Target is holding a shareholder meeting here in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, June 8, 2011. This is the first such meeting since the corporation donated $150,000 to support an anti-gay candidate in their election bid.
There was immediate backlash. It is a terrible contradiction to tell us you want our shopping dollars and support us, then try to elect someone who denies us our basic equal rights. More on the donation specifics here. These donations are tricky, but understand that this was from the actual company. Executives within the company also made personal donations (including one from the CEO to Michelle Bachmann) which are troubling, but there's a little more gray when it comes to choices made by employees. The $150,000 donation came from the profits WE generate by shopping at the store, not the salaries of the employees.
Groups have united to plan a protest at the meeting on Wednesday, 12 PM at the new store site in East Liberty (you can't miss it).
Participating organizations include: Keystone Progress, Common Cause, Action United, Delta Foundation, We Are One Pennsylvania.
So why does this matter? Here's the perspective from Common Cause
As a giant retailer, Target is more susceptible to customer feedback, especially in an environment where sales have been slumping. The shareholder meeting is an opportunity to send a message that when companies try to buy our elected officials to do their bidding, we the people will be watching. The protest is the beginning of a national effort to urge corporations to stop spending their profits to influence our elections. This spending distorts our public policy to only benefit a select few. We need to take a stand now before the 2012 elections are completely flooded with corporate money.
The LGBTQ community should take heed of this. It is not a coincidence that they chose to support Tom Emmer, a State Rep running for Governor of Minnesota. It was a calculated decision that probably had to do with business, but conveniently overlooked Emmer's strong stance against marriage equality, LGBTQ parentings, and his affiliation with an "incendiary" Christian group. This man was much more Darryl Metcalfe than Tom Corbett if I can make so bold a continuum.
If you work in the East End or can get away for a bit mid-day, please make an effort to head to East Liberty and send a message. Let them know you are paying attention. We can't stop corporations from making huge financial donations to the 2012 elections. Do you want Target funding anti-equality candidates in Western Pennsylvania?
My post on personal choices around boycotting Target and other companies ... another time. It is constructive to know we can participate without the interminable inner struggle about where we spend our dollars. So let's take advantage of this opportunity, queer Pittsburgh, and send a message. We are paying attention.
I'm a little behind the curve, but kudos to Easton, Pennsylvania for doing what Allegheny County leadership won't by extending domestic partner benefits to your employees. Yes, I mention Allegheny County because I was genuinely shocked to read that only 5 municipalities across Pennsylvania have addressed this equal rights issue, especially given how many private sector employers offer these as a matter of routine. Allegheny County is woefully behind the ball with regard to the economic development indicator.
We should note that the Commonwealth provides domestic partner benefits. Truth be told, this is only half the battle. If the climate isn't LGBTQ-friendly in the workplace, people aren't going to out themselves to access these benefits. Another somewhat shocking fact is that not every public employee union affiliated with the City of Pittsburgh has added domestic partner benefits to their contracts. More than fifteen years after the City first offered them. What the heck is going on in those labor halls that they either don't have LGBTQ members OR those who are there aren't being taken care of? That's a black mark on labor.
It is imperative that we continue to work for employees paid with our tax dollars to access health insurance and other benefits for their families. That's a given in my book. However, we must also continue to push for LGBTQ-friendly ordinances -- and the statewide ordinance -- to provide workplace protections. The two go hand in hand.
I don't have a link, so I'll publish the press release in its entirety courtesy of the PA Diversity Network. One thing I did find on their website is a running list of LGBTQ municipal legislation. That's worth a read.
May 25th, 2011, Easton, PA ? A standing ovation concluded the vote of Easton City Council tonight as they unanimously endorsed legislation providing equal benefits to same sex partners of City staff. The ordinance, only the 5th in Pennsylvania, was sponsored by Councilperson Mike Fleck. Not one member of the public spoke against the ordinance. The ordinance will take effect on January 1st, and will join Allentown, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia in providing same-sex benefits.
Pennsylvania Diversity Network?s Adrian Shanker and Liz Bradbury worked with Fleck for a year and half to prepare the legislation and garner support. Shanker stated, ?I am so pleased by the unanimous and bipartisan support for relationship recognition for same sex couples in Easton. Easton now joins the vast majority of Fortune 500 companies in providing the best HR policies for their employees.?
Bradbury, who also worked in 2002 to pass Easton?s non-discrimination law, commented, ?Easton has come a long way, and I am thrilled that I can recommend it as a progressive place to live or work for the LGBT community.?
