Via The NY Transfer News Service ~ All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
 
                UAW Comes Out for LesBiGay Rights
 
At its national convention June 14-18, the Auto Workers union
voted to amend its constitution to protect lesbian and gay
members from discrimination. The "Objects" section now reads "to
unite workers regardless of religion, race, creed, color, sex,
political affiliation, nationality, age, handicap, marital status
or sexual orientation." The long-overdue addition of "marital
status or sexual orientation" passed without serious opposition.
 
More than one local submitted a resolution supporting this
progressive change. UAW Local 1981, the National Writers Union,
which recently affiliated with the UAW, played a big role.
Speaking in support of the resolution, Local 1981 president
Jonathan Tasini urged convention delegates to make lesbian and
gay workers' rights an issue at the bargaining table.
 
The membership of Local 122 from Chrysler's Twinsburg, Ohio,
plant, had voted unanimously to submit a resolution against
anti-lesbian/gay discrimination to the convention.
 
"We submitted a similar resolution three years ago, but it was
killed without being read on the floor. That it passed this time
demonstrates the growing visibility and strength of lesbians and
gays in the labor movement," Martha Grevatt, an active lesbian
member who wrote Local 122's resolution, told Workers World.
 
"The real fight will be to get the Big Three to include
protection for us in the next contract. Basically, management
feels that it's their company and they should be allowed to
discriminate, whether it's racist, sexist, ageist, anti-gay or in
favor of their own relatives. They like to keep us divided."
 
Other examples of the auto companies' hatred of lesbian and gay
workers include their advertising policies. All three have
repeatedly caved in to pressure from the right-wing "American
Family Association" and pulled ads from gay-positive programming
on TV while they place ads in bigoted publications. Chrysler even
used derogatory terms in one of its ads.
 
Now the corporations have to deal with the fact that the UAW,
which still has almost a million members, has taken a stand in
solidarity with lesbian, gay and bisexual workers.
 
                               -30-
 
(Copyright Workers World Service: Permission to reprint granted
if source is cited. For more info contact Workers World,46 W. 21
St., New York, NY 10010; "workers@cdp!igc.org".)
 
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