General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFrom the bottom of my heart, Thank you President Obama.
As President Obama's executive order protecting LGBT workers takes effect today, his senior adviser Valerie Jarrett sees it as a civil rights milestone.Because of what they did, the doors of opportunity swung open not just for black folks, but for every American. Women marched through those doors. Latinos marched through those doors. Asian Americans, gay Americans, Americans with disabilities they all came through those doors. Their endeavors gave the entire South the chance to rise again, not by reasserting the past, but by transcending the past. What a glorious thing, Dr. King might say. President Obama, in Selma, Alabama
Last month I traveled with President Obama to Selma, Alabama, where he addressed an emotional crowd, and marched in the footsteps of the brave men, women and children who put themselves in harms way and sacrificed so much in their historic journey 50 years earlier. It was a day which highlighted both the progress we have made toward equality for all Americans, and the work that is left to be done.
Today, we take another important step toward equality and fairness with our LGBT brothers and sisters. On July 21, 2014, President Obama signed an executive order to expand the protections of anti-discrimination to apply to the LGBT community with respect to companies who do business with the government. Today, this executive order becomes federal law.
Weve estimated that 1.5 million Americans will be protected in the workplace as a result of this executive order. The billions of taxpayer dollars that federal contractors and subcontractors receive to supply goods and services for government agencies will not be used to discriminate against people on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, in addition to race, color, religion, national origin, disability and veteran status, which are already protected.
This will effectively prevent any company that does business with the government from firing an employee based on who they are or who they love.
http://www.advocate.com/commentary/2015/04/08/op-ed-protecting-lgbt-workers-means-protecting-all-workers
greatauntoftriplets
(175,750 posts)This is a great move forward.
Good to see you posting.
William769
(55,147 posts)Not ready to scrap it up at the moment but posting OP's of great news I can handle.
I truly missed all of you.
greatauntoftriplets
(175,750 posts)including me.
blm
(113,091 posts).
hrmjustin
(71,265 posts)William769
(55,147 posts)n2doc
(47,953 posts)Hope you are feeling better!
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)For all the grief Obama had to take over so many different issues, he sure has come through for a great many of us.
Sissyk
(12,665 posts)This applies to my company.
This will effectively prevent any company that does business with the government from firing an employee based on who they are or who they love.
I will say though. Even though I am in Tennessee, the company I work for has included my LGBT Brothers and Sisters in our H/R, EEO Policies for at least the past 15 years.
William769
(55,147 posts)Sissyk
(12,665 posts)I hope all is well!
William769
(55,147 posts)& thank you again.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)It was a very large corporation and affected tens of thousands of workers. Guess what, we all got along just fine.
I'm hoping the great leap backward will be reversed and we can begin to live with the standards we had set in place then by the EEOC. When Reagan got in, he worked to destroy all worker and civil rights... this country may never recover completely.
Good for your firm doing this to bring us back to sanity.
Gothmog
(145,558 posts)William769
(55,147 posts)Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)Glad to see you posting it too!
William769
(55,147 posts)There is always a ray of sunshine to be found.
In_The_Wind
(72,300 posts)Stellar
(5,644 posts)mountain grammy
(26,650 posts)and the poster well enough to bring it here. Thanks, William.
William769
(55,147 posts)& thank you.
yallerdawg
(16,104 posts)You would be astonished at how many workers are 'identified' as unskilled and make under $10.10 an hour as regular pay on non-Federal jobs.
Another example of President Obama taking care of us little people; including the protections regarding sexual orientation and gender identity.
President Obama lives his values, and these are secular, too.
Christian values? You wouldn't know it...
"Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."
"And they know we are Christians by our love."
http://www.laboremploymentperspectives.com/2014/10/27/cha-ching-new-minimum-wage-for-federal-contractors-officially-effective-on-january-1-2015/
ananda
(28,876 posts)There are a lot of anti-choice and anti-women laws out there
to revoke.
William769
(55,147 posts)calimary
(81,466 posts)Federal, state, regional, local. REGARDLESS. Women are getting left behind. The progress other communities are slowly but steadily gaining - is being kept from us. Systematically and deliberately.
AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)Hekate
(90,793 posts)leftofcool
(19,460 posts)Thank goodness.
William769
(55,147 posts)one_voice
(20,043 posts)K&R
good to see you.
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)I know everyone here likes to use the criminality of the Reagan Administration but Dubya's people were no slouches either when it came to corruption. He had folks in the Department of the Interior actually having coke orgies with Big Oil.
SidDithers
(44,228 posts)Sid
William769
(55,147 posts)sheshe2
(83,898 posts)Excellent passage you highlighted.
I missed you William. Great to see you back.
Cha
(297,655 posts)brer cat
(24,605 posts)and for Bill. Good to have you back!
lovemydog
(11,833 posts)One of my favorite things about this Administration is how well it adapts and grows. That's a sign of wisdom, imho.
madokie
(51,076 posts)I was 4 yo when he was born and it was apparent that he was wired more as a girl than as a boy from the get go. No matter we still love one another as only lifelong friends can. He didn't change, or decide to be gay, he was born gay. I accepted that even before many years later I realized that was what it was. We don't chose who we are or what orientation we are, sexually. It would be just as wrong for me to discriminate against him as it is for me to discriminate against my brothers and sisters in this world who are not white people. All this racism, homophobic bullshit is what it is BullShit. America wake the fuck up and accept and embrace those of us who are different. It is in the differences that makes us strong.