Recently, Pride At Work Executive Director had the opportunity to speak about the intersections of the labor movement and the lgbt movement for KBOO radio, Portland's community radio portal.

WASHINGTON, DC- In a huge step forward for fairness and equality, California's Supreme Court ruled today that the state
could not deny LGBT couples the right to marry.

Recently, thousands of Flight Attendants of Aloha and ATA airlines have been laid off, due to their respective companies going out of business.  As any working person can contend, this is a terrible time to be unemployed.  Covered by contracts negotiated by the Association of Flight Attendants, these flight attendants leave stable wages, health care benefits, and a path to retirement behind for the unemployment line.

Quite frankly, their need is high, and resources are low.  That is why we are hoping Pride At Work members and allies can show their power.

WASHINGTON, DC – Pride @ Work, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) constituency group of the labor movement, deplored today’s decision by the Michigan Supreme Court against domestic partner benefits for the same-sex partners of public employees.

Washington, DC- In March of 2007, the Pride At Work Washington, DC Chapter created a special campaign called, “Blow the whistle on Bloch” to highlight the defacto removal of whistleblower protection in the Office of Special Counsel, the office that was created to enforce civil rights protections and protect whistleblowers in the federal workforce.

Today, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents raided the Office of Special Counsel, seizing computers and documents belonging to the agency chief Scott Bloch and staff.

Raise your voice for same-sex binational couples by supporting the Uniting American Families Act.  Immigration Equality is leading the battle to pass this crucial legislation that will grant equal rights to American citizens who are in same-sex relationships with non-citizens - and you can help!

Wal-Mart’s constant quest for the lowest price, has finally come, to well, bite them in their big proverbial corporate ass. 

Andre Wilson, a Pride At Work leader out of Michigan, is currently being featured on the AFL-CIO's "Heart of the Movement."  This is the first time an out LGBT person has been included in this section. 

Way to go, Andre!

Pride At Work is co-sponsoring the National Center for Transgender Equality's annual Lobby Day this April 14 and 15.  Whether you identify as trans or as an ally, please join us as we visit with our members of Congress to talk with them about the need for an Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) that includes gender identity, a hate crimes bill and more.  Lots more information after the jump. 

San Diego Pride At Work and the San Diego and Imperial Counties Central Labor Council have teamed up to bring an LGBT Labor Leadership School to San Diego! Please join us for this day-long workshop, which will focus on the intersection of LGBT issues and labor issues and will equip participants with tools for uniting these communities in the fight for social and economic justice.

Do you have health care coverage for yourself, for your partner? Does your employer offer domestic partner benefits? Are you left out of many healthcare plans because of transgender exclusions?

We need to hear your stories. We are at a moment where we could make healthcare for all a reality in America. But your stories are key to making that happen. Please take our health care survey today.  

Washington, DC- The Bureau of Labor Statistics released their annual union membership numbers, showing an overall increase of 311,000 union members in 2007, increasing union density from 12.0% to 12.1% This is the largest increase in union membership since 1979.

The Pride At Work Winter 2007 Newsletter is now available online for easy downloading and printing.  To download your copy, please click here. 

As many of you know, the federal government recently came up with draconian rules about social security no-match letters.  These rules said that if there was something wrong with an employee’s social security information that the employee has 90 days to fix it or they must be fired.

Jobs With Justice will be holding a National Workers' Rights Board on the no-match letter situation and they have invited a trans-expert to speak.  Learn more after the fold...

The Writers Guild of America, East is circulating a statement about Ellen DeGeneres, expressing the union's disappointment in her lack of support for the striking writers. Read the entire release after the jump.

The passage this evening by the House of Representatives of a deeply flawed version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is deeply disappointing. Both the removal of gender identity protections for the bill and the incorporation of the language of the infamous Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) into legislation that was supposed to free the LGBT community from discrimination are unacceptable to Pride at Work, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender constituency group of the AFL-CIO.

Today, the House Committee on Education and Labor voted HR 3685 out of committee.  Unfortunately, the bill voted out of committee, does not include gender identity.  However, Representative Tammy Baldwin will be introducing an amendment on the floor to add gender identity back into ENDA.

While we think that the strategy pushed by leadership is not responsive to the concerns of the LGBT community, we must push leadership to fix this bill, and if they can not fix it, through the amendment, then leadership must kill the bill.  More inside...

Worried about your safety?  You should be.  On Southwest, one of the most unionized airlines in the country, management is up to its dirty tricks again, replacing "D" list flight attendants (usually reserved for new flight attendant trainees) with management and supervisors.

Over 2,200 questions were submitted and voted on, and our question in regards to ending marriage discrimination is a finalist. We know that marriage equality is fundamentally a worker issue, but the rest of the world does not. Here is our chance to raise ending marriage discrimination to a crowd of over 15,000 workers and millions of viewers- and raise it as a fundamental workers' right issue.

Who thought that a minority of 5% could have a question in the top ten that union members want asked?  Lets pull out a victory here for LGBT working people, lets get on the stage.. VOTE NOW!

President Bush has Nominated Dr. James Holsinger to be the next Surgeon General.  Please help stop this grave injustice upon our nation's healthcare system.

Virgin America airlines is anti-union and represents the potential loss of standards labor has been able to establish as part of our once-friendly skies.  Don't lose your virginity with Virgin America.

The AFL-CIO Presidential Candidates Forum is asking union members what they would ask the candidates.

Working people can submit questions and vote for the questions that will be asked at the August 7th AFL-CIO Presidential Candidates Forum!

Pride At Work has submitted several questions, check them out - and if you would like to hear the candidates answer them, VOTE for them!!!

Pennsylvania Residents:

The Massachusetts Legislature defeated an anti-marriage equality constitutional amendment, keeping it off the ballot in 2008, while the New York State Assembly passed a marriage equality bill.

With the recent decisions by several public employers in Michigan to take steps to rescind benefits for employees’ domestic partners, many in our community are wondering what we can do to fight back against the drive by anti-gay bigots to make us disappear through anti-family and anti-worker legislation.

This is not the time for us to let apathy get the best of us. If you are a public employee who receives domestic partner benefits through a union contract, your time to speak up is now.

Pride At Work urges participation in the AFL-CIO's Diversity Dialogues this summer!

If you are near Atlanta, Detroit, Philadelphia, or San Francisco this summer, please join us at the Diversity Dialogues to discuss how Labor can achieve full inclusion for all members.

On Tuesday, April 24th, in Congress, The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), was introduced.  The bill would bar discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression.  Nearly twenty years in the making, labor was there in force, and we invite you to get involved into one of the most important campaigns in Pride At Work history. 

The Connecticut General Assembly Judiciary Committee voted to pass the Marriage Equality Bill, by a 27-15 vote margin. This was a stronger than expected margin, and included bipartisan support. Connecticut is now the second state in the country to have a marriage equality bill successfully pass out of committee. The bill, Raised Bill #7395 "An Act Concerning Marriage Equality", next moves to the House and Senate for votes.

FLOC opened an office in Monterrey, Mexico, next to the U.S. Consulate there in 2005, to help members coming to North Carolina as H2A workers in processing their visas, to fight corruption in the recruitment process, and to develop leaders and train members. The office has been the target of break-ins with files and equipment destroyed. On Monday April 9, staff member Santiago Rafael Cruz was found in the FLOC office bound and beaten to death.

If you're in the Big Apple in April, be sure to check out this great exhibit showcasing workers' art and perspectives ... including this poster by Pride At Work member Ranald Woodaman!

With same-sex marriage laws being proposed or enacted in different states, more and workers' partners and families are potentially excluded from their contract's benefits' package. This article in the latest issue of Labor Notes describes how unions can use a "designated beneficiaries" plan as an alternative to traditional benefits systems that allows workers with different sexual orientations and lifestyle choices to participate in these benefits plans-even in states where same-sex marriage has been ruled illegal.

We're looking for a part-time Media Associate to coordinate our media and outreach efforts - and spread the voices of LGBT workers. 

• An end to worker intimidation and a fair process for workers to join unions, including passage of the Employee Free Choice Act
• Living wages for all campus employees
• University codes of conduct that support workers' rights both on campus and overseas
• And MUCH MORE
  

At the most recent AFL-CIO Executive Council meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Executive Council passed a resolution calling for the withdrawal of U.S. forces in Iraq.  The resolution is the second resolution by the AFL-CIO calling on a withdrawal of U.S. forces in Iraq.  You can read the full resolution by hitting the banner above. 

Join thousands of other people who are demanding an end to the war and occupation of Iraq.  Harkening back to the Vietnam war-resistance movement, this march is part of the steadying march to an end of this illegal and unjust war.  Check out the video below for a comparison of the two wars.

The House voted 241–185 for the Employee Free Choice Act, which would establish stronger penalties for violation of employee rights when workers seek to form a union and during first-contract negotiations. It also would allow employees to form unions through a majority verification process, in which workers sign cards to indicate their support for a union.