Fleck introduced this ordinance because ?[he] was elected to represent all the citizens of the West Ward, many of whom are LGBT and want to know that their City treats their community as equals.? The City of Easton is one of the few in the Commonwealth of PA that has an openly gay elected official, City Councilmember El Warner. Warner commented, ?I am very proud of my colleagues on Council for coming together to pass this important Civil Rights bill. The time for it is now.? The legislation was strongly supported by Mayor Sal Panto.
Mayor Panto has scheduled a public ceremony to sign the legislation on June 6th at 12:30pm in Centre Square, Easton. Rain location is City Hall. Meanwhile, the neighboring City of Bethlehem, has scheduled a final vote on the proposed non-discrimination law on June 7th.
Bethlehem gave preliminary approval to the establishment of a local Human Relations Commission and the inclusion of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression as protected classes. A final vote is set for June.
Not so fast.
Steadfast sponsors of the bill voted against it as amended because it would have no investigatory powers (???) and allow for very sweeping exemptions based on religion.
Sigh.
This is why we need to work dilgently to amend the statewide HRC to include these classes and close up these idiotic loopholes for bigotry. Loopholes for bigotry sounds like a comedy sketch band name, doesn't it?
Yesterday, Tenneessee Governor Bill Haslam signed into law a bill that prohibits TN municipalities from having stronger anti-discrimination laws than are in place statewide. This means Nashville's provisions including sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression as protected classes are invalid. No new laws can be passed unless on a statewide level.
Controversy has erupted in the corporate community as LGBTQ organizations respond to the TN Chamber of Commerce decision to support the legislation. Well, to be fair, when it was too late to actually stop the legislation, the Chamber changed its mind. Many of the coporations represented on the Chamber Board have been commended for their inclusive and anti-discriminination policies. Garden State Equality has rescinded planned honors for AT&T, Pfizer and KPMG which would have been awarded at their upcoming June 25 Legends dinner.
"AT&T, KPMG and Pfizer don?t have to remind us that their internal workplace policies are outstanding or that they have received several awards for corporate equality and diversity. That?s why we had voted to honor them, ? said Steven Goldstein, Chair of Garden State Equality. ?And their LGBT employee groups are fantastic. But notwithstanding a company's internal policies, no company on a Board of Directors fighting against LGBT civil rights merits honors from Garden State Equality or any other pro-equality organization.
"Let our message resound everywhere,? Goldstein said. ?You cannot separate workplace policies from greater social responsibility, for laws that cover workplace discrimination directly affect treatment in the company workplace. You cannot boast about being a great company for LGBT equality on 29 days a month, but then work against LGBT equality on the 30th day and expect our appreciation. Equality is an everyday value."
This is serious stuff. Imagine if this where to take hold of some Pennsylvania minds? Rolling back hard fought anti-discrimination ordinances across Pennsylvania would be devastating. We have 20 municipalities that have addressed discrimination in their communities; Tennessee had one (Nashville). I'm not sure how viable it would be to undo the work of 20 municipalities. But it bears a moment's pause.
It has been intriuguing, though, how the LGBTQ community has been working within the corporate community to hold them accountable for walking the walk. You can still chime in on this issue. Americablog Gay has a list of Facebook and Twitter accounts of corporations involved in this decision where you can share your thoughts. It is interesting to see people diligently post comments in unrelated threads as the corporations try to tighten up controls on their FB walls.
Here's another post on how the companies responded after their complicity was exposed to the light of day (not necessarily when they were first made aware of the legislation, mind you). Blue Cross didn't do such a stellar job of responding. ALCOA stepped up.
When you think about a little story about Chick-Fil-A donating a few sandwiches and a few months later, corporate honors are being rescinded because of social advocacy failures ... you might wonder where the future of corporate accountability might take us.
Over the past few days, bloggers have taken note of a piece by Andy Birkey in The American Independent describing a carefully planned campaign by "Family Policy Councils" in now Republican controlled states. Essentially, an infusion of cash from an unidentified source will fund a three prong approach:
Each family policy council has a three-prong plan to achieve their legislative goals over the next two years: lobbying for legislation, mobilizing pastors and social conservatives and supporting candidates that have backed their initiatives. Each group has used a stock brochure containing nearly identical wording to explain their plan and to solicit funds. In many cases, an Ignite plan was launched with an anonymous matching-grant donor.
Here in Pennsylvania, the policy council is part of the Pennsylvania Family Institute founded in 1989 and is affiliated with the national Focus on the Family organization. The mission of PFI
The Mission of the Pennsylvania Family Institute is to strengthen families by restoring to public life the traditional, foundational principles and values essential for the well-being of society. We are a research and education organization devoted to restoring these values to our state and nation. We produce policy reports, promote responsible citizenship and work to promote unity among pro-family groups.
