The members of Equality Unites urge leadership to voluntarily recognize the union.
LOS ANGELES — Today, a supermajority of workers at Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, announced the formation of a union, Equality Unites, with the Communications Workers of America (CWA). In a letter sent via email, the staff urged Executive Director Rick Chavez Zbur, who is leaving his post at the end of 2021, and Executive Director-designate Tony Hoang to voluntarily recognize their union, inclusive of all non-Director level employees.
Equality Unites wants to specifically address employee hiring and retention — particularly among employees of color, trans, gender nonconforming and intersex people — salary, raise, and promotion transparency, guidelines around overtime and fair compensation, a healthy culture of feedback, and any decisions that impact their health, safety and lives. The staff at Equality California, which exceeded all expectations and kept the organization afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic, wants to ensure that all employees have a voice as the organization undergoes a change in and restructuring of leadership, as well as a shift in goals and mission.
The Equality Unites organizing committee released the following statement:
“All workers need a union — and workers in the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement are no exception. Today, we are asking for a seat at the table and the support we need to carry out our mission every day. We are proud to work for Equality California, which, for over two decades, has stood shoulder to shoulder with unions just as unions have fought alongside us for LGBTQ+ civil rights and social justice. Equality California needs a union because the values and policies that we fight for on the local, state, and federal levels should be reflected within our own internal policies. To that end, we look forward to being voluntarily recognized so we can begin negotiations that will strengthen our mission, promote equity, and empower all members of our staff. The fight for equality unites all of us.”
Throughout the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement, labor unions have played an important role in advocating for LGBTQ+ Americans. In 2007, Pride at Work — an official constituency of the AFL-CIO — signed onto an amicus brief in support of marriage equality in In re marriage cases. Unions like the Communications Workers of America, California Teachers Association, United Food and Commercial Workers, and more staunchly opposed California Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which sought to prohibit marriage equality. More recently, unions have played a crucial part in advancing protections for LGBTQ+ workers, including the overwhelming 90% of union support for the Equality Act (H.R. 5) and celebration of the historic Supreme Court decision n Bostock, which affirmed that LGBTQ+ workers are protected from discrimination under federal law.
“CWA Local 9003 is proud to welcome our newest bargaining unit, Equality Unites,” said CWA Local 9003 President Marisa Remiski. “We are urging management to voluntarily recognize them and CWA Local 9003 as their Union. We look forward to working together!”
Follow Equality Unites on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to stay up to date on the organizing efforts.
###
Equality Unites is working to make Equality California stronger, more resilient, and more effective by promoting equity and solidarity among employees and across departments. We are dedicated to providing support and clearly establishing a voice for the employees within Equality California.