Transitioning On The Job:

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Transitioning On The Job

• Pragmatics and Perspective From a MTF Trade
  Unionist

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How my union helped me transition on the job
after 18 years as a male.  

• I met Lenny my union representative at the
  flag pole before work on July 25, 1996 . I asked
  him if he had five minutes for me. He said, Of
  course, anything for you. I showed him a
  professional picture portfolio of myself.

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How my union helped me !

• He asked, What is this... are you a
  transvestite or drag queen or what?
• I said, Lenny, I have a serious problem, I am
  hoping you can help me. The pictures you see is
  how I live when I am not at work and how you see
  me now is how I look when I am working. It is too
  hard now to go back and forth. Can you help me? 

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• Lenny said, I have to go inside and take care
  of a few things. I will be with you in 30
  minutes.
• So thirty minutes went by and I met with him
  he asked, How serious are you about this? I
  said, I am very serious. I live as Lisa and work
  as you see me now.  

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• Lenny called Labor Relations, I have a
  situation here perhaps you can help me with.
  Lenny and I went over to the Labor Relations
  office. We sat down and Lenny made a presentation
  that included my picture portfolio.

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• At the conclusion of Lennys presentation, the
  person from Labor Relations said to me, you are
  a very valuable employee. We are not going to
  fire you. How soon can you transition?  
• I thought I had gone deaf and replied, I can
  be back in an hour and a half."
• The manager said, Thats not quite what I had
  in mind. 

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• A phone call was made to the Director of
  Operations and the three of us met and sat
  comfortably with the Labor Relations
  Representative explaining what was going
• to transpire on my behalf. The Director said,
  We ought to call Steve, his manager, and explain
  what is going on.  

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• Steve my manager was called up to the
  Directors office and when he walked in we were
  all sitting waiting for him. He remarked, Isnt
  this a comfortable gathering! Steve sat down
  and I handed him the picture portfolio.

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• He looked through the pictures and said, This
  is you? I said, Yes it is. He swallowed hard
  and then had a big grin on his face and said,
  What size shoe do you wear? I told him and we
  all had a good chuckle.  

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• It was determined then and there I would take
  off three days the next week while the colleagues
  I worked with were presented with sensitivity
  training as to what was going to happen with me
  transitioning on the job. Five diversity/sensitivi
  ty training sessions were scheduled with the
  people I would interface with.

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• Many of my colleagues were shocked and amazed.
  At the conclusion of each session, Labor
  Relations said, We are behind Lisa 100 on this
  
• Anyone teasing or hassling her will be
  seriously disciplined and or terminated.

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• I had my hair done Monday morning and got all
  of the documentation changed over at the
  Department of Motor Vehicles, Social Security,
  new bank accounts, auto registration and auto
  insurance.

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• I reported to work on Thursday of the first
  week in August, 1996 as Lisa for the first time.
  Lenny my union representative met me in the Labor
  Relations Office. He did not know or recognize
  me. I had a new photo I.D. taken, and signed new
  insurance forms for my name change. Lenny and I
  walked to my work area and peoples jaws dropped.

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• I suddenly became the talk of the plant
  gossip is a choice morsel that goes down to the
  inner most parts of the bowels. Many comments
  were filtering back to me from colleagues I
  worked
• with.

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• It has a white suit on today,
• and it is wearing the hair in a
• French Twist!

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• I must have used the same bathroom Lisa used
  because the toilet seat was left up!
• (the cleaning crew had just gone through the
  ladies room)

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• Lisa may not be a woman,
• and
• he still looks pretty good

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• One day I wore a jean skirt and tank top shirt
  to work. Labor Relations received a complaint
  about me being scantily clothed and I should be
  sent home to change.

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• Another colleague said,
• When are you going to take off the Halloween
  costume?

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• The jokes and snide comments about me on the
  studio lot were most humiliating, and hearing
  this from my fellow colleagues caused me great
  distress.

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• I was constantly being referred to as he or
  sir to my face.
• People took great joy at publicly humiliating
  me at every opportunity.

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• My colleagues complained loudly to my manager
  about not wanting to work with me on projects.

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• Many folks laughed, smirked in my face and
  snickered at me in the hallways at work.
  Complete strangers greeted me in the hallway and
  said, Good morning sir.
• Still it was going better than I thought it
  would.

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• A team of five people was set up by Labor
  Relations and Human Resources to help me with my
  transition. When I shared some of my war
  stories with them, they would reply, What did
  you expect? suck it up you can not change how
  people think about you. This was the turning
  point where I realized another approach had to be
  taken.

