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.
‘Out at Work’ Available on DVD
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Seventeen years ago, a couple of New York City filmmakers, Kelli Anderson and Tami Gold, made their way to AFSCME’s District Council 37 in Manhattan to videotape a conference on lesbian and gay rights in the workplace for a monthly show they produced on public access television called “Labor at the Crossroads.”
As it turned out, this was the beginning of “Out at Work,” a compelling documentary about life on the job in the United States. After it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival—an extraordinary event in itself—Variety would praise it for its “inspiring human dimension.” And some 40 million people would eventually see a version of it on HBO.
Both versions of “Out at Work”—the original documentary film and the HBO presentation—are now available for the first time on DVD from Transit Media Communications at 1-800-343-5540. Mention it if you’re a union member and ask about their discount.
The original idea of “Out at Work” was simple enough. It told about three workers who had little in common except that each was LGBT and confronting colossal challenges connected with discrimination on the job. What’s more, each had an extraordinary story filled with grief, courage, confusion and moral grace.
