LGBT Groups Support Employee Free Choice Act

January 07, 2009

As American workers face the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression, support is growing for the Employee Free Choice Act. Americans understand now more than ever that the Employee Free Choice Act must be a component of any long-term recovery for our economy, because it will give workers more freedom to organize and bargain collectively. Recently, Pride at Work, the AFL-CIO’s LGBT constituency group, announced that a broad coalition of national lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender organizations have announced their support for the Employee Free Choice Act. Among the groups supporting the bill are the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), National Stonewall Democrats and the National Youth Advocacy Coalition. Jeremy Bishop, Executive Director of Pride at Work notes that:

“America’s workers, who are already suffering badly from growing income inequality and declining benefits, badly need legislation that will ensure their right to organize by protecting them from bullying and intimidation by unscrupulous employers. Passage of the Employee Free Choice Act is vital if we are to rebuild middle-class living standards for working people in this country, and LGBT labor is committed to making that happen.”

Jon Hoadley, Executive Director of Stonewall Democrats, makes the point that working men and women and their unions have made a real difference in the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans:

“Because of the efforts of unions, millions of Americans enjoy non-discrimination policies and equitable same-sex benefits at work. Even when our federal and state governments have been slow to act, workers organized through unions have proactively secured equal workplace protections through negotiating efforts.”