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• The insults and comments were starting to
  get to me. My work was getting sabotaged. I
  thought some of these folks could get me fired. I
  had no shop steward in my work area that I could
  ask for help.

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• I decided to became a shop steward after one
  of my colleagues suggested I would make a great
  shop steward. After some thought, I took the
  petition around to be signed. I thought surely
  the union would be there for me as one of their
  own.

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• My first shop stewards meeting was very
  cordial. People were pleasant.
• My fellow shop stewards tolerating someone
  like me, was completely new and foreign to them.
  As time progressed, and they came to know me, I
  became acceptable to them as an equal.

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• My vast broadcast experience proved invaluable
  in technical conversations. Never once has there
  been an insulting comment towards me about my
  personhood in the past seven years.

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• Two years ago in the fall of 2002, I received
  an invitation to attend the leadership School for
  the Pride At Work Los Angeles Chapter, held at
  the University of California, Los Angeles campus.

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• Much to my surprise, the Executive Board and
  President approved my fees to attend this weekend
  of leadership training. There were about 40
  people attending this two day conference. I was
  the only transgender person attending the Pride
  At Work Leadership School, and I might add, the
  only one wearing a dress!

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• My local union president shortly after
  attending this leadership school asked me to
  coordinate the Members Assistance Program for
  the local.
• For many years, the Communications Workers of
  America (CWA) District 9, has had a Member's
  Assistance Program (MAP).

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• MAP is a union based program aimed towards
  providing union members help when life's problems
  cause an adverse affect on their job performance
  and productivity.

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• CWA has a vital interest in maintaining a
  safe, hostile free, healthy workplace for our
  members, free from the influence of violence,
  sexual harassment, discrimination, drugs and
  alcohol.

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• I took on this new responsibility most
  earnestly and enrolled in many continuing
  educational classes in labor studies. This
  continuing education gave me a pretty good
  understanding of the challenges most unions face
  supporting their members.

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• In June of 2004, I decided to run for Vice
  President of my local NABET CWA Local 53
  (National Association of Broadcast Employees and
  Technicians, Communications Workers of America,
  Local 53). In this race for Vice President, I
  ran against the incumbent and one other
  gentleman.

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• My recent labor studies training gave me a
  good understanding of the issues our local faced.
  I ran on the issues, and much to my disbelief,
  there were no public slanders on my personhood as
  a transgender woman.
• I made it to the second run off election
  receiving many votes. The ballots were counted
  on August 31, 2004. I am now the Vice President
  elect of NABET CWA Local 53. I take office on
  October 1, 2004

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• I am an active part of Pride At Work Los
  Angeles Chapter on the Steering Committee, and I
  am their web designer. I have received unfailing
  support and much encouragement for my abilities
  and the person I am as a transgender woman.
• I passionately believe in unions because of
  the nondiscrimination and total support I have
  received over the past eight years.

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• Pride At Work is affiliated as the newest
  constituency group of the AFL-CIO (American
  Federation of Labor Congress of Industrial
  Organizations).
• The purpose of Pride At Work is to mobilize
  mutual support between the organized Labor
  Movement and the LGBT Community around organizing
  for social and economic justice.

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• We seek full equality for LGBT Workers in their
  workplaces and unions.
• We work towards creating a Labor Movement that
  cherishes diversity, encourages openness, and
  ensures safety dignity.
• We aim to educate the LBGT Community about the
  benefits of union membership for LGBT working
  people, and to build support and solidarity for
  the union movement in the LGBT community.

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• We intend to do this in the spirit of the union
  movement's historic motto, "An Injury to One is
  An Injury to All." We oppose all forms of
  discrimination on the job and in our unions based
  on sex, gender identity, sexual orientation,
  race, national or ethnic origin, age, disability,
  religion or political views.

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• The AFL-CIO strongly urges Congress to pass the
  "Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)." This
  important civil rights legislation will promote
  equal opportunity for all Americans by
  prohibiting employment discrimination based on
  sexual orientation.

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• Since there is no federal law which prohibits
  employment discrimination on the basis of sexual
  orientation, it is currently legal to fire
  working men and women in 39 states because of
  their sexual orientation. As a result, working
  people are now being denied employment on the
  basis of something that has no relationship to
  their ability to perform their work.