Birkey claims
Focus on the Family says that while the groups are ?fully associated? with FoF, they ?are independent entities with no corporate or financial relationship to each other or to Focus on the Family.?
This quasi-relationship issue is nothing new to PFI which made headlines earlier in the year by partnering with Chick-Fil-A to sponsor a marriage workshop in Central PA, a workshop that fits smack into the larger context of the IGNITE plan. While Chick-Fil-A denied formal affiliations with anti-marriage groups, the blog Good As You found close ties between the company's philanthropic wing and organizations such as the National Organizations for Marriage.
Chick-Fil-A corporate has tried to parse the situation so as to create a wall between their investment of "marriage strengthening resources" and their desire to sell you a chicken sandwich without judgment. It is artifice at its most dangerous because most people still think they were simply donating a few chicken sandwiches to a local church event.
My suspicions were raised when PFI announced that their annual dinner would take place in Cranberry Township, an affluent suburb about 40 minutes north of Pittsburgh. Cranberry is home to Pennsylvania State Representative Darryl Metcalfe, a tea partish uber-conservative with a long history of anti-gay initiatives. Metcalfe is also chair of the powerful State Government Committee and recently introduced legislation to pass a Marriage Amendment in PA. The most recent attempts to write bigotry into our Constitution were rebuffed (2008 and 2010) at the committee level. Metcalfe's current's chairmanship coupled with a newly elected Republican Governor and shifts in the composition of the Legislature make this battle more threatening.
Things just seem a little too cosy.
Getting back to Ignite, PFI's annual operating budget averages $1.4 million yet they plan to spend $1.5 million over the next 18 months. In December 2010, they announced a matching pledge drive to raise $7500 which Birkey says was successful, but the source of the matching funds remains anonymous. Coupled with similar grants around the country, the numbers start to really add up. Where is this money coming from? These groups aren't saving that much by scraping up chicken sandwich donations, my friends.
The plan itself is somewhat uniform.
Each family policy council has a three-prong plan to achieve their legislative goals over the next two years: lobbying for legislation, mobilizing pastors and social conservatives and supporting candidates that have backed their initiatives
Here's a little more detailed glimpse into what PFI has in mind . (Click on image for larger view)
Full brochure is attached below.
Plans include marriage seminars, supporting legislators that promote their agendas and concerted focus on choice and the marriage amendment.
PFI has launched the marriage workshops, invited anti-choice darling Lila Rose to be their keynote speaker, hosted a large event in Metcalfe's backyard and got a seed grant of $7500 from an anonymous source. There's a plan at work here and one that potentially involves the investment of millions. The plan is in motion and the Marriage Amendment is just one strand.
There's a pattern amidst these threads ... Metcalfe, Cranberry, Chick-Fil-A, Winshape Foundation (Chick-Fil-A foundation), the Cathy family which owns Chick-Fil-A. Is the Winshape Foundation and their larger partners behind the donations? Is Metcalfe one of the "statesmen" PFI lauds in their brochure?
I hope progressives continue to dig. Chick-Fil-A went on a PR frenzy to convince you to keep buying chicken sandwiches and milkshakes and waffle fries. If there's more to that particular relationship, we need to know.
The money came from somewhere and isn't limited to Pennsylvania. Birkey's piece details goings on in South Dakota, West Virginia, Indiana, Louisiana, Arizona and Florida.
The source of these anonymous seed grants matters, but the bigger issue is the fact that our opponents are in the trenches and they are well funded on multiple fronts. The current PFI blog posts focus on school choice and abortion. These are hot topics in the Corbett Administration.
It also illustrates the need to build coalitions and pool our resources. When I read that PFI plans to target half a million on three issues, one of which is the marriage amendment, I believe we need to broaden the scope of our own individual agendas. Destroying the public school system, for example, will not be good for children in LGBTQ families and/or children who identify as LGBTQ.
Please continue to pay attention. Elections are right around the corner and you can make an impact by electing (or retaining) progressive women and men. We need to support the attacks on labor, public education, health care, reproductive justice as vigilantly as we defend our community. Finally, we need to pay attention to the well-laid plans of those who would deny us our freedom and liberties.
(scroll down for links to the 2011 Blog for Equality participating blogs)
When it comes to LGBTQ equality blogswarms in Pgh, we've had good company back in 2008 and 2010.
