2018

WHEREAS, human trafficking is a global phenomenon that traps millions in cycles of exploitation for sex or labor and is often called “modern slavery”; it is a direct affront to individual human rights and jeopardizes community health; and

WHEREAS, worldwide, human trafficking generates about $36 billion each year. About one of every four of those dollars circulates in the United States, where freedom is an inalienable right; and

WHEREAS, commercial sex trafficking includes “the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision or obtaining of a person for the purposes of a commercial sex act.” Children in “the life” are considered victims of severe forms of trafficking – and they are in our schools; and

WHEREAS, every year, hundreds of thousands of children, mostly girls in early adolescence, are at risk of being trafficked. They are subject to physical, verbal, and sexual abuse. Specifically, they face social isolation, lack of care, manipulation, and severe health concerns, including HIV. Getting out of the life isn’t easy – many are trauma-bonded with those who exploit them and must overcome stigmatization and post-traumatic stress. In some states, they also face the threat of a criminal record; and

WHEREAS, research by the Polaris Project indicates that the majority of trafficked persons come from vulnerable groups, including undocumented immigrants, runaways, at-risk youth, oppressed and marginalized groups, and the poor, and that this occurs specifically because they are easiest to recruit and control. Many of these young people are our students; and

WHEREAS, organizations such as the Polaris Project and Fair Girls have been incredible leaders in establishing and maintaining infrastructure to combat child sex trafficking and education about this issue. In 2013, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act was reauthorized to protect and prevent. Yet there is work to be done; and

WHEREAS, with the right training, paraprofessionals, teachers, and school personnel can be first responders in this national emergency. Schools can be part of the frontline to combat the marginalization, criminalization, and exploitation of our most vulnerable;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Pride at Work supports the fight to end human trafficking and especially condemn the ongoing exploitation and profit from sex trafficking with children; and

THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Pride at Work provide guidance to inform and educate Pride at Work members and its allies about the issue of sex trafficking and what they can do to take action against it; and

THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Pride at Work help prevent child trafficking by providing training and appropriate guidance to ensure members have the skills to identify indicators of children at risk and to identify signs of child trafficking. This should include, but not be limited to, educational materials describing indicators of child exploitation/trafficking, workshops at conferences sponsored by Pride at Work, educational materials such as palm cards, and articles in Pride at Work publications; and

THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Pride at Work combatchild trafficking by providing training and appropriate guidance to ensure members have the skills to safely report suspicious activity to the right authorities and agencies such as the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; and

THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Pride at Work addressthe consequences of human trafficking by supporting programs that counteract victims’ criminalization and stigmatization, educate victims about their rights and opportunities, facilitate social reintegration, advance educational opportunities, and assist in obtaining sustainable employment; and

THEREFORE, BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that Pride at Work reclaim the promise of healthy communities by supporting legislation to eradicate human trafficking in the United States and abroad.

Submitted by the American Federation of Government Employees
Approved August 25 2018

“Sex work” is a consensual contractual relationship between adults whereby one or more individuals agrees to engage in sexual conduct with another individual(s) in return for financial remuneration.

WHEREAS, the criminalization of sex work fosters public health crises of STI and HIV transmission. Evidence complied by the U.N.’s Global Commission on HIV and the Law reveals that criminalization of sex work explicitly and directly undermines worldwide efforts to combat the HIV pandemic. The confiscation of condoms and lubricant by law enforcement, or the use of such materials as evidence of engaging in sex work, also undermines the ability of sex workers to avoid STI and HIV transmission.

WHEREAS, sex work is not equivalent to “human trafficking.” Human trafficking, as defined by the UN’s Palermo Protocol, consists of three elements: a.) an act by a third party b.) coercive means of trafficking (threats, force, deception, etc.), and c.) an illicit purpose. States should retain prohibitions on coercion and exploitation, including prohibitions on minors’ involvement in commercial sex and human trafficking law.

WHEREAS, sex work is labor, and it is often the primary means of economic survival for those who engage in sex work. Female sex workers often live in a state of relative poverty, but due to structural misogyny, are forced to shoulder the burden that the criminalization of sex work has on their ability to feed, house, and clothe themselves and their families.

WHEREAS, transgender women face high rates of discrimination in the workforce based on their gender identity and expression. As a result, they are ten times more likely than cisgender people to engage in sex work as a means of economic survival. Trans women are particularly vulnerable to the stigmatization due to criminalization of sex work. This stigmatization has the perverse effect of further marginalization, and they are frequently targets of excessive policing, regardless of whether or not they are engaged in sex work.

