Community voices: Solidarity with LGBTQ+ workers must extend beyond June

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I am proud to be a queer woman working and volunteering in the labor movement, serving both on the United Steelworkers LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee and on the Pride at Work Pennsylvania board. One of my top priorities is ensuring marginalized people are not only seen and heard but also uplifted in their workplaces and communities.

In a city such as Pittsburgh, where unions’ traditional decision-making methods and policies are not always progressive, this isn’t always an easy task.

The Biden administration sent me a ray of hope in May when it announced it was creating five workforce hubs around the United States to help bolster the economy. Pittsburgh was lucky enough to make the list. And just last month, nonprofit Partner4Work was named the anchor institution for this initiative.

Each of these hubs is meant to work to expand apprenticeship programs, develop career and technical education programs, and provide support services to help under-represented students and workers succeed.

My first thought upon hearing this news was simple: “Sounds great!” My second thought was more measured: “Who will actually benefit?”

Because even as the workers who are propelling our movement forward are young, Black and queer, as reported in The Nation, too often the labor movement leaves these same workers behind.

Just look at the Starbucks workers who have organized more than 300 locations across the United States. According to a recent SEIU survey, a whopping 63% of the company’s workers identify as LGBTQ+, and during the last week of June, during Pride Month, workers at more than 150 stores chose to strike due to the company’s treatment of queer and trans workers, Pink News reported.

Pride Month included dozens of unions displaying their support for LGBTQ+ workers by releasing statements, sharing social graphics and marching in Pride parades. This public solidarity is important, but if unions truly want to make a difference for LGBTQ+ and other marginalized workers, their commitment must extend beyond June.

This new workforce development initiative by the White House is the perfect opportunity for unions to step beyond mere ally-ship and become true partners to LGBTQ+ people.

LGBTQ+ workers face many challenges, and economic struggles are only the beginning. Aside from being more likely to have household earnings below the poverty line, LGBTQ+ people are also more likely than non-LGBTQ+ people to be physically and sexually harassed on the job, according to the Center for American Progress.

For workers in this community who are disabled, Black or transgender, these challenges and barriers are heightened.

Remedying this injustice requires taking chances and doing things differently. Labor unions and elected officials in the Pittsburgh area can do this by taking the lead from a new and exciting initiative launched by Pride at Work and the New York City Council’s LGBTQIA+ Caucus.

On Oct. 7, 2022, the council announced that it was able to obtain $500,000 for nonprofits and city agencies to recruit LGBTQ talent, provide training and connect individuals to union jobs. Just last week at the Pride at Work Celebrating Solidarity event in Washington, D.C., I heard the announcement that the council received another year of funding to get the project off the ground.

People in the room broke into applause and even shed some tears at this news for a good reason: Those of us who are queer and have good-paying union jobs know just how life-changing it can be.

It was also heartwarming to learn that one union, the Ironworkers, had never partnered with Pride at Work before this NYC effort. Its leaders were approached with a problem and offered a solution, and they decided to take a chance and do things differently.

Lots of people are going to benefit from this collaboration, and the LGBTQ+ community is going to need more of this kind of solidarity in order to obtain the quality of life we all deserve.

Unions, nonprofits, employers and elected officials have an incredible opportunity to make this happen for queer workers in our city and all of Allegheny County. The White House workforce development program can be the catalyst to true financial freedom for LGBTQ+ people in the area — if, and only if, we do it right.

We’re always told to think global and act local, and this is a great place to start. It is clear that relying on the Supreme Court and Congress to liberate marginalized communities won’t get us where we need to be. A widescale, labor-wide effort like this, however, can ensure tangible progress for hundreds, if not thousands, of vulnerable workers.

The White House program collaborators can partner with local LGBTQ+ organizations that do the everyday grassroots work for young, Black and queer folks and listen to their needs. Unions can engage their current LGBTQ+ members to learn about their experiences prior to getting into the movement as well as what barriers still exist within it.

Of course, this is a two-way effort. Queer workers who are already unionized need to speak out and get even more involved in the movement. We need to vocalize our struggles as well as remind our unions of our contributions. We also need to align with other LGBTQ+ workers who are organizing their workplaces, like our siblings at Starbucks, who have organized more locations in Pittsburgh than in any other city. 

Nothing good ever happens within silos and without hope, and it’s on all of us in the movement to create the wave that will change the tide and make liberation and equality a reality for all workers.