Suzanne Franzway
and Mary Margaret Fonow,
"Queer Activism, Feminism and the Transnational Labor Movement"
(page 3 of 4)
Transnational Queer Labor Activism
The emergence of a gay labor activism at the transnational level is
the outcome of several decades of queer organizing within national
unions in Canada, the U.S., Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Great
Britain, Germany, and many other countries.[21]
In addition, there has been
a proliferation of real and virtual political spaces where transnational
activists from a variety of movements—gay, human rights, feminists,
labor, global justice—can meet to exchange information and strategies
for change. These spaces include various UN Forums, international labor
conferences, the World Social Forum, and the Gay Games. Such
transnational networks have the capacity to be effective when they draw
on trade union resources to create forums and spaces for lesbian, gay
and transgendered workers.
One site for transnational queer labor activism is the Global Union
Federation (GUFs). These organizations are federated peak labor bodies,
mostly headquartered in Europe, whose missions include building
international support and solidarity for workers and their struggles for
labor rights worldwide. The GUFs have expanded to every region of the
world and have grown in size, scope, and political influence. Today
there are ten different global union federations representing millions
of workers in almost every country in the world.[22]
The two GUFs that have been most receptive to gay activism have been
female-dominated, feminist-influenced public sector federations with
well-developed equity programs and structures in
place.[23] The Public
Service International (PSI), founded in 1907, is comprised of 650
affiliated trade unions in 150 countries representing 20 million public
sector workers in government, health and social care, municipal and
community services, and public utilities. The Education International
(EI) is comprised of 348 affiliated organizations in 169 counties
representing 30 million teachers and education workers from pre-school
through university.
Both PSI and EI have broadened the scope of their mission to include
basic questions of equity, justice and free access to public services
and education. They now maintain permanent standing within international
organizations concerned with labor standards, including the
International Labour Organization (ILO) and various UN
sub-organizations, employer organizations, and newer financial
institutions like the WTO. In the case of violations of human and trade
union rights, these organizations have learned that joint action with
human rights groups and consumer rights organizations can make protest
more effective. Building alliances with activists from women's,
environmental and non-governmental organizations contribute to
achievements that would not be possible without a cooperative
approach.[24]
It was at the 2004 World Social Forum (WSF) in Porto Alegre, Brazil
that gay activists from PSI and EI sponsored their first joint forum on
sexual diversity. The purpose of the forum was to develop a set of
proposals for action on the rights for LGBT workers framed as basic
human rights. The resulting declaration recognized the diversity of the
LGBT lifestyles and argued that unions should take the lead in
eliminating discrimination against these communities. It also noted
that equal rights for LGBT workers would be strengthened if they were
successfully integrated into broader campaigns for labor rights at
national, regional and international levels.
The declaration expressed the concern that because the rights of
sexual minorities were not explicitly recognized in most international
and national labor standards, discrimination and inequity based on
sexual orientation and gender identity continued to persist at different
levels of the world economy.[25]
The action plan adopted at the WSF called
for a multifaceted approach: establishing a sexual diversity network
that would facilitate the sharing of resources and the coordination of
national and international campaigns for LGBT labor and social rights;
linking webpages to provide a regular supply of news and updates about
the work of the national networks; participating in the World Workers'
Out Conferences; and holding a second joint international forum on
sexual diversity prior to the PSI World Congress.
The second PSI-EI Sexual Diversity Forum was held September 21-22,
2007 in Vienna, drew over 300 hundred participants, and covered a range
of topics including collective bargaining for LGBT equity issues,
diversity and antidiscrimination training, bullying and workplace
climate, building alliances and protecting and expanding quality public
services like free education for all. The joint PSI-EI sponsored forum
website serves as an important resource for labor and queer activists
and is used to mobilize international solidarity campaigns—such as the
one for a Polish educational official who lost his job for authorizing a
teacher training guide on gay tolerance. The site contains research
reports on the status of LGBT members, a training guide for
incorporating LGBT issues into the work of the union, press releases,
and links to the broader movement for LGBT rights.[26]
Queer labor activists also find political opportunities in global
alliances at international gay rights conferences such as the
international Out at Work Conference which grew out of—and
subsequently extended—global/local networks of gay, lesbian and
transgender workers. The Sydney conference in 2002 drew 1700
participants from 113 countries. Conference declarations and action
plans stress the political necessity of global campaigns to tackle the
appalling working conditions of those who "live in countries that still
execute their homosexual citizens."[27]
The next international conference
(now framed as a human rights conference) will be held in Copenhagen in
2009. Rebecca Sevilla, co-founder of gay and lesbian organizations in
Lima and LGBT equity expert for the Sexual Diversity Forum, is the
honorary co-chair of the Copenhagen games.[28]
Such transnational networks
have the capacity to be effective when they draw on trade union
resources to create forums and spaces for lesbian, gay and transgender
workers.
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