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• The AFL-CIO strongly believes that discrimination
  based on sexual orientation is wrong and
  un-American. We recognize the contributions which
  gay and lesbian workers have made to our country
  and our labor movement. We steadfastly join
  hundreds of civil rights organizations, religious
  institutions, and responsible employers in urging
  Congress to enact the Employment
  Non-Discrimination Act

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• "I support the Employment Non-Discrimination
  Act because I believe in the fundamental values
  of fairness and equality -- values that are at
  the very heart and soul of the creed that unites
  us as a nation.
• President Bill Clinton

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• "I support the Employment Non-Discrimination
  Act because I believe that freedom and justice
  cannot be parceled our in pieces to suit
  political convenience. As my husband, Martin
  Luther King Jr. said, Injustice anywhere is a
  threat to justice everywhere.' Like Martin, I
  don't believe you can stand for freedom for one
  group of people and deny it to others.
• Coretta Scott King

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• "We protest any actions taken against a worker
  solely on the basis of sexual orientation and we
  support legislation to guarantee the civil rights
  of all persons without regard to sexual
  orientation in public and private employment.
  When a judge rules that an employee is not
  wrongfully terminated if he is being fired for
  being homosexual,' then it is time to change the
  law.
• Richard Womack, Director of Civil Rights

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• "PAW advocates the view that persons identified
  as transgender and transsexual be included in
  ENDA, and that all efforts by the labor community
  and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and
  transgender/transsexual community be brought to
  bear to demand an end to discrimination based on
  gender identity or gender expression."
• Excerpt from PAW resolution - 3rd Biennial

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ENDA the Workplace

• As our nation enters a new century when our
  survival depends upon the contributions of every
  American, we must understand that merit and hard
  work -- not bias and stereotypes -- are what
  counts in job opportunities and the workplace

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What would ENDA do?

• ENDA would prohibit discrimination on the basis
  of an individual's sexual orientation in hiring,
  firing, promotions, compensations, and other
  employment decisions. Currently, there is no
  federal law protecting individuals from this kind
  of discrimination and today in America, millions
  of citizens can be fired simply for being gay or
  lesbian, no matter how well they perform their
  job.

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ENDA the American Public

• Workplace non-discrimination based on sexual
  orientation has been widely embraced by the
  American public. Poll after poll demonstrates
  that ENDA enjoys the support of over two-thirds
  of the American public, including a solid
  majority of Republican voters.

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ENDA Talking Points

• ENDA extends federal employment discrimination
  protections currently provided based on race,
  religion, sex, national origin, age and
  disability to sexual orientation. ENDA extends
  fair employment practices -- not special rights
  -- to lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and
  heterosexuals.
• ENDA prohibits public and private employers,
  employment agencies, and labor unions from using
  an individual's sexual orientation as the basis
  for employment decisions, such as hiring, firing,
  promotion, or compensation.

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ENDA Talking Points

• ENDA provides for the same procedures, and
  similar, but somewhat more limited, remedies as
  are permitted under Title VII and the Americans
  with Disabilities Act (ADA).
• ENDA applies to Congress, with the same
  procedures as provided by the Congressional
  Accountability Act of 1995, and presidential
  employees, with the same procedures as provided
  under the Presidential and Executive Office
  Accountability Act of 1996. ENDA does not cover
  small businesses with fewer than 15 employees.

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ENDA Talking Points

• ENDA does not cover religious organizations,
  including educational institutions substantially
  controlled or supported by religious
  organizations. The bill only covers employees
  whose duties pertain solely to a religious
  organization's activities which generate profits
  deemed taxable by the Internal Revenue Service.
  
• ENDA does not apply to the uniformed members of
  the armed forces and thus does not affect current
  law on lesbians and gay men in the military.

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ENDA Talking Points

• ENDA does not allow for quotas or preferential
  treatment based on the sexual orientation of the
  individual. ENDA does not allow a "disparate
  impact" claim such as is available under Title
  VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII).
  Therefore, an employer is not required to justify
  a neutral practice that may have a statistically
  disparate impact on sexual orientation.
• ENDA does not allow the Equal Employment
  Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to collect
  statistics on sexual orientation or compel
  employers to collect such statistics

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ENDA Talking Points

• ENDA does not require an employer to provide
  benefits for the same-sex partner of an employee.
  
• ENDA does not apply retroactively.

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ENDA Where you live?

