|
|
Lambda joins brief, holding that defunding unions would undermine work protections
From a press release
2018-01-21
|
|
This article shared 860 times since Sun Jan 21, 2018
|
|
( New York, January 19, 2018 ) — Lambda Legal, joined by the Human Rights Campaign, National Center for Lesbian Rights, National LGBTQ Task Force, and PFLAG, today filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees ( AFSCME ), a challenge to unions' ability to collect "fair share" fees from workers who, while not themselves part of the union, nevertheless benefit from union representation. The lawsuit is widely recognized as an effort to defund and cripple public-sector unions. Because of the crucial role unions have played in establishing anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people and others, Lambda Legal is urging the Court to preserve the unions' right to collect these fees.
"Forty years ago, the Supreme Court recognized quite rightly that denying public sector unions the ability to collect fees from all employees who benefitted from their collective bargaining representation and negotiations would fundamentally undermine working people's ability to join together in strong unions to speak up for themselves, their families and their communities," said Lambda Legal Employment Fairness Project Director Greg Nevins. "Eliminating fair share fees would choke off funding for and devastate public-sector unions, who have been trailblazers in securing workplace protections for LGBT employees and extending health and pension benefits to their families."
As explained in Lambda Legal's brief, public sector unions provided among the earliest protections anywhere in the U.S. to LGBT people. Resolutions and contracts including nondiscrimination clauses for sexual orientation date back to the early 1970s. Unions were also in the vanguard of negotiating the extension of health and pension benefits to same-sex partners of public employees and their families, and conducted important public health education campaigns.
"Through our work in SEIU's International Lavender Caucus we've been able to work with other LGBTIQ members around the country to fight back against discriminatory practices at worksites and ensure that LGBTIQ employees are treated with dignity and respect at work," said Thomas Perine, an IT Specialist and member of SEIU Local 1000 from Sacramento, Calif.
"Roughly one million LGBT people work in the public sector, and seven million in the private sector, and studies show this population consistently faces higher levels of discrimination," Nevins added. "They can earn as much as 30 percent less then similarly situated heterosexual employees, and one-fourth of LGBT public sector employees report experiencing discrimination because of their sexual orientation. Public-sector unions are an absolutely essential bulwark against that discrimination for our community, and many others. Without the funding provided through fair share fees, that bulwark would crumble."
Oral argument in Janus v. AFSCME is scheduled for February 26, 2018. Read Lambda Legal's amicus brief here:www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/legal-docs/us_janus_20180119_amicus-brief .
Lambda Legal was proud to partner with pro-bono co-counsel Steven E. Fineman, Laura B. Heiman, Jason F. Lichtman and Katherine I. McBride of Lieff Cabraser Heiman & Bernstein, LLP, on this brief. Lambda Legal lawyers on the brief were Greg Nevins, Natalie Nardecchia and Sharon McGowan. |
|
|
|
This article shared 860 times since Sun Jan 21, 2018
|
ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE |
---|
|
| | WORLD Leaked messages, Panama action, author dies at 32, Japan court, out athletes 2024-03-15 Hundreds of messages from an internal chat board for an international group of transgender health professionals were leaked in a report and framed as revealing serious health risks associated with gender-affirming care, including cancer, according to ...
|
| | NATIONAL Missouri measure, HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, judge, Texas schools 2024-03-15 In Missouri, a newly proposed law could charge teachers and counselors with a felony and require them to register as sex offenders if they're found guilty of supporting transgender students who are socially transitioning, CNN noted. ...
|
| | College athletes sue NCAA over transgender policies 2024-03-15 Former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines was among a group of college athletes who filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on March 14, accusing it of violating their Title IX rights by allowing trans swimmer Lia Thomas ...
|
| | LGBTQ+ people attacked by mobs in Greece 2024-03-14 Just weeks after a landmark law granted same-sex couples in Greece the right to marry, nearly 200 people dressed in black chased a transgender couple through the town square in Thessaloniki, the country's "second city" and ...
|
| | Florida settles 'Don't Say Gay' lawsuit 2024-03-11 On March 11, the state of Florida settled a multi-year lawsuit against the so-called "Don't Say Gay" law, which limits how LGBTQ+ topics can be discussed and presented in schools, The Hill reported. The settlement agreement ...
|
| | "X" gender marker now available on Illinois driver's licenses and state ID cards 2024-03-11 After several years of preparation, the Illinois Secretary of State's office is has been making the X gender designation available for non-binary residents and others not utilizing the M or F designations, since the beginning of ...
|
| | WORLD Israeli reservist, man detained, Ghana bill, medic denied honor 2024-03-08 Hanania Ben-Shimonthe gay Israel Defense Forces reservist who was wounded as he killed one of the terrorists in the attack at the A-Za'ayem checkpoint near Ma'ale Adumim recentlypublished a post in which he pleaded that his ...
|
| | Court blocks Texas attorney general's demand for PFLAG data 2024-03-01 From a press release: AUSTIN, Texas—Travis County District Court Judge Maria Cantú Hexel on March 1 blocked the latest effort by the Texas Attorney General's Office to persecute Texas families with transgender youth, temporarily haltin ...
|
| | WORLD Canadian politics, Australian murders, Finnish study, 'Anatomy' 2024-03-01 Canadian conservatives are divided over an anti-trans policy that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith handed down in her province, The Guardian reported. The policy includes a ban on hormonal treatment, puberty ...
|
| | NATIONAL School items, HIV/AIDS activist dies, Nex Benedict, inclusive parade 2024-03-01 In a new survey, the Pew Research Center asked public K-12 teachers, teens and the U.S. public about the ongoing scrutiny placed on classroom curricula, mainly regarding race and LGBTQ+ identities, ABC News noted. Among other ...
|
| | Appeals court allows Ind. ban on gender-affirming care for minors 2024-03-01 On Feb. 27, a federal appeals court in Chicago allowed Indiana's ban on gender-affirming care to go into effect, removing a temporary injunction that U.S. District Court Judge James Patrick Hanlon issued last year, ABC News ...
|
| | Ghana parliament passes harsh anti-LGBTQ+ bill 2024-02-29 On Feb. 28, Ghana's parliament unanimously passed a controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill that has been condemned globally. The so-called Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Act, which was introduced in the parliament in 2021, not only criminalizes ...
|
| | PASSAGES Trailblazing judge and attorney Patricia M. Logue passes away 2024-02-26 The Honorable Patricia Logue ("Pat" to her friends, Trish" to her family) was a brilliant lawyer, a trailblazing jurist and a hero to the LGBTQ community. Pat's legacy includes numerous landmark cases she litigated over her ...
|
| | 911 calls, videos show cascade of failures in Nex Benedict's death, GLAAD responds 2024-02-24 "It is haunting to hear Nex Benedict, in their own words, describe how school and state leaders failed, at every level of leadership, to keep them safe from bullying and harm. Less than 24 hours later, ...
|
| | Federal jury finds man guilty of killing trans woman in landmark case 2024-02-24 In a groundbreaking case, a federal jury in Columbia, South Carolina found Daqua Lameek Ritter guilty of killing transgender woman Dime Doe after deliberating for almost four hours, The State reported. It is the first time ...
| |
|
|