American Labor Movement Calls for Full Inclusion of LGBT Workers
NEWS UPDATE SEPT. 22, 2009
FROM A PRIDE AT WORK PRESS RELEASE, SEPT. 22, 2009
http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=22951AFL-CIO Convention Passes Historic Resolution on Diversity
PITTSBURGH, PA -- If there were any doubts that the American labor movement stands strongly in favor of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender ( LGBT ) rights, they were set to rest the minute former United Mine Workers president Richard L. Trumka took the podium last Wednesday as the newly elected President of the AFL-CIO. Speaking at the labor federation's quadrennial national convention, the feisty third-generation coal miner issued a clear call for the full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender voices in the labor movement and American life.
"What does labor want?" Trumka asked the 3,000 elected delegates and guests gathered in Pittsburgh's David L. Lawrence Convention Center. "We want a nation where it doesn't matter what the color of your skin is...or what sex or religion you are...or whether you're gay or straight or what country your family's from because here, in America, we believe everyone ought to have their chance to step into the winner's circle."