• Only 11 states and 1 district prohibit workplace
  discrimination on the basis of "sexual
  orientation". They are
•  California (1992)Connecticut (1991)Hawaii
  (1991) Massachusetts (1989)Minnesota (1993)Nevada
  (1999) New Hampshire (1997)New Jersey (1992)Rhode
  Island(1995) Vermont (1992)Wisconsin
  (1982)District of Columbia (1977)In the 39 other
  states it is still legal for employers to fire or
  punish employees based on their sexual
  orientation, despite polls that suggest most
  Americans believe a qualified and hard working
  person should not lose their job just because
  they are gay or lesbian.

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Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Workers
in the U.S.

• Pride At Work is committed to the principle of
  equality. We believe that working men and women,
  regardless of race, national origin, gender,
  disability, sexual orientation, gender identity
  or gender expression, religion or age should have
  the opportunity to live and work in an
  environment free of physical intimidation,
  prejudice, retaliation, harassment and bias.

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LGBT Workers and Workplace Discrimination

• Federal law does not prohibit employment
  discrimination on the basis of sexual
  orientation, and currently only 14 states and
  approximately 151 local jurisdictions have
  enacted laws forbidding it. In the remaining 36
  states, it remains legal to fire a worker because
  of their real or perceived sexual orientation.
  There are still 46 states in which it is legal to
  fire someone based on their real or perceived
  gender identity or expression. The following
  states have laws banning discrimination on the
  basis of sexual orientation (SO), and four states
  have laws banning gender identity (GI)
  discrimination.'

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LGBT Workers and Workplace Discrimination

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LGBT Workers and Workplace Discrimination

• 77 percent of Fortune 500 companies include
  sexual orientation in their nondiscrimination
  policies. Included in that list are
  union-organized workplaces such as American
  Airlines, General Motors, and the New York Times.
  Only 39 of the Fortune 500 companies have
  non-discrimination policies that include gender
  identity and expression."

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Sample Union Contract Policy Language

• "The City and the Union agree to not discriminate
  against any employee and to promote equal
  employment opportunity for all without regard to
  political affiliation or opinion, age, race,
  color, national origin, ancestry, religious
  creed, marital status, physical disability,
  mental condition, sex, sexual orientation, gender
  expression, gender identity, pregnancy,
  pregnancy-related condition, or any other
  non-merit factor."
• WEHOME, AFSCME Local 3339
• (West Hollywood, CA)

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Pride At Work Says "Not Without Our Trans
Brothers and Sisters!"

• Transgender Inclusion Resolution Passed
• Pride At Work, AFL-CIO Press Release5/8/2003
• Pride At Work has been increasingly involved in
  advocating for the rights of transgender workers
  and union members. We see firsthand how often
  transgender workers face ignorance, harassment,
  and discrimination on the job and in their
  communities.

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Pride At Work Says "Not Without Our Trans
Brothers and Sisters!"

• Paradoxically perhaps, at the same time, many
  local and state level ordinances have recently
  been passed to protect the transgender community,
  New Mexico and Covington, Kentucky were among the
  latest. We believe the entire LGBT community must
  be committed to transgender inclusion at all
  levels.Regarding federal legislation, some
  civil rights activists still question the timing
  ("transgender can be added later") or say its
  not necessary ("gender or sexual orientation,
  real or perceived will be enough"). Based upon
  our experience and the advice of leading
  transgender legal experts, we disagree with both
  of these opinions

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Pride At Work Says "Not Without Our Trans
Brothers and Sisters!"

• We believe the time for inclusion is NOW. Indeed,
  we believe that today, when progressive
  legislation is not likely to pass, is right the
  right time to do the educational work necessary
  to build support for transgender inclusion in all
  civil rights legislation. Therefore, on May 5,
  2003 the Executive Committee of Pride At Work
  passed the following resolution

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Pride At Work Says "Not Without Our Trans
Brothers and Sisters!"

• Resolution To Support Only Transgender Inclusive
  Legislation
• "Pride At Work, AFL-CIO stands firmly for an
  inclusive lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender
  (LGBT) movement representing the entire LGBT
  community. For that reason, Pride At Work,
  AFL-CIO will only endorse legislation that
  explicitly includes transgender people."

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• For Immediate ReleaseSaturday, Aug. 7, 2004
• HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN ADOPTS POLICY
  SUPPORTING MODERNIZED WORKPLACE LEGISLATION
• We are strongest as a community when we are
  united and that's why we need the strongest and
  most unifying protections,' said Cheryl Jacques,
  president of the Human Rights Campaign.

