This was a great year to be a queer union organizer.

There were obvious and natural coalitions to be made this year, and since a lot was at stake for all of us, it seemed like everyone pitched in to try and fight back the most intense Rightwing attack we have faced in California in recent memory. Labor’s back was already up against the wall and the Right made a pre-emptive strike by trying to take away all of our political power by making it virtually impossible for members to contribute money to Labor’s political program. Governor Schwarzenegger was doing his best to help in this attack on Labor by relentlessly coming after Nurses, Teachers, and Firefighters. But folks in Labor fought back. We began to dog the Governor at every turn and protest him up and down the state.

Nurses protest Schwarzenegger, Photo by Ruben Garcia

Simultaneously, the Right tried to take away the right to choose for young women through Proposition 73, and began beating the drum to take away domestic partner rights and forever deny Marriage Equality by placing a constitutional amendment on the ballot. Locally, we took steps that made a difference in these struggles and the results portend great things for the year to come.

Last spring, we had a scare though. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has its annual fundraising dinner here in San Francisco every June. But last year, UNITE HERE Local 2 had a boycott of the hotel where they have their dinner. Many of us in the LGBT community were very upset. Local 2 was the first union in the country to secure domestic partner benefits so we began to organize to lobby GLAAD to move. We wrote an open letter and sought the endorsements of LGBT leaders, organizations, and elected officials. The campaign was very successful. Click here to read the open letter at leftinsf.com

LGBT Activists Debra Walker, Michael Goldstein, and Greg Shaw get ready to get arrested at a Local 2 hotel action, Photo by Robert Haaland

It was a difficult decision for GLAAD. Not because they don’t believe in the common ground, the linkages between the movements and issues. By the time they had to make the decision, there was a $25,000 price tag on the move, a big chunk of change for a civil rights non-profit group. The rubber really hits the road when being pro-labor costs you and most usually fail that test. But the good news is that the leadership of GLAAD more than rose to the occasion and moved the event to Fort Mason. I know I was incredibly proud to part of a community that has leadership like GLAAD displayed that day…My thanks to Donna Sachet, Jeff Anderson, Assemblymember Mark Leno, and Supervisor Bevan Dufty and all of the community leaders like Scott Wiener, Laura Spanjian, Greg Shaw, Kelly Dugan, and Michael Goldstein who truly stepped up in that struggle…Their incredible work, and the sacrifice that GLAAD made to strengthen the coalition between the LGBT community and Labor made a huge difference in the following months.

Howard Wallace, Vice-President of the SF Labor Council and founder of Pride at Work at Local 2 protest, Photo by Robert Haaland

Simultaneously, we had another opportunity for coalition building on another front. Assemblymember Mark Leno’s Marriage Equality bill had missed narrowly in the State Assembly, and had been revived at the request of the community by successfully using a gut and amend procedure in the State Senate, but it still had to pass in the Assembly. The leadership that Assemblymember Mark Leno showed in those critical months was simply remarkable and unforgettable. But it should not be forgotten that many, many community activists made a huge difference as well. One example was when Associate Director of Equality California Molly McKay made sure that a strong coalition was formed between United Farm Workers and Equality California, the lobbying group advocating for the legislation. (I’ve known Molly for over 12 years. She is a dear friend friend from college that I respect enormously. Our community is fortunate to have leadership like hers.) Molly and Howard Wallace, the Vice-President of the SF Labor Council and founder of Pride at Work, did a lot of the behind the scenes work between the United Farm Workers and Equality California that made a difference in that struggle.

Assemblymember Mark Leno speaks at UFW rally at Dolores Park, Photo by Bill Wilson

Equality California was looking for support for their Marriage Equality legislation from the Labor community generally, but UFW had not taken a position yet. After some initial conversations, Equality California and local LGBT organizations like the Harvey Milk Club, Alice B. Toklas Club, Pride at Work, and other groups came out in support of their Gallo Boycott last summer. We attended rallies, we marched, and we organized support for their efforts. Ultimately, UFW prevailed in that struggle. Howard Wallace and many others, including Assemblymember Leno and Equality California, continued to reach out to UFW and not only did they come out in favor of Marriage Equality, but Christine Chavez, the granddaughter of Cesar Chavez, dedicated herself to organizing on behalf of Marriage Equality in the Latino community.

