National LGBTQ Task Force: SCOTUS’s ruling against labor unions is a devastating loss for LGBTQ workers

“The Supreme Court’s ruling today places public sector labor unions at risk especially LGBTQ working people who rely on labor union protections.” Stacey Long Simmons, director of the National LGBTQ Task Force department of Advocacy and Action.

Washington, DC – On June 27, the Supreme Court ruled against public labor unions in Janus v. AFSCME, allowing workers to opt to not pay for the union representation they receive. Rea Carey, executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force, put the case into perspective, saying, “Workers rights are LGBTQ rights,” adding that, “This ruling weakens labor unions and that means an important tool may soon be gone for LGBTQ workers facing discrimination.”

The Task Force was part of an amicus brief in the case that outlined the dangers a ruling against labor unions would have for LGBTQ workers. “LGBTQ people and people of color are greatly impacted by today’s decision,” said Carey, “Workers and the unions they organize have the power to support anti-discrimination policy. It’s fundamental to workplace fairness.”

“This ruling pierces the heart of the labor movement,” Stacey Long Simmons, director of the department of Advocacy and Action stated. “This ruling helps to create an America where corporations have even more rights and working people’s rights are eroded.”

LGBTQ working people face serious discrimination in the workplace: The Center for American Progress reported that up to 28 percent of lesbian, gay, and bisexual workers had reported being denied a promotion due to their sexual orientation, and the National Center for Transgender Equality found that 27 percent of transgender workers reported they had been fired, denied a promotion, or not hired in the last 12 months.

CONTACT:
Alex Morash
Media Director
amorash@thetaskforce.org
774 208-8291