WHEREAS Pride At Work has endeavored to establish itself as the preeminent workplace rights advocacy group for all LGBT workers; and

WHEREAS PAW believes that the right of workers to join and/or form unions is a fundamental civil right that needs to be strengthened through legislative, educational, and direct action programs; and

WHEREAS Pride At Work will continue to encourage the organizing efforts of all workers, to assist and support union negotiators to achieve compensation and benefit equity on behalf of LGBT workers, and to promote laws and regulations to enhance the rights and expand the protections for our members and our community; and

WHEREAS Pride At Work recognizes that institutional homophobia, and other negative “isms” are still ingrained in too many of our affiliated union organizations; and

WHEREAS many of our potential coalition partners in the LGBT community have succumbed to classist notions of equal rights and are either unaware or unconcerned about the rights and needs of workers; and

WHEREAS these vital movements – the Labor Movement and the LGBT Movement – can and should be encouraged by PAW’s unique vision for social and economic justice; and

WHEREAS Pride At Work has relied almost exclusively on the generosity of the AFL-CIO and its affiliated unions and on PAW membership dues to fund our outreach, organizing, and educational programs; and

WHEREAS to implement our ambitious agenda PAW needs to increase and therefore diversify its funding base;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the officers and staff of Pride At Work will immediately begin seeking new sources of funding from major donors other then for-profit corporations to provide the financial resources needed to fully realize our mission statement and strategic goals.

Submitted by: PAW Executive Committee