Nancy Wohlforth

Last updated
Nancy Wohlforth
Nationality American
Alma mater Columbia University
OccupationTrade unionist
Organizations
Known forLabor and LGBTQ activism; first out LGBTQ international union officer; first out LGBTQ member of the AFL–CIO Executive Council
Movement
Board member of
  • Vice-President OPEIU, Local 3, (Elected in 1983) [2]
  • Secretary-Treasurer and Business Manager, OPEIU, Local 3 (Elected in 1986) [3]
  • Co-President, Pride at Work, 1996–2009
  • Secretary-Treasurer Emerita, OPEIU, 2003–2009 [2]
  • Executive Council, AFL–CIO
AwardsPride at Work Solidarity Award, 2018

Nancy Wohlforth is an American union leader and activist who has advocated for a variety of civil, labor, and LGBTQ causes throughout her career including single-payer healthcare, domestic partner worker benefits, and non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ workers. She was the first out member of the LGBTQ community to be elected to the AFL–CIO Executive Council in 2005. [4]

Contents

Career

Early career with OPEIU Local 3

In 1980, Wohlforth helped found the Lesbian and Gay Labor Alliance (LGLA). [5] She was also active with Office and Professional Employees International Union, Local 3 in San Francisco, California. Wohforth was a member of "A Growing Concern," a caucus within Local 3 seeking to reform the organization and draw attention to women's and gay issues after a 19 week-long strike at Blue Shield failed. In 1983, she was elected to be Local 3's Vice-President as a part of "A Growing Concern's" first slate of candidates. Wohlforth later took on Business Manager responsibilities for the union and was elected to be their Secretary-Treasurer in 1986. [2] As an out lesbian, Wohlforth faced rumors that she was in relationships with straight colleagues; however, her reputation as an out lesbian gave her credibility with LGBTQ workers and helped her win over local shops including the Episcopal Community Service, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Information Store, and Hospitality House. [3]

Creation of Pride at Work

On June 24, 1994, LGBT labor leaders met in New York for "Pride at Work, the Founding Conference of the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transgender People in the Labor Movement" meeting. The meeting was partially in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. Wohlforth, representing LGLA and OPEIU, co-chaired a group working to create an organization uniting the different LGBT, labor organizations into a single organization, Pride at Work. [6] Nancy was elected to the position of co-president with Cal Noyce in 1996, and Pride at Work adopted a resolution in support of affiliation with the AFL–CIO as an official constituency group at the same conference in San Francisco. They went on to secure constituency status in 1997. [7]

National leadership

In 2003, Wohlforth was elected as the Secretary-Treasurer of the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) making her the first open member of the LGBTQ community to hold an international union officer position. A couple years later, she was elected to the AFL–CIO Executive Council in 2005, making her the first open LGBTQ person elected to the Executive Council. [8] [9]

Awards

Writing

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon</span> American feminists and gay-rights activists

Dorothy Louise Taliaferro "Del" Martin and Phyllis Ann Lyon were an American lesbian couple known as feminist and gay-rights activists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urvashi Vaid</span> Indian-American LGBT rights activist, lawyer and writer (1958–2022)

Urvashi Vaid was an Indian-born American LGBT rights activist, lawyer, and writer. An expert in gender and sexuality law, she was a consultant in attaining specific goals of social justice. She held a series of roles at the National LGBTQ Task Force. She is the author of Virtual Equality: The Mainstreaming of Gay and Lesbian Liberation (1995) and Irresistible Revolution: Confronting Race, Class and the Assumptions of LGBT Politics (2012).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pride flag</span> Symbol for part or all of the LGBT community

A pride flag is any flag that represents a segment or part of the LGBT community. Pride in this case refers to the notion of LGBT pride. The terms LGBT flag and queer flag are often used interchangeably.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ Victory Fund</span> United States political action committee

The LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, commonly shortened to Victory Fund, is an American political action committee dedicated to increasing the number of openly LGBTQ public officials in the United States. Victory Fund is the largest LGBTQ political action committee in the United States and one of the nation's largest non-connected PACs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OutRight Action International</span> LGBTIQ human rights organization

OutRight International (OutRight) is an LGBTIQ human rights non-governmental organization that addresses human rights violations and abuses against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people. OutRight International documents human rights discrimination and abuses based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics in partnership with activists, advocates, media, NGOs and allies on a local, regional, national and international level. OutRight International holds consultative status with ECOSOC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pride at Work</span>

Pride at Work (P@W) is an American lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender group (LGBTQ+) of labor union activists affiliated with the AFL-CIO.

Pedro Julio Serrano is an openly gay and HIV+ human rights activist and president of Puerto Rico Para Todes, a non-profit LGBTQ+ and social justice advocacy organization founded in 2003. He is a former advisor to former New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito and to former San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz. He also served, for more than three years, as executive director of Programa Vida and Clínica Transalud of the Municipality of San Juan. He now works as Director of Public Affairs at Waves Ahead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National LGBTQ Task Force</span> US gay rights organization

The National LGBTQ Task Force is an American social justice advocacy non-profit organizing the grassroots power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community. Also known as The Task Force, the organization supports action and activism on behalf of LGBTQ people and advances a progressive vision of liberation. The past executive director was Rea Carey from 2008-2021 and the current executive director is Kierra Johnson, who took over the position in 2021 to become the first Black woman to head the organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT culture in San Francisco</span> Culture of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in San Francisco, United States

The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in San Francisco is one of the largest and most prominent LGBT communities in the United States, and is one of the most important in the history of American LGBT rights and activism alongside New York City. The city itself has been described as "the original 'gay-friendly city'". LGBT culture is also active within companies that are based in Silicon Valley, which is located within the southern San Francisco Bay Area.

