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Committee
on Education and Labor Hears Testimony on Workplace Discrimination
(September 24, 2009,
Washington, DC)-The House Committee on Education and Labor, led by Chairman
George Miller (D-CA), heard testimony yesterday morning about the devastating impact of
workplace discrimination faced by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
people. The hearing was part of the Committee's work on the Employment
Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), HR 3017.
One witness, Vandy Beth Glenn,
had worked for the Georgia state legislature for a number of years until the day she informed her supervisor that she was transitioning from male to
female; she was immediately fired from her job.
Her experiences, unfortunately, are not unique. The recent National
Transgender Discrimination Survey led by the National Gay and Lesbian Task
Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) found that 26% of
the 6,450 transgender people surveyed had faced an adverse job action, such as
losing their jobs, being denied a promotion or not being hired because of their
gender identity or expression. Almost every person who responded to the
survey-a staggering 97%- had experienced harassment or discrimination on the
job because they are transgender.
Photo: Vandy Beth Glenn and her attorney Cole Thaler of Lambda Legal before the hearing; photo by David Deriso
"Now is the time that we must
pass legislation designed to protect Americans from this kind of blatant and
unfair discrimination," commented NCTE's Executive Director, Mara Keisling.
"Every single day, transgender people are being fired for being who they are,
even when they have excellent work records and skills. As a result, their
families struggle and often fail to make ends meet, people lose their homes,
and careers end, all because someone's supervisor decided that it was okay to
discriminate. That is not the American way. This legislation is absolutely
needed to make it clear that discrimination is never acceptable."
Several committee members were
visibly moved by Ms. Glenn's testimony and expressed concern at the way she was
treated. They also asked detailed questions of the witnesses and many cited
their support for ENDA's passage. NCTE is very grateful for her courage in speaking out and her willingness to stand up for transgender rights.
Visit the committee's website to read all of the written testimonies, view the entire preceedings, or follow a link to their YouTube page to see excerpts of the testimony.
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CONTACT YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS |
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Contact the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and tell your member of Congress that you support ENDA.
Those who oppose anti-discrimination legislation will try to flood the Capitol to tell their representatives to oppose workplace equality. They need to hear loudly and clearly from us about why this measure is so important to us. Don't let your voice be drowned out by the right wing. Speak up today!
Contact your Representative and Senators to ask them to take swift action to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Do it today. They need to hear, loud and clear, that this bill is our top priority. Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at: (202) 224-3121. Give the operator your zip code and ask to be connected to your Representative. Then, after leaving your message, hang up and call again to be connected to each of your two Senators.
Suggested voicemail message: My name is _____ and a proud resident of (your city/state). I am calling in support of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 3017/S. 1584). ENDA protects lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from job discrimination and it is critically important. Please take swift action to pass ENDA. I can be reached at _______ (provide your phone number). Thank you.
Take a stand today to end employment discrimination against LGBT people! It only takes a few minutes to make the calls, but the impact of your actions will touch lives across the country for many years to come.
It's time to pass ENDA and take a stand to end discrimination against transgender people. Need more information about ENDA? Read on ...
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About NCTE
The National Center for Transgender Equality is a national social
justice organization devoted to ending discrimination and violence
against transgender people through education and advocacy on national
issues of importance to transgender people. By
empowering transgender people and our allies to educate and influence
policymakers and others, NCTE facilitates a strong and clear voice for
transgender equality in our nation's capital and around the country. The National Center for Transgender Equality is a 501(c)3 organization. |
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