WHEREAS, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people make up an estimated 10% of the general population and are reflected in all sectors of society, including workplaces and unions; and

WHEREAS, the AFL-CIO has 13 million members, 1 million are lesbian and gay (using a conservative 8% number); and

WHEREAS, LGBT people play integral and contributing roles in Union at all levels from worker to shop stead to union official to state and national leadership positions; and

WHEREAS, LGBT people have a proud history of fighting for economic and social justice for all, not solely for their own rights; and

WHEREAS, LGBT people have suffered discrimination, hatred, and ostracism from Hitler’s Holocaust to violent hate crimes today; and

WHEREAS, 41 states have no provisions to protect Americans from discrimination based on sexual orientation in either the workplace or housing; and

WHEREAS, LGBT people suffer discrimination in the workplace that can be directly addressed by the Labor Movement such as domestic partner benefits, firing simply for being lesbian or gay, etc.; and

WHEREAS, the majority of LGBT workers are unorganized, and organizing them into union should address their specifics needs and concerns, help boost the ranks of organized labor and help the Labor Movement better reflect the true diversity of the American workforce; and

WHEREAS, Pride at Work is the national organization of GLBT union members and their friend, representing over 500 members, 33 unions, and 15 regional chapters; and

WHEREAS, members of P@W have been organizing gay people into unions. fostering understanding between the lesbian and gay community and the Labor Movement and leading the Coors Boycott for 20 years; and

WHEREAS, P@W’s specific goals are to:

1. Work within the Labor Movement to foster better understanding of the needs of lesbian and gay union members;
2. Work within the lesbian and gay community for a better understanding of the union movement, its principles, and its achievements; and
3. Help to organize the vast majority of unorganized lesbian and gay workers into the trade union movement;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that SEIU support affiliate of Pride at Work as a constituency group of the AFL-CIO.