Labor & Employment Law

Trumka?s Message to LBGT Teens: It Gets Better

By James Parks

The union movement has long been in the forefront of the fight against discrimination in the workplace and throughout society. Spurred by the reports of bullying and suicides of gay students in schools, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka joined President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other leaders who are filming videos for the It Gets Better Campaign.

Begun by columnist Dan Savage, the It Gets Better campaign supports and encourages lesbian, bisexual, gay and transsexual (LBGT) teens to ?hang in there? because they are not alone. It lets them know others are working to ensure that things will get better for them.

In his video (above), Trumka, who comes from an East European immigrant family, relates how hard it was growing up in the coal mine country of southwest Pennsylvania.  When he was kid, he says, there were ugly names for everyone.  His older relatives spoke with thick accents and were routinely given the hardest and most dangerous work in the mines. Their pay often was shorted because they did not understand the language and were afraid to speak out.

But Trumka emphasizes, ?it got better for me and we need to make it better for everyone.?

What happens to LBGT kids and young adults is wrong. When any group or individual is discriminated against based on identity it is destructive of who we are as a people.

While news stories have focused on discrimination in schools, Trumka reminds us that it is legal in 23 states to fire someone from a job based simply on sexual orientation. He says:

We need to confront discrimination head-on and not just wait…If we all stand firm and we all work together and look out for each other, it will get better.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on October 25, 2010 (boomark / email).