Labor Big Outs Himself

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.chelseanow.com/articles/2009/06/26/gay_city_news/features/doc4a43cb5550a5d317624490.txt


Stuart Appelbaum speaking about marriage equality to the Reverend Al Sharpton's National Action Network in Harlem on June 20.(AZI PAYBARAH/ NY OBSERVER)

Stuart Appelbaum is first international labor leader in US to acknowledge he’s gay

Published: Thursday, June 25, 2009 9:43 PM CDT BY BENJAMIN WEINTHAL

Stuart Appelbaum, president of the New York City-based Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), in an exclusive interview, told Gay City News that his decision in May to openly affirm his gay identity within the American labor movement means, “I am defining myself publicly, and not just defining myself privately. That’s what makes a difference. I wanted to make my public role not just as a labor leader or Jewish labor leader, but as a gay Jewish labor leader.”

While other heavyweight US labor leaders, such as Randi Weingarten, president of New York’s United Federation of Teachers (UFT) and its parent, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and Nancy Wohlforth, secretary-treasurer of the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), have come out publicly, Appelbaum is the first international labor president to publicly embrace his gay sexuality.

Appelbaum, 56, oversees an international union with 100,000 members in the US and Canada that serves diverse sectors, from department stores, such as Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Saks Fifth Avenue, to Canadian supermarkets and to poultry processing plants in the South, including Tyson Foods.

The ongoing legislative fight in New York for marriage rights for same-sex couples was critical in Appelbaum’s decision to come out. “Marriage equality is so important to me. I came out because of it,” he said. He discussed recent union struggles —for the rights of immigrant workers, for tough health and safety protections in manufacturing plants, for a paid holiday for Muslim workers celebrating Ramadan in a local union contract (the first such provision in a US labor contract), and for a statement by more than 40 US unions rejecting trade union boycotts of Israel — and asked, “How can I see justice and full acceptance denied to LGBT community, which I am part of, and do nothing? I wanted to be engaged.”

On June 20, Appelbaum spoke at the headquarters of Reverend Al Sharpton’s National Action Network (NAN) in Harlem about his “coming out and being gay,” and also urged an end to the political gridlock crippling the State Senate. It marked his first public speaking engagement in which he discussed his sexual orientation. The crowd at Sharpton’s House of Justice event included a dozen Democratic state senators, including conference leaders Malcolm Smith of Queens and John Sampson of Brooklyn, labor leaders, and hundreds of NAN supporters. Appelbaum argued it is “crucial for Senate Democrats to bring up marriage equality.” Sharpton, he said, “echoed my support for marriage equality.” In a moment of levity, Appelbaum told Gay City News, “If you told me a year ago that I would have done that, I would have had a heart attack.”

FULL story at link.

[imdjh]

1. Lift up every voice... or something like that. nt