WHEREAS, the criminalization of sex work leads to harsh penalties, particularly for LGBT identified people, who are already susceptible to unfair discrimination. A criminal conviction for engaging in sex work can have devastating immigration consequences for people, and it can lead to deportation to countries where they could be victimized or prosecuted for their identity or orientation. Further, convictions can negatively impact one’s ability to find employment, attain professional licenses, or to keep their housing. Criminalization for sex work can lead to incarceration, where LGBT people are at increased risk for physical assault, sexual coercion and rape, the denial of adequate medical care, and other forms of discrimination.

WHEREAS, criminalization, with its marginalizing effects, allows for brutal violence against sex workers who are fearful of reporting such treatment to law enforcement, out of the justifiable fear that law enforcement will penalize them instead of the individual(s) who assaulted them. Similarly, minors and other trafficking victims are often fearful of reporting violence and coercion perpetrated against them due to fear that they will not be believed, but will face harsh legal consequences.

WHEREAS, to protect both consensual sex workers and human trafficking victims from the dire consequences of criminal convictions, jurisdictions should pass vacatur laws. Vacatur laws would erase records of prostitution related convictions, as well as nonviolent crimes that trafficking victims were forced to commit.

WHEREAS, regressive and counter-productive laws such as SESTA/FOSTA do nothing to effectively

combat human trafficking, but merely push sex workers further into the margins.1 The Department of Justice has stated that SESTA/FOSTA are not only unconstitutional, but will make it more difficult to prosecute and convict actual human traffickers.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED Pride at Work supports the decriminalization of sex work to improve community health and safety, and to protect the human rights of sex workers.

THEREFORE, BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED Pride at Work member organizations should encourage their local legislators to consult with sex workers themselves, HIV advocates, women’s groups, LGBTQ groups, human rights groups, physical and sexual assault advocates, and healthcare workers to provide greater services to sex workers.

Submitted by Jared Trujillo, Lindsay Adams, Lisa Ohta, Taylor James, and Richard Blum – New York City Association of Legal Aid Attorneys, UAW Local 2325
Approved August 25, 2018

WHEREAS, Pride at Work (P@W) strives to be a unifying force for all LGBTQ union members, LGBTQ-identified workers, and their allies. We recognize that all workers should experience employment security, fair promotions, and benefits regardless of race, religion, age, ability, sexual orientation, or gender expression/identity; and

WHEREAS, it is one of P@W’s duties to help eliminate discrimination and harassment in the workplace and support the rights of our fellow brothers and sisters. One of the biggest targets of such mistreatment in the United States remains the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) community; and

WHEREAS, the labor movement has become one of the strongest supporters of LGBTQ equality, and although our movement has been far from perfect in its history, it stands as one of the few key players left in fighting discriminatory legislation and hostile workplaces through lobbying and contract negotiations; and

WHEREAS, today, many of the LGBTQ population live in states that do not prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender expression/identity; and

WHEREAS, LGBTQ union members are twice as likely to receive survivor benefits for domestic partners than non-union members of their community. Union members are also only able to be fired with just cause and often have access to grievance procedures and arbitration, like every other union worker; and

WHEREAS, the rights that LGBTQ workers gain due to their union membership may provide some solace and workplace improvements, but many challenges still remain. Despite recent progress in visibility and legal protections, LGBTQ Americans, particularly Black trans women and other queer people of color, are more likely to be victims of sexual violence than any other community and are more likely to be victims of hate crime than any other minority group; and

WHEREAS, LGBTQ people also experience worse physical and mental health outcomes and face unique health challenges compared to their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts. LGBTQ individuals face major barriers when trying to access health services due to discrimination and cost-related hurdles, which causes even more harm considering they are three times more likely to suffer from a mental health condition;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, P@W adamantly condemns all attacks – politically, physically, and psychologically, on LGBTQ individuals in the workplace, in government, and in our communities; and

THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, P@W members and chapters will continue to push for state and federal legislation barring workplace, employment, and housing discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression; and

THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, P@W will advocate for LGBTQ members of their unions to have a stronger voice in their workplaces and to have accommodations and policies that work for them. We will also push for LGBTQ friendly, and particularly trans-inclusive, healthcare that is safe and affordable for all, including accessible mental health treatment.

THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, P@W will fight any and all deceptive “religious freedom” laws that allow discrimination against LGBTQ individuals wither it is in regards to bathroom access, adoption, health and pension benefits, or any other right awarded to every American; and

THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, P@W will call upon law enforcement officials to vigorously prosecute perpetrators of hate crimes and will work with other labor and civil and human rights organizations and groups such as P@W through the AFL-CIO to counteract hate propaganda. We also call upon all of our union brothers and sisters to speak out against any LGBTQ harassment in our workplaces; and

THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, P@W will commit to reaching out to LGBTQ workers and will strive to organize them. We will, however, be their supporters and their keepers whether they are union members or not-yet union members; and

THEREFORE, BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, P@W strongly urges its chapters, NEB, and members to become and remain unapologetically involved in struggles to defend and expand the rights of the LGBTQ community.

Submitted by Francis Nichols III, DC-Baltimore Chapter
Approved August 25, 2018

WHEREAS, the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act of 2014 required that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), along with State and public water systems (PWS), notify and provide information to homes and communities once the EPA receives drinking water data that indicates a household has drinking water levels above the EPA’s lead action level (0.015 mg/L); and

WHEREAS, rather than enforce this responsibility, current EPA leadership has chosen to rewrite the regulations to return older, less rigorous oversight, publishing this intent in the FEDERAL REGSITER (FR) 6/27/2017; and

WHEREAS, such callous disregard for the health and learning effects of even low levels of lead in the blood demonstrates a lack of understanding or concern for youth and pregnant women, particularly in communities of color and lower socio-economic standing; and

WHEREAS, there are approximately 98,000 public schools and 500,000 child care facilities not regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). These unregulated schools and child care facilities may or may not be conducting voluntary drinking water testing;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, Pride at Work (P@W) members demand that their federal legislators support and fully fund the standards and enforcement of both the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN) as written in 2014, through letters, phone calls, and personal visits; and

THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, P@W chapters will rally for public programs that distribute water and nutrition to the areas affected by high lead levels; and

THEREFORE, BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, P@W will work with other unions and constituency groups within the AFL-CIO to demand that schools and child care centers be included in community water supply testing and remediation plans in order to resolve problems quickly and effectively.

Submitted by Francis Nichols III, DC-Baltimore Chapter
Approved August 25, 2018

WHEREAS, the current administration has proposed deep cuts to key civil rights office budgets, the withdrawal of numerous important civil and human rights policies, and the appointment of officials who appear bent on retreating from statutory civil and human rights agency priorities; and

WHEREAS, extending equal opportunity in education, employment, and housing; protecting the right to vote; reducing hate violence and racial disparities in the criminal justice system; preventing discrimination in healthcare; and advancing economic security are not only legal obligations that our administration must meet, but serve as a testament to what America stands for.

WHEREAS, the ideals of fairness and equity for all require the vigorous enforcement of these laws, not as an option nor as subject to political whim.

WHEREAS, the proposed elimination of the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and the virtual defunding of its Women’s Bureau, the end of the environmental justice program at the Environmental Protection Agency, and threats of drastic staff cutbacks in the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, all signal a significant rollback of civil rights enforcement;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Pride at Work (P@W) calls upon the current administration to reverse these disturbing trends and to demonstrate a far greater commitment to the civil and human rights of all people in this country and to the federal laws created to protect them.

Submitted by Francis Nichols III, DC-Baltimore Chapter
Approved August 25, 2018

WHEREAS, it is a paramount duty of the labor movement to ensure that all of our members and their communities have access to public services, including restrooms; and

WHEREAS, safe access to public services is neither a luxury nor a special right; and

WHEREAS, gender-segregated restrooms impede the ability of some of the our union members, their families, as well as community members to access public restrooms by creating uncomfortable and unsafe spaces; and

WHEREAS, gender-segregated restrooms have the potential to be sites of sexual orientation- based intimidation, harassment and assault; and

WHEREAS, gender-neutral restrooms promote diversity and foster an environment that acknowledges, appreciates, respects and creates equal opportunity for our diverse labor family; and

WHEREAS, the labor movement’s policies should uphold the value of inclusion of all its members and a commitment to diversity and non-discrimination; and

WHEREAS, those in the labor family and our communities who have disabilities are not able to bring their differently-gendered attendants into restrooms; and

WHEREAS, those accompanying differently-gendered children would benefit from those facilities; and

WHEREAS, Pride at Work, as well as other national and state unions, have created gender- neutral restrooms for their respective conventions and in their offices; and

WHEREAS, all labor-used, rented or owned facilities do not currently have gender-neutral restrooms;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the labor movement, through leadership by Pride at Work and its chapters, help bring the labor movement and the communities we serve and live in, into full compliance with providing gender neutral restrooms for all.

