I requested and obtained permission from the author to present in its entirety this piece about labor and trans-workers collaborating on workplace issues. I thought the author was spot on with his analysis and reporting and devilishly handsome to boot. (Or, is that handsomely devilish?). If you have trouble reading the article in this format, here's a link to it in its natural setting. Please enjoy.
As Christopher German-Jones noted above, there are obstacles ahead:
But, as Seattle Mayor Ed Murray might put it, the mountain to traverse is now less Everest-like and more Rainier-ish. In the last couple of months, the Obama Administration made it official: You cannot discriminate in the workplace against trans-workers.
The Washington Post noted that trans-workers ...
... got a big boost from Eric Holder. The outgoing attorney general said in a memo that it is the Obama administration’s position that workplace discrimination on the basis of gender identity is prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars discrimination on the basis of sex.
“I have determined that the best reading of Title VII’ s prohibition of sex discrimination is that it encompasses discrimination based on gender identity, including transgender status,” Holder wrote.
...
... Harper Jean Toblin, director of policy for the Center for Transgender Equality, called it a “clear, strong statement” indicating that “this is now the legal position of the federal government, period.”
IF YOU ENCOUNTER DISCRIMINATION: Contact Lambda Legal at 212-809-8585, 120 Wall Street, 19th Floor, New York, NY 10005-3919. If you feel you have experienced discrimination, call their Legal Help Desk toll-free at 866-542-8336 or go to www.lambdalegal.org/help.
These unions—some of the largest in the country—have transgender nondiscrimination clauses in some of their contracts:
• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
• American Federation of Teachers
• Office and Professional Employees International Union
• Service Employees International Union
• United Auto Workers
• UNITE HERE
• United Food and Commercial Workers International Union