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REPORTS FROM THE FRONT: A Labor Day Look at Marriage Equality

Freedom to Marry
Roey Thorpe
September 13, 2006

There's no question that there is a growing embrace of marriage equality in the workplace! Two conferences held this month make that crystal clear: the Pride at Work national conference and the annual Out and Equal conference.

Pride at Work is the voice in the labor movement for equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers, and Out and Equal brings together employees of major corporations who are pushing for fairness in the workplace.

The Pride at Work conference was held this past weekend, and I had the opportunity to be part of a day-long institute on marriage equality as part of the conference. It was a lively and informative day, organized by Pride at Work founder Desma Holcomb and Pride at Work marriage organizer Sandra Telep.

The highlight of the day was a panel of three non-gay allies, each talking about the personal journey that had made them a public advocate for marriage equality. Jesse Rios, executive director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, Rev. Art Cribbs from the United Church of Christ, and Connie Cordovilla, a longtime activist with the the American Federation of Teachers all made impassioned presentations that drew connections between marriage equality and other forms of injustice.

The refrain of the day was that "injustice toward one is injustice toward all," and that the labor movement needed to work for and alongside other social justice movements.

With advocates like these, it's understandable that so many national, state, and local labor organizations have fully endorsed marriage equality. It was an honor to be in the presence of these amazing advocates and to recognize the contributions that the labor movement has made to raising awareness of marriage equality as a social justice issue!