I'm sad that we need to rally the troops once again to stand up against yet another attempt to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution in order to "protect marriage." Sigh. But I'm happy the troops are there to be rallied.
Here's how it works
- Your post should be up before or on Tuesday, May 10, 2011
- Any blogger can participate.
- Write a blog post on any angle of the issue that you like (or don't like). Length is not important.
- Contact me (email, twitter, facebook) with a link so we can track participation.
- Spread the word to other bloggers who might want to chime in.
In my recent half dozen posts, you'll find more details including the 5 Western PA legislators serving on the relevant committee alongside the legislation's sponsor and committee chair, Daryl Metcalfe - R, Cranberry. Let me know if you need more details.
- This is the link to the actual bill should you find that helpful.
That's it! Once your post is up, please use your social media tools to spread the word. I can attest that these "swarms" are read over and over and over again throughout the year. Together we can send a message to Pennsylvania that the lives of LGBTQ persons are not political fodder.
FWIW, there are four separate pieces of legislation that are LGBTQ+ on hate crimes, civil unions, marriage equality and civil rights protections. I am looking forward to sprinkling some of that goodness into the conversation.
The Narrative in the Blog sent in this submission a little late, but very welcomed! Blog for Equality Day 2011
Other links of note:
The Tribune Review Editorial Board: "But constitutions are not for denying rights; they're for enumerating them. This is poor form, the antithesis of liberty, and the effort should be rejected."
?Representative Metcalfe understands the need to do more than simply protect the word ?marriage.? A strong two-part amendment is what is needed to preserve the institution of marriage. In 2004 Oregon passed an amendment that simply defined marriage as between one man and one woman and four years later marriage-like benefits were extended to homosexual couples. Their amendment only preserved the word, not the institution of marriage,? stated Diane Gramley, President of the AFA of PA.
The word "marriage" is the issue. Marriage a legal term used to describe a civil institution. I want access to that institution. I don't give a hoot about the religious constructs of marriage. But there's no way to parse the word and people who think we can magically come up with a solution which satisfies everyone are thinking desperately. No one is coming to take over the church ceremonies. Relax and save your hysteria for the natural gas companies where it is well deserved.
Setting aside the other LGBT legislation, I just shake my head that so many issues will go unaddressed while elected officials rally around this. I'm sure it will be the toast of Cranberry Township tomorrow night when Metcalfe, the Pennsylvania Family Institute and rightwing darling Lila Rose will be gathering for the PFI Annual Dinner. I wish I had ability to infiltrate. With a Flip Cam.
Metcalfe's plan to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution begins in the State Government Committee of which he is the Majority Chair. As Chair, he has the power to bring the amendment to a committee vote. It would be best to squelch that and you can help by contacting the other members of the committee.
The message is very clear. There are many more important issues than this and we need our elected officials to focus their time and energy on them -- the economy, transportation, taxes, health care, the environment, etc.
Note that there are several Southwestern PA committe members. It is not too early to galvanize your networks to make the calls and make it personal -- people in our neighborhoods need jobs, healthcare, focus on energy issues, education, etc. The links will take you to the reps contact page - phone, email, webforms, etc. Just a few clicks if you live in Moon or Penn Township and you can help put this divisive issue aside to focus on your family priorities.
George Dunbar - Westmoreland County (Jeannette, North Huntington, Penn Twp, Irwin, North Irwin, Penn)
Eli Evankovich - Armstrong and Westmoreland Counties (New Kensington, Penn Township, Murrysville, Upper Burrell, Lower Burrell, Allegheny Township, Arnold, Export, Bethel Township, Cadogan Township, Parks Township, and Gilpin Township)
Metcalfe, R-Cranberry, who chairs the House State Government Committee, on Monday announced he is sponsoring a constitutional amendment to define marriage. It would need to be approved in two successive sessions of the Legislature and would then be submitted for approval or rejection by the state's voters. The earliest that could happen would be 2013.
The constitution, if changed, would read: "Marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife and no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized."
The bill's chances are improved in a Republican-controlled legislature, but it is still a contentious issue many lawmakers would rather avoid. As committee chairman, Metcalfe can at least guarantee a committee vote.
It is a bit challenging to come up with someonething new about this one other than quiet disgust. John Morgan at The Pennsylvania Progressive plans to out closeted legislators who cast any affirmative vote on this one.
While we can hope this illustrates the distance between Metcalfe and the "rest" of the Republicans, I suspect this will not go quietly into the good night. Democrats have voted for this in previous terms so we can take nothing for granted.
Please take a moment to sign the petition up at Equality Pennsylvania's site.
