MARRIAGE EQUALITY HAS ALWAYS BEEN A WORKPLACE RIGHTS ISSUE

NOTHING LESS THAN FULL EQUALITY
Activists from the Rochester labor community, faith groups and the
Civil Rights Front march for passage of a NYS equal marriage
 bill on Aug. 4, 2010.
photo:  Ove Overmyer

Rochester, N.Y.-- For labor activists who support equal marriage rights for their co-workers, the tipping point has finally arrived.

Back in September of 2009 at the CSEA Annual Delegates Meeting in Buffalo, N.Y., several fair-minded CSEA activists introduced a resolution to once and for all ask our own members if they support a bill to end discrimination for same-sex couples. They voted yes. And for the record, the NYS AFL-CIO has been supporting the the NYS Marriage Equality Bill initiative since 2006.

So, the tipping-point came on March 18 when equality advocates found out  that statistically, the arc of justice is bending in their direction.  A poll and a comprehensive study reveals that for the first time ever, a majority of Americans support marriage equality and other workplace benefits for same-sex couples.

The poll, conducted for ABC News and The Washington Post, indicates that 53 percent of Americans support marriage equality for same-sex couples, a 21 percent increase from 2004.

The biggest increases are among Christians, who saw gains among white and Hispanic Catholic Americans and white nonevangelical Protestants. While support from evangelical Protestants increased, especially among younger members, they still overwhelmingly oppose marriage equality and other benefits for same-sex couples.

The poll came on the heels of a study released by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) that indicates, like the poll, that a majority of Catholic Americans support marriage equality and allowing same-sex couples to adopt children, as well as the ability of lesbian and gay military service members to serve openly.


"The study makes clear what we have known for quite some time," said CSEA Monroe County Local 828 president Bess Watts. Watts also serves as the president of the Rochester and Finger Lakes chapter of Pride At Work, AFL-CIO.

Watts told the Voice Reporter, "It has been my experience that people of faith who are driven by a desire for justice are at the forefront of efforts to make our country's marriage laws more equitable, and to extend the legal benefits of civil marriage to same-gender couples and their children."

When the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was signed in 1996, a majority of Americans opposed marriage equality for same-sex couples. Now, with the change in numbers, experts say that not only do more individuals understand the legal struggles that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) workers face, but also, more people now separate religious teachings from societal norms.

To marriage equality supporters, the change in support comes from the fact that people are seeing the difference between the civil and the religious definition of marriage. "I think the significant increase for marriage equality in the religious community is tied to the fact we've flushed out the differences between the civil and the religious parts of marriage," said Watts.

Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of the LGBT Catholic group DignityUSA told Truthout that as LGBT Catholics come out, "more people will see what they are taught is not true [because] the most important indicator of supporting LGBT rights is whether or not someone knows an LGBT person," she said.

And Pride At Work member and marriage activist Anne Tischer agrees with Duddy-Burke. Tischer thinks visibility is key to gaining workplace rights for same-sex couples, domestic partners and their families.


Pride At Work member Anne Tischer
takes to the streets of Rochester in Aug. 2010
 to oppose California's Prop 8 initiative.
photo:  Ove Overmyer

Tischer says, "As Americans hear more about the lives and families of their gay and lesbian neighbors, co-workers, and family members, these personal conversations about why marriage matters and stories of loving and committed couples harmed by the denial of marriage and the safety-net it brings has opened hearts and has opened minds.  It's a dilemma of fairness."

What's on the legislative horizon

Despite the polling results, federal Congressional support for full marriage equality still wanes. Even with the reintroduction of the Respect for Marriage Act, which is viewed as a legislative first step in guaranteeing full marriage equality by repealing DOMA, it is unlikely the bill will see momentum in a GOP House and divided Congress. Many marriage activists believe it's critical to focus this battle in the state legislatures across the nation, and not in the courts.  In a majority of states, a union contract is the only protection that LGBT workers have.  For all workers, the power of standing together as a union is the most effective way to win fair working conditions.

Many labor activists believe that a marriage bill can pass in New York State this legislative session. Tischer, who has been working for several years to end discrimination in the workplace, said this year feels a little bit different than years past. “We feel like we’re developing really good momentum-- there is real energy out there,” she said. “So far, we’ve never had that kind of direct, unequivocal, explicit commitment from key decision-makers before.”

Marriage advocates told The Voice Reporter that they are convinced that a vote in the Senate will happen by the end of the legislative year, if not sooner. The New York State Assembly has passed the bill in the last three straight legislative sessions. Manhattan State Sen. Tom Duane promised a senate bill “within weeks,” and his spokesman confirmed to media sources on Feb. 8 that they’re still working on specific language of the legislation.

Over 350 activists from SEIU, PEF, CSEA, FSW and CWA
cross the Genesee River in downtown Rochester, N.Y. on
Sept. 26, 2010. Workers were marching to advocate
for marriage rights protections for all New Yorkers.  The
march was sponsored by MENY.
photo:  Ove Overmyer

“I think we’re getting really, really close,” added Tischer. “Our most recent trip to talk to lawmakers did not go unnoticed. I think we have their attention. The votes aren’t completely there yet but we are working on it.”

At its core, the push for marriage equality is simply about making the day-to-day lives of same-sex couples and their families manageable and secure. All families deserve the ability to protect themselves with basic legal rights and safeguards such as Social Security, health insurance and unquestioned hospital visitation.

Watts says only marriage can provide families with true equality and has been arguing that this initiative has always been labor's fight. Watts adds, "When we say we advocate for all our members, we mean it.  All means all.  However, this should not diminish our work to include language in our collective bargaining agreements to honor domestic partnerships and other forms of relationship recognition, though limited, which provides important first steps and tangible protections for all our working families."