PAGE 6 VOL. 2, NO. 1 ZEITGEIST gay, and secondly, the reputation as a ‘safe space’ for gay men led to many workers joining (4). The power of the queer workers within the union can best be demonstrated through a slogan they adopted in the late 1930s, “It is anti-union to race-bait, red-bait, and queen-bait”(4). By centering queer people, they were better positioned to advocate for their own rights and the rights of their fellow workers. Tying the struggles faced by queer and non-white workers to the union cause promoted a culture of respect and acceptance far beyond what existed outside of the union. As one heterosexual sailor put it, “The most important thing was not that we had gays. It was that an injury to one was an injury to all — and we practiced it” (4). Similarly, at Barney’s, which was described as the ‘gayest workplace ever’, union members leveraged their queerness in their advocacy for more fair treatment(5). In 1996 when Barney’s filed for bankruptcy, the workers began advocating for a Successor Clause to be added to their contracts that were set to expire within months. This clause would guarantee that any new ownership of Barney’s would be required to retain all of the union contracts and maintain the benefits that had already been negotiated. Progress on this front was slow, as the workers staged subtle protests inside of the store, and eventually, the contracts expired without the clause. On April 6th, the day Barney’s was set to open for the season, the workers staged a union-themed drag show on the street outside(5). The show attracted enough attention to sway management, and the contracts were closed shortly after(6) By being out, loud, and proud, the workers at Barney’s were able to gain public favor at a time when support for the queer community was not strong. Coming together and leveraging identity has proven to be one of the most effective strategies for the advancement of both union and queer rights. In cases where the majority of union membership was not queer, small coalitions were still able to dramatically change policy. In 1970, the American Federation of Teachers became the first union to openly voice its opposition to discrimination against LGBTQ+ workers. In a statement released after the national conference in 1969, they report: WHEREAS, professional people insist that they be judged on the basis of professional and not personal criteria; and WHEREAS, it is the responsibility of trade unions to provide job protection from all forms of discrimination that are not based on performance such as race, color, sex, religion, age, or ethnic origin: RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers protests any personnel actions taken against any teacher merely because he or she practices homosexual behavior in private life. (Executive Council) (7) This resolution was adopted only because of the enormous effort made by a small number of queer workers in attendance at the conference. James Mitchell, a representative of liberal local 280 attended the conference in western-themed drag and introduced a resolution on gay rights (8). The resolution was initially killed in the Human Rights Committee but was later read by the Executive Council. At the conference, no vote was taken on gay Union nurses represented at New York City's LGBTQ pride parade in 2018. Photo: NYSNA
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