The Official Organ of LaborNET
click here to view the latest edition of Workers Online
The Official Organ of LaborNET
Free home delivery
Issue No. 126 01 March 2002  
E D I T O R I A L

I Don�t Like Sprouts
I've always thought brussel sprouts tasted like reconstituted vomit, so the latest smart-arse advertising campaign for the Clearview pension fund doesn�t really wash with me.

F E A T U R E S

Interview: Clean Hands
Susan Ryan was Labor's first female Minister, today she represents the trustees responsible for our super funds, where the move to socially responsible investment is happening, albeit slowly.

Corporate: Out of Asia
The decision by America�s biggest employee pension fund to pull out of a number of Asian countries because of their poor labour rights and civil liberties standards has sent shock waves through the region.

Unions: Tears, Real And Crocodile, At The Ansett Wake
It�s ended in heartbreak but the campaign to keep Ansett flying should really be remembered for the courage, determination and decency of the airline�s devoted staff writes Noel Hester.

Economics: Labour�s Capital: Individual Or Collective?
More Australians own shares than ever before, asks Frank Stilwell, but is it the best way to share the wealth?

History: Mardi Gras: The Biggest Labour Festival?
The struggle for the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender workers has been part of the wider struggle for workers rights, in Australia and internationally.

International: Driving A Hard Bargain
Public sector workers in Korea are using the last twelve months before local and national elections � and the up-coming soccer World Cup � as bargaining chips in their campaign against privatisation of public utilities.

Review: In Bed With a Sub-Machine Gun
In this extract from his new book, Night Train to Granada, GB Harrision travels from Drepression era Newcastle to Spain under Franco's heel.

Satire: Whitlam Forgives Kerr: "At Least He Didn't Dismiss A Rape Victim"
Gough Whitlam claimed today that the man who dismissed him is no longer Australia�s worst Governor-General. �Sure he dismissed me, but at least he never dismissed a child rape victim like Governor-General Hollingworth,� said Whitlam.

Poetry: Dear Mother
Thanks to the generosity of the Defence Signals Directorate, Workers Online has obtained intercepts of recent communications between Australia and London. A transcript is below:

N E W S

 Unions Stats Snow Job

 BHP Strike Over Super Control

 Some Light Reflects Off Ansett

 Net Porn Highlights Privacy Lag

 Mad Monk To Float Down Oxford Street

 Burma the Next Chernobyl

 Govt Breaches Its Own Guidelines

 Sartor Policies Irk Council Workers

 Service Fee Push Hots Up in Qld

 Casino Workers Show Their Hands

 Hotel Bosses Have Full House But Cry Poor

 Airport Screeners Win Training Rights

 CFMEU Korean Activist Honoured

 Support For Fijian Union Battle

 Beer Cold and Prawns Peeled

 Activists Notebook

C O L U M N S

The Soapbox
Grumpy Old Men (And Bettina)
Scratch the surface of most conservative commentators and you'll find a lapsed Leftie, Paul Norton argues.

The Locker Room
Black and White
The Australian way of playing rugby union, cricket and the development of our own game, Australian Rules, were profoundly influenced by a forgotten man.

Week in Review
Gridlocked
Jim Marr loooks at a week when trains, planes and ships of shame all threatened to come to a grinding halt.

L E T T E R S
 More on Harry Bridges
 Well Done, Splitter
 Repeating History
WHAT YOU CAN DO
About Workers Online
Latest Issue
Print Latest Issue
Previous Issues
Advanced Search

other LaborNET sites

Labor Council of NSW
Vic Trades Hall Council
IT Workers Alliance
Bosswatch
Unions on LaborNET
Evatt Foundation


Labor for Refugees

BossWatch



History

Mardi Gras: The Biggest Labour Festival?

By Neale Towart

The struggle for the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender workers has been part of the wider struggle for workers rights, in Australia and internationally.
 

Unions have been involved in action on rights for gay and lesbian workers since the mid 1970s (in positive and negative ways), and unionists have been a part of the great celebration that is Mardi Gras from its inception.

Shane Ostenfeld argued a few years ago that unions have proved responsive to the needs of gay and lesbian workers, largely through the efforts of white-collar and left-wing unions. This is despite the best efforts of some union officials to ignore or discourage discussion and activism on gay and lesbian issues.

However research still shows very high levels of discrimination and harassment of openly gay, lesbian and transgender people in their workplaces. The study, The Pink Ceiling Is Too Low, was conducted by the Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby Group (GLRL) and the Australian Centre for Lesbian and Gay research. Jennie George, then President of the ACTU, Launched the report and GLRL announced at the time a commitment to working with unions on the issues raised.

Mardi Gras is the public celebration of sexuality in Sydney, and also a strong statement of the rights of gay, homosexual, transgender and queer identified people to live free of discrimination, harassment and victimisation based on sexuality.

As the statement from the First World Conference of Lesbian and Gay Trade Unionists, held in Amsterdam in 1998 put it, quoting the Vienna Declaration and program of Action "human rights and fundamental freedoms are the birthright of all human beings".

