BOSTON
Labor, community fight anti-gay firings
By Imani Henry
On June 1, some 150 lesbian, gay, bi and trans activists
and union members picketed the Massachusetts Department of
Education headquarters in Malden, Mass. Service Employees
Local 509 called the demonstration to protest the May 19
firing of HIV/AIDS educator Margot Abels and the forced
resignation of Julie Netherland by Education Commissioner
David Driscoll. Abels, a member of Local 509, was fired
without the due process guaranteed by her union contract.
Members of other unions, including the Teachers and
Government Employees, along with members of the Service
Employees Lavender Caucus and Pride At Work came out to show
support.
The two workers were fired after an anti-gay group aired
an audio tape made during a youth workshop on lesbian, gay,
bi and trans sexuality at the "Teach Out 2000"
conference.
Local 509 Field Representative Judith Davis said: "This
firing is a knee-jerk reaction by the commissioner. We are
calling for Margot and Julie's reinstatement."
The union has filed a grievance and plans to begin
arbitration soon.
In February the AIDS Action Committee--one of the biggest
AIDS agencies in New England--presented Netherland and Abels
with awards in recognition of their school-based HIV
education work.
Media back anti-gay bigots
Sources in the Education Department said the tape was made
at the "Healthy Sexuality" workshop. It was supposed to be
anonymous and allow young people a confidential and safe
space to ask questions. But when a few adults asked to sit in
on the session, the youths voted to let them stay.
One of those adults was Brian Cammeker, executive director
of the right-wing group Parents' Rights Coalition, which
opposes sex education in schools. Cammeker secretly taped the
workshop. A carefully edited version was then sent to the
media.
For weeks the Boston big-business media played excerpts of
the tape containing explicit sexual language. The Parents'
Rights Coalition used the attention to whip up anti-gay
bigotry and accused the Education Department of misusing
taxpayer funds. The group launched attacks on the
gay/straight student alliances in public high schools as well
as the Safe Schools programs for lesbian, gay, bi and trans
youths.
Even though the conference's sponsor, the Gay, Lesbian and
Straight Education Network, is privately funded, Driscoll
caved in to the right-wing attack. Driscoll ended the
Education Department's contract with the Department of
Health's HIV/AIDS Awareness Program. He fired Abels and
forced Netherland to resign.
Community fights back
A recent national study sponsored by the Centers for
Disease Control showed that 50 percent of people newly
diagnosed with HIV--the virus that causes AIDS--are under age
25. This alarming statistic and the threatened budget cuts
for youth-related AIDS programming has launched the lesbian,
gay, bi and trans community and AIDS activists into
motion.
Earlier this year, a coalition of organizations in Boston,
including Men of Color Against AIDS, the Massachusetts Asian
AIDS Project, and Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays,
successfully mobilized and stopped Gov. Paul Cellucci from
cutting the state's budget for youth AIDS prevention.
Amy Rosenberg, senior public policy and legal specialist
for the AIDS Action Committee, spoke to Workers World about
the firings. She said, "This sends a message ... for those of
us who work with young people in community-based
organizations that we must push to make sure the Cellucci
administration keeps HIV prevention in the public
schools."
Labor and lesbian, gay, bi and trans activists will be
mobilizing to continue the struggle for the two workers'
reinstatement at the Boston Pride march June10.
Imani Henry has been a provider of HIV-related services
to lesbian, gay, bi and trans youths for the last seven
years.
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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