|
'1180,' '1199'
on Board
UFT Leader Backs Same-Sex
Marriage
By RICHARD STEIER
Seven municipal-employee
union leaders have declared their support for the Marriage Equality campaign
being waged by gay activists to ensure that same-sex couples receive the same
rights and benefits as those in traditional marriages. The most prominent
backers are United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and Dennis
Rivera, the president of Local 1199 of the Service Employees International
Union.
 | | RANDI WEINGARTEN: Should be no distinction. |
|
They were joined in support by Professional Staff Congress President Barbara Bowen; Arthur Cheliotes and William F. Henning Jr., the president and second vice president of Local 1180 of the Communications Workers of America; Committee of Interns and Residents President Barbie Gatton, and Lynn Taylor, president of New York Public Library Local 1930 of District Council 37.
Private-Sector Support
Also participating in the campaign were Chris Shelton, vice president of CWA District 1, which includes Local 1180, and a dozen private-sector labor leaders led by Bruce Raynor, the president of UNITE HERE. (Most of Mr. Rivera's 100,000plus members are employed by private-sector facilities, but he represents about 2,000 workers in the Health and Hospitals Corporation.)
 | | LYNN TAYLOR: 'A civil rights issue.' |
|
Mr. Raynor, like the CIR's Ms. Gatton, issued their support as individuals rather than on behalf of their unions.
In a press release issued by Empire State Pride Agenda, Ms. Weingarten remarked, "All New Yorkers who want to marry should be allowed to do so. Period."
Their statements of support came three weeks after the Republican majority in the U.S. Senate failed to muster enough votes to force a vote on a proposed amendment to the Constitution that would define marriage as between a man and a woman. President Bush supported the amendment, as he did an earlier version that failed to pass during the 2004 presidential campaign. Despite the derailment of the amendment, the issue is expected to play a role in numerous congressional races this fall. All of the public-employee union leaders who declared their support for marriage equality are considered to be liberal Democrats.
Pegged to State Case
Ms. Weingarten said in a June 28 phone interview that the timing of the
initiative had less to do with the national elections than with a case now
coming before the state Court of Appeals. After Manhattan Supreme Court Justice
Doris Ling-Cohan ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, her decision was
overturned by an Appellate Division panel.
The UFT leader said the subject had been raised at her union's Delegate Assembly, and it resonated because "many of us came out against a constitutional amendment that would bar gay marriage."
Ms. Taylor of Librarians Local 1930 said, "It's certainly one of the political demands of the day. It's denying a basic civil right, a human right, to deny people the right to marry in the eyes of the state."
'Equal-Rights Issue'
Mr. Rivera issued a statement saying that while his members have different beliefs on the issue, "it is a fundamental, uniting principle of our organization that all people are entitled to equal rights. We therefore support the right of same-sex couples to access the full and equal rights, responsibilities and economic benefits of civil marriage, and oppose laws and constitutional amendments that deny that right."
Alan Van Capelle, the political activist who is
executive director of Empire State Pride Agenda, stated, "As someone who worked
for nearly a decade in the labor movement, I know that organized labor is one of
the most effective vehicles in the country for advancing economic and social
justice."
| 
)
)