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Out at Work Building a Gay-Labor Alliance Kitty Krupat and Patrick McCreery, editors Reviews: |
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$72.00 cloth |
Challenging the gay rights movement and labor unions to join forces in order to advance workplace rights for all. Today in thirty-nine states, employers may legally fire workers simply because they are known or thought to be gay. Clearly, the struggle against workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation has a long way to go. In Out at Work, a distinguished group of prominent gay rights activists, union leaders and members, policymakers, and academics—including U.S. Representative Barney Frank, AFL-CIO president John J. Sweeney, and rights advocate Urvashi Vaid—offers a spirited assessment of the challenges faced by lesbians, gays, and other sexual minorities on the job. Although mainstream gay rights organizations have tended to imagine their community as primarily middle class, an overwhelming number of lesbians and gays are working class, and many are already union members. Indeed, most of the progress made toward improved workplace conditions for gays and lesbians has been accomplished by rank-and-file union activists. Out at Work identifies the important parallels between the labor and gay rights movements and their shared work of foregrounding human rights, fighting homophobia, and embracing the full range of sexual expression. Through case studies of organizing efforts and more broadly political approaches, the authors call for both movements to reexamine their priorities and practices. There is much to be gained from a partnership between these movements, they conclude: for the gay rights movement, having the bargaining power of the trade unions behind them; for organized labor, a broader base of support. “This collection of essays chronicles the work that has been done, and the work that remains, in ‘building a gay-labor alliance.’ It enacts a conversation between theory and practice, grounding its generalizations in the facts of actual organizing drives (the details of which make for good reading).” —Gay and Lesbian Review “Out at Work provides an important contribution to industrial relations research by exploring the conditions under which labor is willing to move beyond traditional class issues to include more diverse equity issues.” —Work and Occupations “Drawing on their collective experience in various kinds of political organizing around both labor and sexuality, they have brought together in this unique anthology an impressive range of perspectives on how (and why) to build a gay-labor alliance in the United States.” —American Quarterly "Out at Work is of an importance—to a variety of progressive movements and communities-that is difficult to overstate. Why? Because it dares to suggest that the unionization rate may never increase much beyond its current 13.5 percent of the total workforce—and thus never become the engine of social reform we desperately need—unless it changes its ways. It must create a climate where workers who are not straight, white men can feel fully comfortable in discussing all aspects of their lives, can be reassured that their needs will be respected at the workplace, and will be represented forcefully within the union and during contract negotiations with employers." —Martin Duberman, The Progressive Contributors: Cathy J. Cohen, Teresa Conrow, Lisa Duggan, William Fletcher Jr., Representative Barney Frank,Tami Gold, Yvette Herrera, Desma Holcomb, Amber Hollibaugh, Gloria Johnson, Tamara Jones, Heidi Kooy, Andrew Ross, Van Alan Sheets, Nikhil Pal Singh, John J. Sweeney, Jeff Truesdell, Urvashi Vaid, Riki Anne Wilchins, Kent Wong. Kitty Krupat and Patrick McCreery are contributors to this volume and doctoral candidates in the American Studies program at New York University. 320 pages | 24 black-and-white photos | 5-7/8 x 9 | 2001 |
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$24.00 paper