In most states, workers can be fired at any time, and for no reason, unless they are secured by a union contract.  Connecticut's non-discrimination laws prohibit discharge because a person is lesbian, gay, or bisexual, but we are still fighting to get transgender protection ...

While Pride At Work supports full marriage equality, civil unions - currently available in Vermont, Connecticut, and New Jersey - are a step in the right direction, offering same-sex couples protections, rights, and responsibilities they would otherwise not have access to.  A handful of states are presently debating whether or not to offer civil unions to their same-sex couples.  Spread the word that same-sex couples deserve official recognition; keep reading for talking points geared toward a labor audience.

Pride At Work joins US Labor Against the War (USLAW) in demanding the end of the occupation in Iraq.  Sign this petition, and join the US Labor movement telling Congress to end all funding for the war and occupation in Iraq, and to bring all our troops home now.

Pride At Work Co-President has a special video message for members and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community regarding the Employee Free Choice Act.  Don't know what the Employee Free Choice Act is?  Watch the video and then get the facts from our Employee Free Choice Act section of the website.

GALLAN - Boston's Pride At Work Chapter - is holding a meeting February 15.   Members, allies, and any interested folks are invited to attend.

As queer workers, the Employee Free Choice Act is especially important : With no federal laws, and so few at the state level, mandating LGBT worker equality and protections in the workplace, the union contract has been our main source of security on the job.  The Employee Free Choice Act will make it easier for tons of workers to gain those same benefits that come along with collective bargaining.

Jump in and let your Representatives know that the Employee Free Choice Act is a priority for our community.

In a Friday ruling that was released today, the Michigan Court of Appeals declared that public universities and local governments would be violating the state constitution if they were to offer health insurance to the partners of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender employees.

Sacramento, meet Pride At Work.  Pride At Work, meet Sacramento ... 

Join the LGBT contingent of the thousands of people who will unite in Washington, DC this weekend saying, enough, it's time to end the war on Iraq!

“It is imperative that the LGBT community concerns itself with matters like these, not just because raising the minimum wage is an issue of basic fairness, but also because we know low-wage jobs and stagnant pay are issues that so many in our community face on a daily basis,” said Nancy Wohlforth, Pride At Work Co-President. “It makes me extremely proud to see so many LGBT organizations standing together in solidarity with the working-class members of our community, in calling, no demanding, an increase to the minimum wage.”

 As organizations representing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, we call on the United States Senate to support a fair increase in the minimum wage. We applaud the recent passage of The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 in the United States House of Representatives and we strongly support and urge the speedy passage of the accompanying bill in the Senate.

December 14, 2006 - Pride At Work applauds The New Jersey State Senate's passage of a bill to outlaw discrimination against the state's transgender residents.

The bill would add a resident's 'gender identity or expression' as a basis for protection under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.

Has your union negotiated domestic partner benefits in your contract?  Have you talked to your union about being more inclusive in their negotiation practices.  How do you feel about your union when it comes to issues affect you and your family?  Help us quantify our movement by taking part in the Pride At Work Benefits Survey.  More after the jump...

Convention photos are up and running ... or, sliding.

Need another reason to oppose the occupation in Iraq?  Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals across the capital are being hunted down and murdered by Islamic militants, and even the police.

Join the first ever nationwide conference call for Wal-Mart associates to discuss the historic walk-out and how to join the fight for a better America.

Announcing Out at Work, Out in our Unions: A talk story session about the issues LGBT workers face in the workplace and in our unions in Hawai‘i.  LGBT workers and allies invited to attend what may be the kick-off of a brand new Pride At Work Chapter! 

Today same-sex couples moved one step closer to achieving full equality in the United States.  The New Jersey Supreme Court confirmed that same-sex couples deserve the same rights, benefits and responsibilities granted to opposite-sex couples through civil marriage. 

In the summer of 2001, workers at Lavender Magazine, Minneapolis’ only queer publication, attempted to organize. The magazine’s owner engaged in a relentless union busting campaign, and the workers were treated to persistent attacks on their right to a voice at work. The battle ended without a contract, and many writers left the paper due to this blatantly anti-union and anti-worker campaign.

This week, Lavender sees its paper, and indeed its readers, supported by union leadership in a true testament to the power of the labor movement.

Pride At Work Executive Council members have stepped up in support of this very important project ...

Resolutions passed at the 2006 Convention are now available online for review. 

Find out the news and views from yesteryear! It's our archive or relatively recent notables

Wondering where we go and what we do? What were we doing in Puerto Rico? What does PAW have to do with the NAACP? Find out more inside. . . .