Labor Gets Its First Openly Gay National Union President

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Workers Independent News

Organized labor has its first openly gay leader. Jesse Russell reports:

New York based United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten has been elected to succeed Edward McElroy as President of the American Federation of Teachers. The election makes Weingarten the first openly gay labor leader to be president of a national labor union. Weingarten served for 10 years as UFT head and under her tenure she negotiated a 43 percent increase in educator salaries and helped organize 28,000 home childcare workers.


Read more: http://www.laborradio.org/node/8992

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This story is not copyrighted and may be shared. But give WIN the credit it should get anyway. :-)

[TonyClifton]

1. I don't get it

"Gay people" want to be accepted as a normal part of the fabric so why does this headline even have to mention anything about this person's sexual orientation or lifestyle choice?

[Chloroplast]

2. good question.

[pnwmom]

6. It's news just like having the first non-white President will be news.

Or just like having the first woman President would be news.

"Even though" non-whites and women want to be accepted as part of the "normal fabric" of society.

[PageOneQ]

3. Because...

Because gay and lesbian teens and young adults need positive role models. Too many young gays never see out people. It's not only good, it's necessary.

[mitchtv]

4. "Normal" doesn't mean "Invisible"

It is news BTW

[pnwmom]

5. Because there is so much phobia about gay people being teachers.

This is GREAT news. Good for the union.

[BobTheSubgenius]

7. That's the problem...or a symptom of it.

I thought the same thing when I read the headline. This won't be truly "good" news until it's no news at all.

[LeftyMom]

8. What's up with the scare quotes on gay people?

And since when was being gay a lifestyle choice?

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

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[JerseygirlCT]

13. Only to right-wingers

Then it's a "lifestyle" and if you're gay you have an "agenda".

[Name removed]

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[Bill McBlueState]

12. great

When they're trying to fan the flames of division, people like Chris Matthews often talk about gay people and union members as though they're completely non-overlapping sets. "OMG! How are the Democrats going to support gay rights without turning off blue-collar union members?" I've seen it on DU even.

Hopefully this will draw attention to the fact that gay people can be in labor unions just like straight people.

[Better Believe It]

14. The First Openly Gay International Union Officer: Nancy Wohlforth

Nancy Wohlforth
National Secretary-Treasurer
Office and Professional Employees International Union

Nancy Wohlforth is a lifetime activist who has marched, organized and been arrested for civil, human and worker rights since the age of 16 when she went down South to do voter registration. She has always been a passionate and tireless advocate for social and economic justice.

Nancy's career has been in the labor movement. She was elected VP of Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 3 in 1983 and Business Manager/Secretary Treasurer in 1986 and negotiated sexual orientation non-discrimination clauses into all of Local 3’s collective bargaining agreements (which now include gender identity and expression). As the leader of Local 3, she negotiated domestic partner health and pension benefits for both same sex and opposite sex partners.

Nancy serves as the National Co-President of Pride at Work. In 1980, she was a founding member of the Lesbian and Gay Labor Alliance, the forerunner of Pride at Work. She was a primary mover in seeing that PAW received official status as a constituency group of the AFL-CIO in October 1997.

In 1996, Nancy was elected to both the executive board of the San Francisco Labor Council and as a vice president of the California State Federation of Labor. She continues to service as a State Federation of Labor Vice President.

She was elected as International Vice President at the 2001 OPEIU Convention. Nancy was elected to the position of International Secretary-Treasurer of OPEIU in January 2003 and was unanimously re-elected and the June 2004 International Convention. She is the first openly-gay International officer in any union.

In July 2005, Wohlforth was elected to the Executive Council of the AFL-CIO.

Nancy Wohlforth
National Secretary-Treasurer
Office and Professional Employees International Union



http://www.opeiu.org/AboutOPEIU/OurNationalLeaders/NancyWohlforth/tabid/122/Default.aspx