Submitted by James Larson, Eastern New York Chapter
Approved August 25, 2018

WHEREAS, working people find protection and strength in both the solidarity of their fellow union members and the strength of the language of their collective bargaining agreement; and

WHEREAS, in most states in the country, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer working people are only protected from discrimination in the workplace by their contract and not by state law; and

WHEREAS, unions and the labor movement have provided historically discriminated-against groups, such as women, people of color; trades people, labors, equality in the job by demanding fair and equal wages, benefits, and terms of employment; and

WHEREAS, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer union members have greater access to health care and retirement security; and

WHEREAS, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer working people belong in their union and the labor movement must make room at the table for them; and

WHEREAS, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer working people are sticking with their unions as anti-union groups, billionaires, and the government tries to break the voice of working people;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that Pride at Work and its chapters advocate, agitate, and educate while working toward providing our national, state-wide, and locals inclusive anti- discrimination language and trans-inclusive health insurance language and information for union contracts;

THEREFORE, BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that Pride at Work and its chapters conduct surveys of unions large and small to help ensure that anti-discrimination language and trans-inclusive health insurance programs are included in any contract that a union negotiates from this day forward.

Submitted by James Larson, Eastern New York Chapter
Approved August 25, 2018

A resolution to oppose the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court

WHEREAS, Congress and the White House are both controlled by anti-worker forces which are hostile to the rights of the LGBT community, women, immigrants, organized labor, persons of color and the otherwise disenfranchised and powerless;

WHEREAS, Americans look to the Courts to safeguard our rights, our liberties and the ability of those who are out of power to participate in our society on an equal basis;

WHEREAS, the President has nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to fill the current vacancy left by Justice Anthony Kennedy on the United States Supreme Court;

WHEREAS, Justice Kennedy was often a swing vote on the US Supreme Court and his replacement with a more conservative justice, as Judge Kavanaugh promises to be, will endanger the right of LGBT Americans to participate in our society on an equal, nondiscriminatory basis, the ability of higher education institutions to diversify through the use of limited affirmative action, the right to choose, and many other rights we take for granted;

WHEREAS, the current, conservative US Supreme Court has demonstrated its hostility to organized labor and the right of public sector workers to bind together to affect their terms and conditions of employment by deciding, in Janus v. AFSCME, that the rights of workers who want to reap the benefits of a labor agreement without paying for the services they receive are more important than the freedom of association rights of the majority of their public sector bargaining units, and a Court with an even more conservative majority will accelerate the erosion of rights of public sector employees;

WHEREAS, Judge Brett Kavanaugh considers himself an originalist in the vein of former Supreme Court Justice Antoni Scalia, a Justice who was an outspoken foe of LGBTQ rights, women’s rights, immigrant rights, and voting rights; and

WHEREAS, Judge Brett Kavanaugh has dangerous views on issues of executive power that pose a risk to the ability of the American public, Congress and the Courts to hold executive branch employees accountable and that promises to politicize administrative hearings;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that Pride at Work encourage all members to request their union and local union members to contact their United States Senators and urge them to vote NO on the appointment of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court.

Submitted by Doug Boney, IATSE

On June 27, 2018, a narrow five-justice Supreme Court majority, emboldened by a stolen seat, overturned four decades of common-sense precedent in Janus v. AFSCME.

It was the latest misguided action by the most corporate-friendly Court in American history.

Unions are required by law to represent and negotiate on behalf of all workers in a bargaining unit, regardless of whether they are dues-paying members.

For 41 years, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of requiring public sector non-members to pay fair share fees to cover the costs of their representation.

Now workers who contribute nothing will still receive all the benefits of a union contract.

On paper, the plaintiff was one man in Illinois. But in reality, the case was brought by a dark web of corporations and wealthy donors dead set on destroying the freedom of working people to join together in unions and bargain for a better life.

The Court’s use of free speech to justify their radical judicial activism is particularly disturbing. In her dissent, Justice Elana Kagan said: “…the majority’s road runs long. And at every stop are black-robed rulers overriding citizens’ choices. The First Amendment was meant for better things. It was meant not to undermine but to protect democratic governance—including over the role of public-sector unions.”

