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