Pride at Work, Equality California, and Harvey Milk Democratic Club at a UFW rally at City Hall, Photo by Bill Wilson

When the Marriage Equality bill came back to the Assembly and passed, every one was thrilled and stunned. Equality California and Assemblymember Mark Leno had done yeoman’s work ensuring passage. I don’t think anyone would have believed it could happen a year ago. In fact, in 2004, some were arguing that the Marriage Equality battle was happening too fast and too soon, like Susan Kennedy, the faux Democrat recently hired by Governor Schwarzenegger. They couldn’t have been more wrong. In fact, in some ways, the Marriage Equality battle ended up helping us defeat the right wing agenda that Governor Schwarzenegger was pushing in last November’s election. How ironic.

Prior to the Governor’s veto of the Marriage Equality Bill, representatives from Equality California, the Harvey Milk and Alice B. Toklas Democratic Clubs, Pride at Work, And Castro for All, the Proposition 73 campaign (parental notification for abortion) and reps from Assemblymember Mark Leno and State Senator Carole Migden’s office all met to plan how we could coordinate our efforts after the veto. Our preparations paid off. Within 24 hours of the veto, EQCA had a rally and that day we signed up over 150 volunteers to work to defeat Schwarzenegger’s initiatives. The motto, “He vetoed us. Let’s veto him,” became our rallying cry for the next six weeks.

And we didn’t just create an alliance between the LGBT community and Labor, we worked side by side with the Proposition 73 campaign because we knew that their issue was our issue, their injury was ours. Equality California, Harvey Milk, and Alice all put out their own literature focusing on the state propositions that was mailed and walked to LGBT neighborhoods. We really worked together: we walked precincts, worked street corners and transit stops. We held joint press conferences, we organized volunteers to phone bank to recruit volunteers and to persuade and identify voters, we tabled on weekends in LGBT neighborhoods, and at the Castro and Folsom Street Fairs. There was even a visibility contingent on Halloween! After dropping literature in LGBT identified precincts in the weeks leading up to the special election, we had over 200 volunteers work the top 60 LGBT precincts to get out the vote.

Assemblymember Mark Leno speaks at LGBT Phonebank at the Alliance for a Better California headquarters, Saskia Traill, VP of Harvey Milk Club, Amy Laitinen, Alliance for a Better California, Scott Wiener, Co-Chair of Alice, Martha Knutsen, Alice Board Member and Robert Haaland, SF Campaign Director for the Alliance for a Better California, Photo by Bill Wilson

The numbers were amazing. The precincts with the highest turnout in the city were the neighborhoods we had worked. District 8 which some had argued has become more moderate had some of the highest “No” numbers in the city. But as many have noted, the best part was that we worked together with security guards, with nurses, with teachers, with firefighters, with young women who were fighting for their right to choose. We moved past identity politics to ensure none of our rights were taken away. Karl Rove and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s agenda failed on November 8th and many, many, many community groups did amazing work to ensure that the right wing did not succeed.

This is the kind of coalition building and organizing that will someday change the world. People really, really stepped up to the plate over the last year to make sure that the partnership between the LGBT community, Labor, and local Women’s groups was strengthened and the benefits were obvious.

Sometimes it is really this simple…

Greg Shaw, President, Harvey Milk Club, Photo by Saskia Traill

Debra Walker and Krissy Keefer at Castro Street doing visibility on Election Day, Photo by Saskia Traill

Michael Goldstein doing visibility on Election Day, Photo by Saskia Traill

Prop 73 Coordinators, Nora Dye and Nicole Yelich, and Robert Haaland, SF Campaign Director for the Alliance for a Better California at the Victory Party, Photo by Bill Wilson

Teach-in for LGBT volunteers on the Statewide Propositions at the LGBT Center, Photo by Saskia Traill