With the 2012 Hawai‘i State Legislative session only days away, and 2012's election cycle (locally and nationally) in full swing, this is a great time to check in on what issues Hawai‘i's LGBT working people and allies are most concerned about. For our January pau hana, please join Pride At Work Hawai‘i this Friday, January 20, at Chiko's Tavern (930 McCully St., one block makai from King St.) to talk story with other LGBT working people and allies about these and/or other concerns. We'll start with the free pupus at 5:30 (provided with support from the Hawai‘i State AFL-CIO), and be pau by 7:00 (unless you want to stay for karaoke!). And as always, please bring a friend!
All those who support LGBTIQ workers' rights are welcome to join PAWHI. Yearly membership dues for PAWHI are $25, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. For more information, e-mail us at prideatworkhawaii@hawaiiantel.net, or call (808) 543-6054.
Accomplishments
Thanks to the support and involvement of its members, Pride At Work Hawai‘i has already made its mark as an advocate for LGBTIQ workers in Hawai‘i since its founding in May, 2007.
Over the past year, we:
Established a chapter with members on O‘ahu, Kaua‘i, and Hawai‘i Island;
Affiliated with the Hawai‘i State AFL-CIO, giving us a seat on the Executive Board as a constituency group;
Participated in the 2007 and 2008 Pride Parades and Festivals, and marched with the Hawai‘i AFL-CIO in the 2008 Martin Luther King Day Parade;
Attended the 2007 Hawai‘i State AFL-CIO convention, successfully presenting a resolution calling for the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq and in support of Iraqi labor rights;
Helped draft a successful resolution at the Hawai‘i State AFL-CIO convention, and participated in a meeting of community activists with State House Speaker Calvin Say, in support of civil unions legislation in Hawai‘i;
Helped draft a successful resolution at the Hawai‘i State AFL-CIO convention, and gathered signatures from over 100 Hawai‘i residents, in support of the federal Employee Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would outlaw job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression; we also joined efforts to urge Rep. Abercrombie and Rep. Hirono to fight to retain the inclusion of gender expression protections in ENDA;
Participated in UH-Manoa's 2007 National Coming Out Day festival;
Presented a training for HGEA stewards on LGBTIQ workers issues;
Submitted testimony in favor of HB2456, which would've exempted Hawai‘i state and county workers' domestic partner benefits from Hawai‘i income tax; and
Gave presentations on LGBTIQ workplace and union issues at the 2007 and 2008 the UH Commission on the Status of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Equality “Gatherings.”
June 28: (L-R) Musicians’ Association member Scott Januscch, P@WHI
President Steve Dinion, and Hawai‘i Peoples Fund staffer Richard
Rodrigues carry the Pride At Work banner down Kalākaua at the 2008
Honolulu Pride Parade.
All those who support LGBTIQ workers' rights are welcome to attend and/or join
PAWHI. Yearly membership dues for PAWHI are $25, but no one will be turned away for lack of
funds.
Pride At Work Hawai‘i affiliates with Hawai‘i State AFL-CIO
State Fed endorses important legislation for equality for LGBT workers
Honolulu: On Friday, October 26, 2007, Pride At Work Hawai‘i (PAWHI) was represented for the first time as an affiliate of the Hawai‘i State AFL-CIO at its 22nd Biennial Convention at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. PAWHI, which was formed recently by a group of LGBT workers and supporters, had affiliated with the State Fed only a few weeks earlier.
"This represents an important step in making sure the voices of LGBT workers are heard in their unions and the labor movement in general," said PAWHI President and Musicians' Association of Hawai‘i member Steve Dinion.
The Convention showed its support for equality for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) workers by not only welcoming PAWHI to the State Fed, but also by passing two important resolutions, one endorsing the Employment Non-discrimination Act (Legislative Resolution #3), the other supporting the creation of civil unions in Hawai‘i (Legislative Resolution #6). At a time when civil rights and workers rights are both under attack, such legislation is necessary to help build equality and provide protection for LGBT workers and their families.
Dinion noted that LGBT workers need unions now more than ever. "A union contract can provide protections against harassment and discrimination, domestic partner health benefits, and emergency leave." Citing a recent study suggesting that gay men earn 23% less than their married heterosexual male coworkers, he also noted that a union contract is the surest way to make sure that all workers are treated equally.
The resolution in support of Civil Unions in Hawai‘i, proposed by the Executive Committee of the University of Hawai‘i Professional Assembly (UHPA, an affiliate of NEA), noted that the refusal to legally recognize same sex relationships deprives thousands of families of the most important attributes of their labor: the ability to take care of and provide for their family members. “Without civil unions legislation, same sex couples in long term, committed relationships do not have the same legal protections and entitlements as married couples,” noted UHPA President Joe Chernisky. "The UHPA executive committee supports civil unions legislation as a social justice issue in the same vein as all the other social justice issues unions have championed in the past and continue to champion."
The resolution in support of the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), proposed by HGEA Deputy Executive Director and Hawai’i State AFL-CIO President Randy Perreira, noted that unions believe employment discrimination of any kind is immoral and denies workers the dignity, respect, and equality they deserve on the job. “All those who believe in workplace equality should support this important measure, ” said HGEA member and Pride At Work Hawai‘i Vice President Wayne Akana. "We appreciate Brother Randy and the entire State Fed for their stance supporting ENDA."
Pride At Work Hawai’i also submitted a resolution showing support for both US troops and the Iraqi labor movement by calling for an immediate end to the occupation of Iraq. The resolution noted that, in 2005, the Iraqi trade union movement had declared, “The principal obstacle to peace, stability, and the reconstruction of Iraq is the occupation... The occupation must end in all its forms, including military bases and economic domination.” Also in 2005, the AFL-CIO in its national convention called for the rapid withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. However, two years later, US troops - the vast majority from working families - continue to serve honorably in our country’s occupation of Iraq, in some cases having been redeployed two, three, or more times, at great cost to themselves and their families. The resolution passed unanimously.
Pride At Work Hawai'i
PO Box 22416
Honolulu, HI 96822-2416 email
Steve Dinion, President (Musicians)
Tod Robertson, V.P. (HGEA)
Morgan Evans, Scty.
Pat Koge,Treas. (USW)
Board Members:
Jessie Faige (HGEA)
Amy Donahue
Renee Togafau (Local 5)
