsor the two bills.
The new site is a project of the National Stonewall Democrats, a grassroots coalition of activists for LGBT equality, and Pride At Work (PAW), an AFL-CIO constituency group.
Why link these two issues? Because nobody should be fired from a job simply because of sexual orientation or gender identity, and nobody should be fired from a job for trying to form a union. Unfortunately, these abuses are too common. Together, these bills give LGBT workers the access they deserve to the American dream. LGBT workers need the Employee Free Choice Act because the freedom to form unions is critical to protecting them from discrimination and ensuring fair treatment in the workplace and because they need the ability to bargain for equal benefits and fair wages to ensure they can take care of their families.
