A Long Awaited Change: You Can Get Fired for What?!

On Monday, the AFL-CIO added four very important words to their constitution: “gender identity” and “gender expression”. This change adds transgender individuals into the list of groups protected from discrimination in the union.

Groups like the Human Rights Campaign and the National Center for Transgender Equality are applauding the adoption of these new protections. “Labor has really been stepping up, and the AFL-CIO has been stepping up,” said Mara Keisling, executive director at the NCTE.

Keisling told Buzzfeed “One of the things I feel is really interesting about it is that words mean something. And the way this is worded, it really is why we do the antidiscrimination thing.” The amendment is called “Constitutional Amendment 9: Welcoming all Workers into our Movement.” Pride at Work, the LGBT organization within the AFL-CIO noted their excitement in a Facebook post on Sunday. But it wasn’t all celebration from the group; DC-Baltimore Pride is keeping their eye on another resolution that was postponed. Resolution 48, if passed, would commit the AFL-CIO to advocate for transgender inclusive health care

The LGBT community has long suffered discrimination based on their gender and sexual identity. This may have something to do with the fact that there is no federal law explicitly protecting against this discrimination. I’ll repeat that to let it sink in

There is no federal law explicitly protecting LGBT people from being fired for their gender or sexual identity.

A recent bipartisan coalition called Americans for Workplace Opportunity was launched to help pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would make these discriminatory practices indisputably and unmistakably illegal. ENDA was first introduced to congress 19 years ago, and the fact that it hasn’t passed yet is wholly disappointing, but things are looking up. With huge steps forward, like AFL-CIO’s adoption of amendment 9, or the fact that 77% of the population is now in support of the protections, here’s to hoping that this is the year we end legal workplace discrimination for LGBT people and start “welcoming all workers into OUR movement