LGBTQ PROTECTIONS ON THE WAY OUT?

It seems to us that there is a lot of money to be made betting that the new Supreme Court will obliterate the employment protections only recently won by the LGBTQ folks we all work alongside. A bunch of folks will leap with joy at the thought of returning to what they fondly call the “good old days” when it was OK to discriminate, harass, torment, and otherwise make work miserable for co-workers with a different sexual orientation. Moreover, once the new Court gives them the go-ahead at the job site, housing discrimination and the old Defense of Marriage Act proponents will fire up their efforts as well to also reap benefits from the President’s justice program. We are on the brink of an anti-LGBTQ feeding frenzy.

In normal times, federal employees could count on their democratically elected union leaders to be a big part of the effort to fight back on behalf of not just targeted individuals but the larger social values. But, these are not normal times.  The President has done his best to make sure union leaders are tied up fighting for their own survival. Kiko and Abbott have them pinned down on the law while the FSIP raids all the protections unions fought for and won over 40 years one contract at a time. The President and the folks behind him surely have good reason to be very proud of what these political appointees are doing to cover his flanks just as the appointees themselves are likely looking forward to boasting to their children about what they did to crush any deviations from what some consider to be the one true American way.

We write this not to further discourage union leaders or the LGBTQ community, but to encourage them to recognize how desperately they need one another now. They, along with the other currently targeted groups, should be looking hard for a way to work together as one, not just alongside one another. They are in the same fight against the same people. Fortunately, those people are likely counting on the targeted groups to fight the same way they always have, namely, alongside one another in a loose way.  Changing that is what will outfox, out-maneuver, and oust the haters.

Check out the following article for a great neutral update on how this issue will soon be before the court. “Brett Kavanaugh: How Will LGBTQ-Based Antidiscrimination Policies Fare?”

 

About AdminUN

FEDSMILL staff has over 40 years of federal sector labor relations experience on the union as well as management side of the table and even some time as a neutral.
This entry was posted in Gender/Sex and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.