The verdict is in
Cirque du Soleil guilty of discrimination
Special to Workers World
On Jan. 31, the U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission found that the Montreal-based
performance troupe Cirque du Soleil had engaged in illegal
discrimination when it fired HIV-positive acrobat Matthew
Cusick.
On the same day that the EEOC released its findings, Cirque
responded in an Associate Press story that ran in the Los
Angeles Times. "Cirque du Soleil would not restrict the type of
acts in which Cusick can appear. Cirque du Soleil has offered
to reinstate [Matthew Cusick] an HIV-positive gymnast.
"We are ready to welcome him back," Cirque du Soleil
spokesperson Renee-Claude Menard said.
However, when reached for comment, Fred Shank, spokesperson
for Cusick's legal representative, Lambda Legal Defense, said
nothing could be further from the truth. "Cirque has not
contacted us or Matthew with a job offer and Cirque has not
changed its discriminatory hiring policies against people with
HIV," he said.
Cirque's public statements promising to end discrimination
and to rehire Cusick do however reveal the power of community
action. Protests have occur red in Los Angeles and San
Francisco. In late Jan uary, 30 thirty activists from the
lesbian gay bi trans communities, straight, disabled and
HIV/AIDS communities came together to protest in front of Cir
que's performance of "Varekai" in Orange County, Calif. One of
the protest organizers, the International Action Center's Joe
Delaplaine said: "That Cirque felt the need to release a
deliberately misleading news story shows the power of taking to
the streets and not relying on litigation to create change.
Keep protesting until Cirque bargains in good faith. They
obviously respond to community pressure.
"Now more than ever," he said, "with working people
struggling to simply keep their jobs and health care for their
families, people need to protest work-place discrimination and
defend all working people's right to a job."
Last July Cusick filed a complaint with the EEOC, arguing
that Cirque's own doctors had given him a clean bill of health
and since he presented no risk of infection to other performers
or the audience, Cirque had violated the Americans with
Disabilities Act. Firing him was illegal.
Lambda and Cusick thank the community for its support and
are encouraging people to keep protesting. Opening nights for
upcoming Cirque shows "Varekai" and "Alegria" include: Feb. 19
in St. Peters burg, Fla.; March 18 in San Diego; March 25 in
Atlanta; April 29 in Phoenix; and May 6 in New York.
Reprinted from the Feb. 12, 2004, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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