Janus was not just an attack on workers’ rights. It was an assault on the LGBTQ community. As Miriam Frank and Jared Odessky wrote in the New York Times: “Through collective bargaining agreements with employers, union activists were pioneers of nondiscrimination protections, domestic partner benefits and transgender-inclusive health care coverage that became models for other contracts as well as public policy.”

With unions serving as the first and often only line of defense—especially in the majority of states that still allow anti-LGBTQ employment discrimination—Frank and Odessky say Janus “will have immediate and lasting implications for the livelihoods of queer people.”

Pride at Work condemns Janus in the strongest possible terms and will continue to educate members, especially LGBTQ members, about this case and the unjust burden in puts on public sector unions. But make no mistake, working people will rise above this decision. The corporate narrative of the labor movement’s downfall is being dismantled every single day.

More than 260,000 new members joined unions in 2017, three quarters of them under the age of 35. Labor unions’ popularity has skyrocketed to 61 percent, the highest mark in 15 years. And new research from MIT shows half of all non-union workers would vote to join a union—a 50 percent increase over previous surveys.

LGBTQ workers know firsthand the power of union membership. In the wake of Janus, Pride at Work is committed to organizing and mobilizing like never before.

Submitted by Tim Schlittner, Co-President of Pride at Work with additions by James Larson, Eastern New York Chapter
Approved August 25, 2018

WHEREAS, we stand in solidarity with all persons around the world who cherish democracy, and we are compelled to speak about the very real threats to democracy in America today; and

WHEREAS, according to the Journal of Democracy, two-thirds of millennials believe it is not essential to live in a democracy. The source of this despair is the failure of politicians over a generation to use the tools of democratic government to help make working people’s lives batter. Instead, our politics has for decades marched relentlessly toward helping make the rich richer and powerful corporations and Wall Street more and more powerful; and

WHEREAS, we are defining a program and concrete action plans designed to define a working people’s agenda that will hold politicians accountable and restore working people’s confidence in our democracy; and

WHEREAS, we must build solidarity and confront those who would divide us. Our doors must be open to all who work in America; and

WHEREAS, we must utterly reject calls for division among working people and efforts to exclude any part of the working class from the labor movement; and

WHEREAS, we must stand up against hate and scapegoating wherever it appears in our nation. We seek a nation where we value each other and a labor movement that defends the dignity of all people; and

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we will stand against racism, homophobia, transphobia, islamophobia, sexism, or bigotry and any kind of hatred and every form of politics that seeks to divide working people; and

THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we will stand for the idea that every person is of equal dignity – that we are a country ruled by the principle of one person, one vote; not one dollar, one vote; and

THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we utterly oppose fascism and reject the idea that those who fight fascism are the same as those who raise the swastika and put on the white hood. There is no moral equivalence between the men and women who fill our military graveyards and the armies of hate they defeated.

THEREFORE, BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that we will remove from elected office anyone who threatens our democracy, and we call upon every person who holds elected office and who seeks to hold elected office to affirm these principles.

Submitted by Francis Nichols III, DC-Baltimore Chapter

Approved August 25, 2018

WHEREAS, Pride at Work and its chapters recognize that our movement is strongest when we act in solidarity and firmly support the reality that “an injury to one is an injury to all”; and

WHEREAS, members of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York have created the “Count Me In” campaign to energize the entire labor movement in support of the Trades in their battles with those particular segments of the New York City development community who are looking to break the Trades and to reverse decades of progress of moving working men and women safely into the middle class; and

WHEREAS, the Building Trades and Organized Labor have long been a pathway to the middle class for the working men and women in New York and around our nation and the Trades have worked for many years in partnership with the Edward J. Malloy Construction Skills program, Non-Traditional Employment for Women, and Helmets to Hardhats to expand building trades career opportunities to minorities, women, and veterans, among others; and

WHEREAS, the “Count Me In” campaign is a key component of keeping those opportunities and careers alive for these traditionally underserved communities; and

WHEREAS, the “Count Me In” campaign is springing up in major cities, such as Boston, Chicago, and Los Angeles, among others around these United States; and

WHEREAS, corporate interests that do not respect project labor agreements or labor history attempt to break unions, while taking huge amounts of taxpayer money in the form of tax abatements and subsidies; and

WHEREAS, this is an attempt, much like the Janus court case, to “defund and defang” trades unions from providing safe workplaces and fair pay and benefits; and

WHEREAS, the safety record of the non-union construction sites in the City of New York and around the nation is a dismal and unacceptable record of death and injury; and

WHEREAS, “Count Me In” is central in not only producing the finest construction projects, but in keeping the men and women who build them safe and alive;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Pride at Work and its chapters fully supports our trades labor family and the “Count Me In” program in full solidarity.

Submitted by James Larson, Eastern New York Chapter of Pride at Work
Approved August 25, 2018

WHEREAS, 2018 is the 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King’s Poor People’s March on Washington and was a 1968 effort to gain economic justice for poor people in the United States; and

WHEREAS, the same concerns brought forth by Dr. Martin Luther King are still relevant in the present day, his work is still not done; and

WHEREAS, there are 15 million more poor people living in the United States today than 50 years ago with more and more the working poor; and

WHEREAS, more than one in every five children live in poverty today; and WHEREAS, 15 percent of the elderly population 65 and over live in poverty; and

WHEREAS, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, and queer (LGBTQ) people live in poverty because of discrimination and the lack of laws that protect them in their search for employment, housing, credit, and accommodation, and

WHEREAS, there are efforts around the country to require those receiving Medicaid to work, and that according to a 2013 Kaiser Family Foundation report, 48 percent of total US Medicaid recipients are persons under 18 years of age; and

WHEREAS, the current federal administration and legislative branch are determined to continue to destroy the Affordable Care Act which provides essential medical coverage to many children and their families; and

WHEREAS the work done by LGBTQ and allies on the Poor People’s campaign, especially the work of Barbara Smith, of Albany, New York, a nationally known activist, to make the Poor People’s Campaign more welcoming and open to LGBTQ people; and

WHEREAS LGBTQ and allied members of the Poor People’s Campaign, especially including the work of Barbara Smith, influenced the New York State and National Poor People’s Campaign to bring LGBTQ people and concerns into the consciences of the Poor People’s Campaign and its members and to show the intersectionality of all working people no matter who they love; and

WHEREAS LGBTQ members of the Poor People’s Campaign forged new alliances and friendship with groups and people who would not have historically seen LGBTQ people as allies or concerned members of their communities;

WHEREAS, equal protection under the law is non-negotiable; and

WHEREAS, there is a National Poor People’s Campaign planned to begin May 13, 2018 with events being scheduled for 40 consecutive days and then continuing for 2018 and 2019 in individual states;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Pride at Work and its chapters endorse the Poor People’s Campaign and work to bring LGBTQ members and concerns to the table as we work together; and

THEREFORE BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that Pride at Work and its chapter participate in local actions and share activities with its national, state-wide, and local unions so that they too might participate in the 50th Anniversary of the Poor People’s Campaign.

Submitted by James Larson, Eastern New York Chapter
Approved August 25, 2018

WHEREAS, religious freedom is enshrined in our Constitution as a fundamental right for those who practice any faith or no faith at all;

WHEREAS, our Constitution, as the highest law in the country, provides the best and only protections of our religious freedom necessary;

WHEREAS, LGBTQ people are the top targets for hate crimes in the country with a more than double chance of being a victim of bias-related violence than any other group;

WHEREAS, the opponents of LGBTQ equality have tried for decades to use religion as a weapon and a wedge to stall the march toward progress for our community and to create a license to discriminate;

WHEREAS, so-called “Religious Freedom” laws are actually cynical attempts to specifically target LGBTQ people for discrimination by disguising discrimination as religious liberty;

WHEREAS, almost all of these attempts to exempt religious beliefs from nondiscrimination laws have broad consequences far beyond the LGBTQ community, including women, people of color, and those of differing faiths;

WHEREAS, the broad reach of these laws allow women to be denied birth control or emergency contraception, people of differing faiths to not be served in a restaurant or bar, or for government officials to refuse services to LGBTQ people or any other group their “sincerely held religious belief” would suggest;

WHEREAS, in North Carolina the interests of corporations and bigots aligned in the form of HB2, which created religious exemptions to nondiscrimination laws and also preempted municipal governments from passing pro-worker legislation, clearly demonstrating that enemies of working people are also enemies of LGBTQ people;

WHEREAS, Jeff Session’s Department of Justice created a Religious Liberty Task Force, with the sole purposely seemingly to license discrimination against LGBTQ people, women, and religious minorities;

WHEREAS, the core principles of the labor movement require us to combat discrimination anywhere it is found and to stand in solidarity with those who are demanding dignity and respect at work, in our unions, or in the public square;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that Pride at Work opposes and will fight all attempts to carve out special exemptions from our nondiscrimination laws based on religious belief;

THEREFORE, BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that Pride at Work urges all of our union family to reject and fight these cynical attempts to divide us and promote discrimination;

Submitted by Shane Larson, Pride at Work Co-Vice President and CWA Legislative Director

WHEREAS, two gay men who work at Boston Logan Airport recently filed complaints of anti-gay discrimination after enduring months of homophobic harassment on the job; and

WHEREAS, their employer, Flight Services & Systems (FSS), took no known action to ensure the harassment stopped; and

WHEREAS, the Massachusetts Port Authority, which runs Logan Airport, prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender expression and sexual orientation; and

WHEREAS, the Massachusetts Port Authority’s operating agreement with FSS forbids discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation; and

WHEREAS, Pride at Work opposes all forms of bias and discrimination on the job and supports full equality without restrictions or barriers for LGBTQIA+ individuals;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Pride at Work calls on the Massachusetts Port Authority to investigate the conduct of FSS management in this matter, and take appropriate action to ensure that no operator at Logan can discriminate with impunity.

Submitted by Marie Elder, Boston Chapter
Approved August 25, 2108

In 2018, a record number of jurisdictions are taking aim at banning conversion therapy practices that adversely affect our nation’s working families. Conversion Therapy is an attempt to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity through tactics as obvious as hypnosis or as subtle as inducing shame.

Almost 50 bills have been introduced in 24 states targeting Conversion Therapy, which has been discredited by dozens of medical associations and child-welfare institutions. Just recently, 11 of
them including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Counseling Association released a joint letter urging states to make such bills a priority.

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry finds no evidence to support the application of any “therapeutic intervention” operating under the premise that a specific sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or gender expression is pathological. Furthermore, based on the scientific evidence, the AACAP asserts that such “conversion therapies” (or other interventions imposed with the intent of promoting a particular sexual orientation and/or gender as a preferred outcome) lack scientific credibility and clinical utility. Additionally, there is evidence that such interventions are harmful. As a result, “conversion therapies” should not be part of any behavioral health treatment of children, adolescents or adults.

Nine years ago, The American Psychological Association issued a resolution on the Appropriate Affirmative Responses to Sexual Orientation Distress and Change Efforts stating, “We advise parents, guardians, young people, and their families to avoid sexual orientation change efforts that portray homosexuality as a mental illness or developmental disorder and to seek psychotherapy, social support, and educational services that provide accurate information on sexual orientation and sexuality, increase family and school support, and reduce rejection of sexual minority youth.”

Momentum has been building in legislative sessions this year for the bans, which prohibit state-licensed mental health professionals from practicing conversion therapy for anyone under 18.

On March 28, 2018, Washington State became the 11th state plus the District of Columbia to enact a law or regulations. California was the first in 2012. And on April 4, Maryland lawmakers passed a ban that Gov. Larry Hogan has indicated he will eventually sign. Many bills across the nation and in several jurisdictions are still in play.

Local jurisdictions have taken up the cause as well. More than 40 municipal bans and resolutions condemning the practice are on the books in cities and counties — in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Wisconsin, Washington, Arizona and New York — seven of which have already passed in 2018.

WHEREAS, The Gay Conversion Therapy issue is not about Republicans or Democrats nor conservatives or liberals. It’s not about religious values. It’s about basic human decency. It’s about the fact that it’s impossible to fix something that was never broken in the first place; and

WHEREAS, A national community of professionals have determined that there is no scientifically valid evidence that supports the practice of attempting to prevent a person from being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or gender nonconforming; and

WHEREAS, Such professionals have determined that there is no evidence that conversion therapy is effective or that an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity can be changed by conversion therapy; and

WHEREAS, Such professionals have also determined that the potential risks of conversion therapy are not only ineffective, but also that it is substantially dangerous to an individual’s mental and physical well- being. It has also been shown to contribute to depression, self-harm, low self-esteem, family rejection, and suicide; and

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, Pride at Work opposes all portrayals of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth and adults as mentally ill due to their sexual orientation and supports the dissemination of accurate information about sexual orientation, and mental health, and appropriate interventions in order to counteract bias that is based in ignorance or unfounded beliefs about sexual orientation; and

THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED it is in the best interest of our nation and our unions to make sure that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and gender nonconforming people and their working families are not defrauded by persons seeking to profit by offering this harmful and wholly ineffective therapy; and

THEREFORE, BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED we as LGBTQ working people, resolve to protect the physical and psychological well-being of all people and their working families, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth, against exposure to serious harms caused by sexual orientation change efforts.

