Think about that for a minute. Thats more than 25 years ago. You think import car companies do the same for their employees?
http://www.working-families.org/newsletter/winter09.htmlIn Defense of Equality:
Unions Stand Up for LGBT Families BY BRANDY DAVIS
In the 2008 election, Californians went to the ballot box in record numbers and cast votes on one of the most expensive and high profile initiatives in the country: Proposition 8, an initiative that would define marriage as between a man and a woman and eliminate the right of same sex couples to marry. Prominently standing in opposition to Proposition 8 were many California labor unions. Labor’s support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) workers also goes beyond the ballot box. Unions across the country are bargaining for contracts that are inclusive of LGBT workers and their families in a critical area: equality in workplace benefits.
With the political climate in flux over same-sex marriage, LGBT families face an uncertain prospect of securing workplace benefits that enable them to keep their jobs and care for their families, including family and sick leave, and health and pension benefits. Only 16 states and the District of Columbia have domestic partnership laws that formerly recognize same-sex relationships. Equal Benefits Ordinances, which require government contractors to provide equal benefits to their LGBT workers, exist in only one state and a handful of localities. LGBT families were not included in the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and only seven states have extended such benefits to unmarried partners in their state family and medical leave laws. Because Internal Revenue Service rules deny domestic partners the same tax benefits as spouses, LGBT workers who do have access to domestic partner benefits face additional tax burdens. According to T Santora, Co-President of Pride At Work, an AFL-CIO constituency group for LGBT workers in the labor movement, “The patchwork of legal protections across the country underscores the reason why a union contract is an LGBT worker’s best friend.”
Domestic Partner Benefits on the Rise
Since workers at the Village Voice in New York City and the United Auto Workers (UAW) first negotiated domestic partner benefits in 1982, a growing number of employers have followed. As of March 2006, 49% of the Fortune 500 offered domestic partner health benefits, compared to 25% in 2000. The trend toward domestic partner benefits is increasing regardless of business size, although the most substantial gains are among large employers. But many public and private sector LGBT workers do not have access to these benefits. In a 2003 study, 48% of LGBT workers identified domestic partner benefits as the most important consideration in a potential job change. And where state and federal laws provide little to no rights, union contracts provide the only protection.
"The patchwork of legal protections across the country underscores the reason why a union contract is an LGBT worker's best friend."
- T Santora, Co-President of Pride At Work
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