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• WASHINGTON   The Human Rights Campaign Board
  of Directors today adopted a policy to support a
  modernized version of the Employment
  Non-Discrimination Act.
• The updated language includes gender identity
  and expression as well as sexual orientation to
  ensure that every gay, lesbian, bisexual and
  transgender American is protected from employment
  discrimination.
• "Passage of ENDA is a brass ring for our
  community and we're making it clear that it must
  have the strongest teeth possible to protect
  everyone," said Tim Boggs, co-chair of the HRC
  Board.
• The Board of Directors voted to adopt the
  following resolution "The Human Rights Campaign
  adopts a policy that we will only support ENDA if
  it is inclusive of sexual orientation and gender
  identity and expression."

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• HRC took this step to ensure that ENDA will
  provide real protection to incidents of workplace
  discrimination. Attorneys who specialize in civil
  rights laws believe that ENDA without gender
  identity and expression explicitly stated may not
  adequately address discrimination against gay,
  lesbian and bisexual Americans who are often
  singled out because they're viewed as not
  conforming to gender norms.
• "I am very proud that HRC continues to lead
  on issues of importance to everyone in our
  community, including on workplace
  discrimination," said Gwen Baba, co-chair of the
  HRC Board of Directors.

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• "We are strongest as a community when we are
  united and that's why we need the strongest and
  most unifying protections," said Cheryl Jacques,
  president of HRC. "The staff of the Human Rights
  Campaign will continue to work tirelessly to
  enact this comprehensive ENDA."

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• ENDA was introduced in 1994 and barely lost a
  Senate vote in 1996.
• The Human Rights Campaign is the largest
  national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
  political organization with members throughout
  the country. It effectively lobbies Congress,
  provides campaign support and educates the public
  to ensure that LGBT Americans can be open, honest
  and safe at home, at work and in the community.

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NEW HRC GUIDE HELPS EMPLOYERS

• For Immediate ReleaseFriday, June 18, 2004
• NEW HRC GUIDE HELPS EMPLOYERS CREATE FAIR
  POLICIES FOR TRANSGENDER STAFF
• This tool will help managers ensure that
  transgender employees are valued for the job they
  do, not devalued by discrimination, said HRC
  President Cheryl Jacques.

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NEW HRC GUIDE HELPS EMPLOYERS

• WASHINGTON  Responding to the need for resources
  to help employers create fair policies for their
  transgender staff, the Human Rights Campaign
  Foundations WorkNet project today released a new
  guide, Transgender Issues in the Workplace A
  Tool for Managers.

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NEW HRC GUIDE HELPS EMPLOYERS

• This tool will help managers ensure that
  transgender employees are valued for the job they
  do, not devalued by discrimination, said HRC
  President Cheryl Jacques. We hope employers will
  use this guide to create work environments where
  all employees are able to devote their skills and
  energy to the work at hand, rather than worrying
  about being harassed or fired because of who they
  are.

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NEW HRC GUIDE HELPS EMPLOYERS

• The guide covers basic terminology, how to manage
  as an employee transitions from one sex to
  another, and laws and court cases regarding
  workplace protections based on gender identity.
  In addition, the guide presents a sound business
  case for implementing policies aimed at ending
  discrimination against transgender employees. The
  32-page document is based on interviews with 20
  representatives of corporations that have
  implemented policies to address transgender
  issues in their workplaces, as well as employer
  and legislative data that HRC WorkNet has
  collected for years.

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NEW HRC GUIDE HELPS EMPLOYERS

• Transgender Issues in the Workplace also covers
  answers to frequently asked questions and
  contains a directory of publications, consultants
  and organizations that address transgender issues
  in the workplace.

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NEW HRC GUIDE HELPS EMPLOYERS

• Human resources professionals will welcome the
  information this new tool provides, said HRC
  Education Director Kim I. Mills, who oversees HRC
  WorkNet. Employers spend significant amounts of
  their annual budgets to attract and retain
  talented people. These programs are important,
  but sometimes employers overlook the simplest
  step they can take to enhance their ability to
  recruit and retain the best employees that is,
  ensuring equality in the workplace.

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NEW HRC GUIDE HELPS EMPLOYERS

• Transgender Issues in the Workplace A Tool for
  Managers may be downloaded from HRC WorkNet.
• The Human Rights Campaign is the largest national
  lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender political
  organization with members throughout the
  country. It effectively lobbies Congress,
  provides campaign support and educates the public
  to ensure that LGBT Americans can be open, honest
  and safe at home, at work and in the community.

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• AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL