The executive board of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, the state’s union for health care workers, voted last week to oppose a ballot question that would place a ban on same-sex marriage into the state constitution. Minnesota currently bans same-sex marriage. The board noted that the amendment “violates that basic principle of fairness.”
In a letter to all union members, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota President Julie K. Schnell, wrote:
Sisters and Brothers—
In our International Union’s mission statement, we state that we are “…dedicated to improving the lives of workers and their families and creating a more just and humane society.” Day in and day out, we fight for this mission together by making sure our workplaces reflect this vision for working families. We also must take our collective strength outside the walls of our facilities if we hope to truly create a just and humane society.
To this end, our union’s elected Executive Board of members from across the state decided to stand up for dignity and justice by formally opposing the constitutional amendment that would deny our gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender brothers and sisters the right to express their commitment to each other through marriage.
I have enclosed a copy of the resolution our Executive Board passed.
Let me say a bit more about why we took this action. Marriage is an embodiment of our union’s motto: Stronger Together. It is a critical institution through which two people can, in front of their community, express their commitment to each other and take on a lifetime responsibility for each other. Gay and lesbian couples, including many of our union brothers and sisters, share these values of commitment and responsibility.
As a union we stand for the basic principles of fairness. Fairness around benefits, and marriage.
Finally, the Minnesota Constitution has never before been amended to discriminate against any group of people. Together, our Board has committed to stand together to oppose writing discrimination into our state’s most important document.
But the reasons for opposing this amendment go beyond simple arguments and rhetoric. It’s also about the human side of this fight. Here’s why this issue matters to members like Jeff Sarro, a member of our Executive Board and steward at Abbott Northwestern Hospital:
“I’ve been in a committed relationship with my partner, Victor, for 31 years. Just like every other family, my partner and I have to figure out how to get our kids, Buddy and John, fed, the house cleaned, and keep a roof over our heads. But because of who we love, my partner and I also have to meet other challenges. For example, we shell out thousands of dollars in additional taxes because my partner is on my health insurance and my employer must treat that benefit as additional taxable income. We also have to fight constantly to make sure my partner and our kids are the beneficiaries if anything should happen to me.
Voting down this amendment will not grant my family the same recognition that most families take for granted in Minnesota. But if this amendment passes, it would say to me and my family that the love we have for each other is not as valid as that of other families.
I am sharing my story because I want you to know that having the community celebrate my life-long partnership with Victor and our family is important to me.
I’m so proud that our union is taking a stand on this issue because to me, union means we’re one. It doesn’t matter if we’re gay, straight, black, white, Republican, or Democrat. We stand together, as workers, for a just society.”
It’s stories like Jeff’s that made us take action on this issue.
As we head towards the election in November 2012, there is no doubt in my mind that the public debate on this topic will become ugly, spiteful, and misinformed. I would like to make a call for our union to set a different example and provide a space for respectful engagement that does not discount the deeply held values that many members undoubtedly have on both sides of this issue. We are a democratic organization that values the voice of all members, and from past experience I have no doubt that our union’s sisters and brothers will treat each other with respect.
As we move through the next year, I know we all stand united in the belief that together we can build a just and humane society.
In Solidarity,
Julie K. Schnell
President
SEIU Healthcare Minnesota