Submitted by Bess Watts, Rochester-Fingerlakes Chapter & Pride at Work VP of Organizing

WHEREAS, America’s immigration system is badly broken, and President Trump’s disgraceful enforcement policies are an affront to our nation’s values.

WHEREAS, instead of ensuring the safety of workers doing dangerous and difficult jobs, the Trump administration is raiding our workplaces, arresting our members and letting corporations get off scot free.

WHEREAS, rejecting a sacred American tradition of welcoming refugees and asylum seekers, the Trump administration has instead turned away those fleeing violence, shamefully imprisoning aspiring Americans for profit and tearing them from their children.

WHEREAS, the Department of Justice’s changes to the asylum system may be a death sentence for persecuted LGBTQ Central Americans. According to a 2017 Amnesty International report, attacks on LGBTQ people are rampant in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, with 264 murders in Honduras alone between 2009 and July 2017.

WHEREAS, Roxana Hernández, a transgender Honduran migrant who traveled to the United States in a migrant caravan through Mexico, recently died while in the custody of American immigration officials following a five-day detention in what’s known by immigrant rights groups as the “ice box.”

WHERAS, instead of expanding rights and protections for those who do the hard work of our nation, the Trump administration is directly attacking a million working people with Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, needlessly stripping them of their rights and making them once again subject to exploitation, deportation and separation from their loved ones.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, Pride at Work opposes immigration enforcement tactics that breed fear and chill the exercise of basic workplace rights. We reject family and child detention, the “zero tolerance” policy at the border and any limits on due process for vulnerable populations. We insist that the way to raise wages and standards is by empowering workers and creating pathways to citizenship for all those whose labor allows our country to prosper.

THEREFORE BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, we remain committed to the ongoing struggle to build an immigration system that lifts people up and ensures that we are all able to live and work with dignity, regardless of where we were born. We know that real security can only be achieved through humane approaches, and we will continue to demand justice for our communities, our workforce, our unions and all those seeking refuge here.

Submitted by Tim Schlittner, Co-President of Pride at Work
Approved August 25, 2018

WHEREAS, transgender people face discrimination in healthcare, with 1/3 of respondents to the U.S. Transgender Survey reporting negative experiences with a healthcare provider related to being transgender; and

WHEREAS, transgender people have unique needs in healthcare that many healthcare providers, including union insurance plans, are currently not meeting; and

WHEREAS, the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, as well as the American Federation of Teachers, the Service Employees International Union, UNITE HERE, and many other unions have passed resolutions or issued statements in support of transgender inclusive healthcare and against the discrimination of transgender patients; and

WHEREAS, 94 percent of private sector union members have access to employer-provided healthcare because of their union-negotiated benefits, compared to 67% of non-union employees; and

WHEREAS, 13% of respondents to the US Transgender Survey identified as union members, compared to a 10.7% union membership rate in the US overall in 2017; and

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that Pride at Work will advocate for transgender inclusive healthcare, life insurance, and mental health services as part of its mission to hold the labor movement accountable to its LGBTQ members, putting pressure on those union health plans that do not cover transgender- related care, and lifting up those unions that do; and

THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Pride at Work will seek to add gender identity and expression definitions to the nondiscrimination clause of all union contracts, alongside categories like race, gender, and sexual orientation; and

THEREFORE, BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that Pride at Work will continue to hold trainings and education conferences to promote the need for transgender inclusive care to all union leaders and members across the federation.

Submitted by Donna Cartwright, NewsGuild-CWA

WHEREAS, Massachusetts voters will be voting in the first ever statewide ballot imitative to rescind current rights for transgender people to have protected access to public accommodations, including restaurants, bathrooms, stores, sports facilities, and other public spaces; and

WHEREAS, Pride at Work exists to defend the rights of all LGBTQIA workers and community; and

WHEREAS, in Houston, Texas, transgender people lost the right of protected access to public accommodations in a city-wide ballot initiative; and

WHEREAS, all transgender union members, workers, and community would face great personal suffering if Massachusetts voters vote “No” on Ballot Question 3; and

WHEREAS, the result of this ballot initiative will have long-lasting national significance for the rights of all union members and workers; and

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Pride at Work urges all union internationals, and state and local unions, endorse transgender rights and support Freedom for All Massachusetts’ Vote Yes Campaign to defend transgender access to public accommodations and provide all possible material support to this campaign.

Submitted by Gerry Scoppettuolo, Boston Chapter
Approved August 25, 2018