The Gay and Lesbian Labor Activists Network (GALLAN) is a non-profit organization of trade unionists founded in 1987 by Tess Ewing, Harneen Chernow, Susan Moir, Cheryl Schaffer, Nancy Marks, Gerry Thomas, Tom Barbara and Diane Fry and a few other members of Boston's LGBTQ community. GALLAN's main purpose was to support LGBTQ rights and oppose homophobia in the workforce, as well as push its unions to campaign for anti-discriminatory measures and benefits packages. GALLAN started as a series of potluck dinners and discussions, and later hosted events for the community in partnership with labor unions to campaign for LGBTQ rights within the state of Massachusetts. GALLAN helped to form the national organization Pride at Work in 1994, which became a constituency group of The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) in 1997. Today, GALLAN is considered a local chapter of Pride at Work.

Austin, Texas has one of the most prominent and active LGBT populations in the United States. Austin was acclaimed by The Advocate in 2012 as part of its Gayest Cities in America, and was recognized by Travel and Leisure as one of America's Best Cities for Gay Travel. Much of Austin's gay nightlife scene is clustered around 4th Street. LGBT activism groups Atticus Circle and Equality Texas are headquartered in Austin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queens Pride Parade</span>

The Queens Pride Parade and Multicultural Festival is the second oldest and second largest pride parade in New York City. It is held annually in the neighborhood of Jackson Heights, located in the New York City borough of Queens. The parade was founded by Daniel Dromm and Maritza Martinez to raise the visibility of the LGBTQ community in Queens and memorialize Jackson Heights resident Julio Rivera. Queens also serves as the largest transgender hub in the Western hemisphere and is the most ethnically diverse urban area in the world.

The National LGBTQ Wall of Honor is an American memorial wall in Greenwich Village, Lower Manhattan, New York City, dedicated to LGBTQ "pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes". The wall is located inside of the Stonewall Inn and is a part of the Stonewall National Monument, the first U.S. National Monument dedicated to LGBTQ rights and history. The first fifty nominees were announced in June 2019, and the wall was unveiled on June 27, 2019, as a part of the Stonewall 50 – WorldPride NYC 2019 events. Each year five additional names will be added.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chen Arieli</span> Israeli politician

Chen Arieli is a Deputy Mayor at Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, In charge of the welfare and public health administration in the city. Arieli is the first openly Lesbian to hold the Deputy Mayor position in Tel Aviv-Yafo . She joined politics after 20 years of working in civil society. Arieli defines herself as a feminist and promotes politics of common good.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coors strike and boycott</span> 20th century labor action against Coors Brewing Company

The Coors strike and boycott was a series of boycotts and strike action against the Coors Brewing Company, based in Golden, Colorado, United States. Initially local, the boycott started in the late 1960s and continued through the 1970s, coinciding with a labor strike at the company's brewery in 1977. The strike ended the following year in failure for the union, which Coors forced to dissolve. The boycott, however, lasted until the mid-1980s, when it was more or less ended.

Marsha C. Botzer is a Seattle based activist and non-profit administrator who has been working in the Transgender rights movement since the mid-1970s. Botzer is a trans woman herself. She founded Ingersoll Gender Center in Seattle in 1977, making it the oldest non-profit organization working in the space of transgender rights. Botzer was also an early member of Hands Off Washington and a founding member of Equality Washington, as well as Out in Front Leadership Project.

References

  1. ↑ "Advisory Board and Steering Committee". Labor Campaign For Single Payer. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 Nancy Wohlforth - A Tribute. 2010. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  3. 1 2 Frank, Miriam (June 13, 2014). A Labor History of Queer America. Temple University Press. pp. 146–148. ISBN   9781439911396.
  4. ↑ Styrsky, Stefen (September 21, 2005). "Lesbian Assumes a Top AFL-CIO Role". Gay City News . Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  5. ↑ Heath, Terrance (September 19, 2018). "Meet the woman who quietly made sure Democrats became LGBTQ friendly". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Program for the Pride At Work "Founding Conference Of The Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, And Transgender People In The Labor Movement," June 24, 1994" (June 24, 1994) [Textual Record]. Labor in America Collection, Fonds: Pride at Work Records, Box: 4, p. 2. College Park, MD: Special Collections and University Archives, University of Maryland Libraries.
  7. ↑ Hunt, Gerald (1999). Laboring for Rights. Temple University Press. pp. 79–80. ISBN   9781439901175.
  8. ↑ Yates, Michael (May 1, 2009). Why Unions Matter. NYU Press. p. 163. ISBN   9781583671917.
  9. ↑ "Pride At Work co-president elected to AFL-CIO Executive Council". Between the Lines . Livonia, Michigan. August 18, 2005. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Our Best and Brightest Activists—Society: Nancy Wohlforth". The Advocate. Liberation Publications. August 17, 1999. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  11. ↑ "2018 Pride at Work Convention August 23-25, 2018 Convention Program" (PDF). August 23–25, 2018. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.