Claiming those rights has not been easy, and battling union prejudices has been a double burden for many. Karen Askew notes, in a Lesbian perspective on Mardi Gras and unions, that lesbians are in all workplaces, but "the culture of the closet still exists." Lesbian membership of unions was hidden, but the "philosophy and ideals of unions offered the only possible protection" from discrimination against lesbians at work.

Shane Ostenfeld notes that union policy of gay and lesbian issues first developed in social worker and teacher unions, who were affiliated to the ACTU and the Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations (ACSAPA) who later merged with the ACTU. A third national federation, the Council of Australian Government Employees Organisations (CAGEO) (who also later merged with the ACTU) also developed polices. A 1975 grant of $40,000 made to ACSPA to set up a working women's centre was the initial impetus. This led to the development of the first Working Women's Charter. This directly addressed discrimination issues.

Askew says that it "was no historical accident that many of the initial meetings and discussions of the first Mardi Gras parades revolved around venues such as the Trade union Club, Stella Maressa's Sussex Hotel which was around the corner from Sydney's trades Hall, and the offices of the Campaign Against Moral Persecution (CAMP) which shared floor space with the former Theatrical Employees' Union".

Ostenfeld charts the rocky history of the relationship between gay and lesbian activists, but as he and Askew point out, it was an ongoing relationship despite fierce hostility from some unions and union officials.

Nevertheless, "the first Mardi Gras created an uncomfortable wedge between unions and the lesbian and gay community by drawing attention to unionism's neglect of lesbian and gay issues. The arrested paraders who lost employment requested their unions' involvement. They were disappointed by their unions' inaction, but not surprised."

Parades for many years after this had no official union sanction, although many participants were loyal and active unionists and carried banners proclaiming this. The workers parade, May Day, in 1980, had a section organised by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, which was not received well by some in the union hierarchy.

The advent of HIV/AIDS and its impact on the lesbian and gay community brought a new approach to discrimination issues, particularly after 1982 amendments to NSW discrimination legislation. Issues began to be heard in Equal Opportunity Tribunals, rather than Industrial courts, and new approaches to discrimination issues flowed into workplaces. Unions had to take a more active stance, although of course general attitudes in unions reflected pretty much society wide attitudes.

Union (as opposed to union member) participation in Mardi Gras had begun as the Australian Clerical Officers Association (ACOA) float, in 1994 after activists in that union got issues around work and family, and superannuation for lesbians and gays taken up by state secretary Vicki Telfer. Peter Sams, then secretary of the Labor Council of NSW supported the union float. By then it had become the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU). This was a difficult position for Telfer and Sams, as the society wide prejudice came out in hate mail and phone calls, and campaigns against their leadership.

Superannuation rights of gay partners is an ongoing concern of the Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby see their website at http://www.glrl.org.au/html/frameset.htm for this and other campaign information.

Despite this, support for the union participation grew and by 1997 a cross-union committee was formed to organise union involvement in the parade. Union participation has developed since then. Gail Gregory, then a senior industrial officer at Labor Council, was a major organiser and marshall for the entire parade one year. The 2000 parade saw a wonderful big puppet of Jennie George as the centre of the union float, surrounded by conniving Peter Reiths.

There are no restrictions on who can participate in and on the union float. Robin Fortescue asks if this sort of action helps break down homophobia in trade unions? She answers in the affirmative. Request for funding on Mardi Gras generate discussion of issues concerning gay and lesbian workers. It may cause internal friction but attitudes do shift.

"Mardi Gras is not just about what happens on the night of the parade. Its impact derives from the organization, debates, and material support that must go on beforehand in order for this participation to occur. Let's make Mardi Gras the biggest labour festival of the year."

Workers Out, the second World Conference of Lesbian and Gay Trade Unionists is being held in Sydney from the 31st October to 2nd November, to coincide with the Gay Games. So while Mardi Gras may be the biggest ongoing Labour Festival, lets hope the conference is also a great occasion for celebration and discussion. For more information on the conference go to http://www.workersout.com

Further information in and at:

Shane Ostenfeld. Identity Politics and Trade Unions: the case of sexual minorities in Australia. http://www.mngt.waikato.ac.nz/depts/sml/airaanz/conferce/wgtn1998/PDF/ostenfeld.pdf

Robin Fortescue. Mardi Gras: the Biggest Labour Festival of the Year. (HECATE; vol. 26, no. 2, 2000)

Kate Askew. Trade Union Involvement in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras: a Lesbian Perspective. (HECATE; vol. 26, no. 2, 2000)

Jude Irwin. The Pink Ceiling is Too Low: Workplace Experiences of Lesbians, Gay Men and Transgender People. (Sydney: NSW Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby and Australian Centre for Lesbian and Gay Research)

1998 Conference on Trade Unions, Homosexuality and Work Closing document.

http://www.workersout.com/history.htm


------

*   View entire issue - print all of the articles!

*   Issue 126 contents

*   Email this page to a friend



Search All Issues | Latest Issue | Previous Issues | Print Latest Issue

© 1999-2002 Workers Online
Workers Online is a resource for the Labour movement
provided by the Labor Council of NSW
URL: http://workers.labor.net.au/126/c_historicalfeature_mardi.html
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005

Powered by APT Solutions
Labor Council of NSW Workers Online
LaborNET