Healthcare and our AFSCME Local 328 Trans Community
Hello Union Siblings,
We know that the current political situation can be terrifying for our LGBTQ and Trans siblings in our union. The uncertainty and fear you feel is valid, but know that our union, your union, stands behind you and will continue to fight for you at every opportunity.
An amazing example of this is our own CG Brothers, Chair of our DEIJ committee, who gave a passionate speech in front of tens of thousands of AFSCME members at our International Convention:
https://youtu.be/1HUdp9-Npd4?si=SjHOK0S8lD1EgmHb
“My name is CG Brothers; I am our DEIJ Committee and Chair Lead Grievance Steward. I am transgender.
AFSCME values include advocating for prosperity and opportunity for all working families. And trans people deserve the opportunity to choose how they receive healthcare so they can prosper. The states across our country that are passing laws restricting access to this essential care have decided that their myopic worldview is more important than the health, safety, and wellbeing of the trans folx within their state borders. And make no mistake, every region, every council, every local, has members that are trans. Currently trans folx make up about 1.6% of the US population. If we apply that percentage to our AFSCME family, it comes out to about 22,000 people. That’s 22,000 members that cannot receive healthcare for themselves. If we expand that to acknowledge all the AFSCME members with trans friends and family, the number of people affected grows exponentially.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a staunch advocate of labor. He understood the connection between class and oppression. In fact, Dr. King paid a visit to AFSCME sanitation workers in Memphis back in 1968. The day before he died, he gave a speech entitled “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” and in that speech he speaks of the Good Samaritan. He told our AFSCME siblings of the day about the Samaritan’s question, “if I do not help this man, what will happen to him?” And then Dr. King goes a step further and says the real question is ‘If I do not stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to them?’ That's the question.”
And so I pose to you, “if we do not stop to help our trans siblings, what will happen to them?” And unfortunately, siblings, we only have to look at news articles across the country to find out. Or look to the White House to see their anti-democratic decisions. To those that have the courage and moral fiber to stand up for us, thank you. We’ll need your support even more over the next four years.
I never had a choice in becoming a trans rights activist. I don’t see myself as a trans rights activist. I am trans. Society demanded activism of me as a tax I have to pay to have the right to exist. I urge you to reach out to your elected officials and speak against this bigotry. If we’re lucky, trans kids won’t have to be activists too.
With every passing comment from transphobic legislators, political pundits, and over-zealous fearmongers, I hear about the so-called “trans agenda,” my belief in one becomes more and more concrete.
The trans agenda is an average life expectancy.”
-DEIJ Committee