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From San Francisco Pride at Work, One Struggle, One Fight, GetEqual, Harvey Milk Democratic Club, Transgender Law Center, National Center for Lesbian Rights, El / La, Equality California, and National Pride at WorkAn Open Letter to the House Speaker on ENDA
We are writing to express how extremely troubled we are that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) has not yet been scheduled for a vote by the full House of Representatives. We believe a floor vote must be scheduled for ENDA immediately.
It would be devastating for LGBT workers for this Congress to not complete its work on ENDA before the end of this session. ENDA would be historic in the number of LGBT people who would benefit from its passage. During this economic crisis, it is more important than ever to prohibit the often impoverishing effects of workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
Most LGBT workers have no protections from workplace discrimination. ENDA would provide legal protection against discrimination nationally. Over and over we have been promised that a vote would be scheduled on ENDA, and these promises have been repeatedly broken. In 29 states, it is still legal to fire someone solely because they are lesbian, gay or bisexual. And in 38 states it is legal to fire someone solely for being transgender. The current version of the bill would outlaw discrimination on both sexual orientation and gender identity.
A 2006 study by the San Francisco Bay Guardian and the Transgender Law Center found that 60 percent of transgender people in San Francisco earn less than $15,300 per year, only 25 percent have a full-time job and nearly 9 percent have no source of income.
Only 4 percent reported making more than $61,200, which is about the median income in the Bay Area. More than half of local transgender people live in poverty, and 96 percent earn less than the median income. Forty percent of those surveyed don’t even have a bank account. What this study reveals is that even in a city that is considered a haven for the LGBT community, transgender workers face profound employment challenges and discrimination.
A 2007 meta-analysis from the Williams Institute of 50 studies of workplace discrimination against LGBT people found consistent evidence of bias in the workplace. The analysis found that up to 68 percent of LGBT people reported experiencing employment discrimination, and up to 17 percent said they had been fired or denied employment.
Public opinion polling shows that Americans are overwhelmingly in favor of making sure LGBT Americans get the same employment opportunities as everyone else. In fact, the latest surveys shows that nearly 90% of Americans support workplace fairness for LGBT workers.
As you know, in a few weeks, Congress will finish it’s legislative business for the year so that they can return to their districts to run for re-election. Last month at a LGBT Pride event, Congresswoman Jackie Spier announced to the LGBT community that not only would we not get ENDA before the end of the legislative session, that she did not think we would get it for five years because we won’t have enough votes in Congress again to ensure passage. It is ironic that Congress plans on leaving town and going home to campaign for their own jobs while leaving thousands of LGBT workers without protections for the next five years. When 90% of Americans support workplace fairness, it is challenging to believe that anyone fears a backlash from the voters. The time to pass ENDA is now. The American people support it, the politicians promised it. No more broken promises. We demand that a vote be scheduled now.
Sincerely,
SF Pride at Work, One Struggle, One Fight, GetEqual, Harvey Milk Democratic Club, Transgender Law Center, National Center for Lesbian Rights, El / La and national Pride at Work
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MAD ABOUT ENDA? TAKE ACTION! Call Speaker Pelosi today – and then call your own Representatives. Let them know why the Employment NonDiscrimination Act matters to you, and why it is urgent.Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. Give the operator your zip code, and ask to be connected to your Representative or Senator.
11 Comments
I hope this results in something…Dammit, ENDA does need to be passed soon. As I said in my thread downstairs, I know it needs to be done. And I like the framing of this letter, framing ENDA as an economic issue. Perhaps this is the key to FINALLY getting it passed.
sighENDA is dead.. just like DADT repeal is rigged, and DOMA isn’t even mentioned in passing anymore.
Face it: LGBT’s are only good for 2 things.. donating money and pulling the lever again and again for Democrats who do nothing.
Not to be a Pollyanna….But there’s no time like the present to try and turn things around.
Which posters here would be willing to call Pelosi or their representative tomorrow?
Worrying about passage through the Houseis pointless.
It is the Senate that is the true bottleneck. If the Senate were to pass ENDA (or Pelosi had an absolute commitment from Reid that there would be a vote, and that the votes were there to pass it in the Senate), I’ve no doubt that she could pass ENDA in the House in a matter of days.
But there is currently no prospect of its passage in the Senate.
So why is it still stuck in the House?Are they just waiting in the Senate, or is the dynamic more complicated?
No, it’s not…ENDA doesn’t have to be dead, not if we choose to make it happen. See TrumpetDC’s insightful comment below.
Neither the leadershipnor the membership, wants to have to vote on it if the Senate is not at least going to take it up (they voted on many other controversial pieces of legislation which the Senate ignored, to House members perceived detriment). (Some) House members are totally PO’ed at the Senate.
Worse than the vote on ENDA itself, House members would have to steel themselves to vote against a Republican Motion to Recommit. There’s no way they want to subject themselves to a complete unknown unless it means something, and as far as they can tell their votes will be meaningless because of Senate paralysis.
you cant expect the Dems to walk and chew gum at the same time do ya?what Pelosi said @ netroots boils down to, they were working on ENDA, but there was soo much suport for DADT they moved on that instead. i saw the writing on the wall in may, all im gonna say other than that is im keeping my mouth shut on that subject. if the we wanted ENDA passed this session, the heat shoulda been on months ago, now is WAY too late. there is just no way the dems will pull their crap together and get this though even if they wanted to now. and tbh, and i might just be pessimistic @ this point, but i think 5 yrs is pretty optimistic. and not taking into account the very real possibility of a dubbya II taking office. its time to face the muzack and realize that its going to take 2 or more(emphisizing more) political cycles before enough progressives get in to move forward from here. that is unless the dems pull off some miracle and keep their super majority. so im jus gonna cross my fingers, close my eyes, and hope for the best
My rep support ENDAIn fact, he’s cosponsored ENDA, he voted for the DADT repeal effort he cosponsored UAFA, and cosponsored DOMA repeal. And I have reminded him calling, in person, and by e-mail to keep it up! He’s great at constituent services too, helped my husband get a passport back when they were delayed like 3 months behind in processing them, and was at risk for losing a scholarship to study abroad if the passport didn’t go through in time.
Just wanted to give Congressman David Price from North Carolina props for all that, I think its good to recognize the work that the pro-equality representatives do.
Some others from NC have been somewhat supportive of LGBT equality too (these are the ones I know of, not sure if its a comprehensive list, & I should point out that these reps haven’t all been consistent allies):
Basically those districts are, if you cut the state into thirds, the center third, and its probably the best place to build allies in this state with these only sometimes pro-LGBT equality voters.
meanwhile, the goal posts shiftBill O’Reilly saying that Obama should abolish DADT.
In other news, Hell freezes over. Film at 11.
http://www.advocate.com/News/D…
Strange days are these, when O’Reilly, if this is not a hoax, is to the left of the Fierce Avocado.
Boycott Democrat $upportSomeone should start a boycott site and take pledges to ‘not’ donate money to democrats. I haven’t donated a single cent to them for a while now since they started balking on ENDA. They value the contributions (money) we give them and depend on it. Well, I was depending on them!