National
NETROOTS: Lesbian SEIU head backs exec order against LGBT job bias
Henry says directive would make it easier to pass ENDA at later time
Openly gay SEIU President, Mary Kay Henry. (Photo courtesy SEIU Local 1)
The lesbian leader of the nation’s fastest-growing labor union on Saturday endorsed the idea of President Obama issuing an executive order barring federal contractors from engaging in anti-LGBT job discrimination.
Mary Kay Henry, who’s openly gay and president of the Service Employees International Union, said in a brief exchange with the Washington Blade at Netroots Nation she would support such a directive as an interim alternative to passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act while Republicans remain in control of the U.S. House.
“I think because just like every situation where you chip away at the inequality, and begin to establish as it a norm, it makes it easier to get it legislated,” Henry said.
LGBT rights supporters have been calling on Obama to issue an executive order that would prohibit the U.S. government from doing business with companies that don’t have policies protecting employees against job discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. The White House hasn’t said one way or the other whether the president would issue such a directive.
Lawmakers who’ve endorsed the idea of issuing this executive order include gay Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) as well as Sens. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). Henry joins those backing this directive as president of a labor union representing 1.8 million workers in three sectors: health care employees, such as hospital and nursing home workers; public service employees, such as local and state government workers; and property service employees, such as janitors, security officer and food service workers.
Henry compared the effort to persuade Obama to issue an executive order against LGBT job bias to what she said was the labor movement’s goal of encouraging the president to sign a directive mandating that federal contractors permit employees the right to “freely form unions.”
“We’re trying to get action from the president in terms of allowing workers to freely form unions if they’re federal contracted as well, so maybe we can work together on it,” Henry said.
While backing the idea of an executive order, Henry said the labor movement has also been active in pushing for legislative passage of ENDA. The legislation, sponsored by gay Rep. Barney Frank in the House and Merkley in the Senate, is pending before Congress and would job bias against LGBT people in most private and public workforce situations.
“We’ve been public in favor of it,” Henry said. “We’ve put our staff on it in D.C. We’ve had members working on it in the districts. So we, I believe, have been full partners and have linked arms in making sure that we do that at the federal level.”
Henry, who became president of the SEIU in May 2010, she said she thinks her election as head of the union demonstrates that “all the justice fights are really one fight” and recalled that unionized health care workers worked against LGBT discrimination during the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.
“And when I think about my history in SEIU — when the AIDS epidemic broke out in the late 80s, it was health care workers that were really in the forefront of trying to make sure that we eliminated discrimination in health care,” Henry said. “And we did a lot on health care workers not getting stuck by needles at that time when it was spreading through needle exchange.”
Henry also observed that LGBT rights come under attack in different states just as union rights are threatened in state after state. For example, in Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker (R) earlier this year signed legislation restricting the collective bargaining rights of state workers. Similarly, Walker last month withdrew the previous administration’s legal defense of the Wisconsin’s domestic partner registry, contending the law signed by former Rep. Jim Doyle (D) violate the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
“We’re now faced with a fight where workers’ rights and LGBT rights are coming under attack in state after state,” Henry said. “And so, for me, it’s all about one fight and having the power to push back on these attacks, and then celebrate the gains that are being made on marriage equality, which, I think, is incredible in this environment.”
Henry said being an out lesbian hasn’t been obstacle as leader in the labor movement and said people whom she’s met in the role have been “really warm and welcoming.” Prior to becoming SEIU president, Henry was a founding member of the organization’s Lavender Caucus, which represents LGBT workers.
“I find that what I need to do is come out in every situation that I’m in, so I usually introduce myself that way, or I’m introduced as having founded the Lavender Caucus, because I think it’s just an important way of reminding ourselves that we haven’t achieved justice and equality for everyone in this country yet,” Henry said.
The transcript of the exchange between the Washington Blade and Henry follows:
Washington Blade: What kind of significance do you think being out as a lesbian and head of the SEIU has for the labor movement?
Mary Kay Henry: I think what it represents is the advance we’ve made in understanding how all of the justice fights are really one fight. And when I think about my history in SEIU — when the AIDS epidemic broke out in the late 80s, it was health care workers that were really in the forefront of trying to make sure that we eliminated discrimination in health care. And we did a lot on health care workers not getting stuck by needles at that time when it was spreading through needle exchange.
In our contract bargaining, we’ve been fighting against … discrimination based on LGBT issues for decades and we’re now faced with a fight where workers’ rights and LGBT rights are coming under attack in state after state. And so, for me, it’s all about one fight and having the power to push back on these attacks, and then celebrate the gains that are being made on marriage equality at the same time, which, I think, is incredible in this environment.
Blade: Has being an out lesbian had any impact on your work in the labor movement? Has it been an obstacle in any way?
Henry: It hasn’t. I’ve found people to be really warm and welcoming. I find that what I need to do is come out in every situation that I’m in, so I usually introduce myself that way, or I’m introduced as having founded the Lavender Caucus, because I think it’s just an important way of reminding ourselves that we haven’t achieved justice and equality for everyone in this country yet.
Blade: One important goal for the LGBT movement is passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. What has the labor movement done to facilitate passage of that bill?
Henry: We’ve been public in favor of it. We’ve put our staff on it in D.C. We’ve had members working on it in the districts. So we, I believe, have been full partners and have linked arms in making sure that we do that at the federal level.
Blade: Would you support an executive order barring federal contractors from engaging in job bias against LGBT people as an interim alternative to ENDA passage?
Henry: Yeah. And we’re trying to get action from the president in terms of allowing workers to freely form unions if they’re federal contracted as well, so maybe we can work together on it.
Blade: Why do you think an executive order on ENDA would be helpful?
Henry: I think because just like every situation where you chip away at the inequality and begin to establish as it a norm, it makes it easier to get it legislated.
New York
Men convicted of murdering two men in NYC gay bar drugging scheme sentenced
One of the victims, John Umberger, was D.C. political consultant
A New York judge on Wednesday sentenced three men convicted of killing a D.C. political consultant and another man who they targeted at gay bars in Manhattan.
NBC New York notes a jury in February convicted Jayqwan Hamilton, Jacob Barroso, and Robert DeMaio of murder, robbery, and conspiracy in relation to druggings and robberies that targeted gay bars in Manhattan from March 2021 to June 2022.
John Umberger, a 33-year-old political consultant from D.C., and Julio Ramirez, a 25-year-old social worker, died. Prosecutors said Hamilton, Barroso, and DeMaio targeted three other men at gay bars.
The jury convicted Hamilton and DeMaio of murdering Umberger. State Supreme Court Judge Felicia Mennin sentenced Hamilton and DeMaio to 40 years to life in prison.
Barroso, who was convicted of killing Ramirez, received a 20 years to life sentence.
National
Medical groups file lawsuit over Trump deletion of health information
Crucial datasets included LGBTQ, HIV resources
Nine private medical and public health advocacy organizations, including two from D.C., filed a lawsuit on May 20 in federal court in Seattle challenging what it calls the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’s illegal deletion of dozens or more of its webpages containing health related information, including HIV information.
The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, names as defendants Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and HHS itself, and several agencies operating under HHS and its directors, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration.
“This action challenges the widespread deletion of public health resources from federal agencies,” the lawsuit states. “Dozens (if not more) of taxpayer-funded webpages, databases, and other crucial resources have vanished since January 20, 2025, leaving doctors, nurses, researchers, and the public scrambling for information,” it says.
“These actions have undermined the longstanding, congressionally mandated regime; irreparably harmed Plaintiffs and others who rely on these federal resources; and put the nation’s public health infrastructure in unnecessary jeopardy,” the lawsuit continues.
It adds, “The removal of public health resources was apparently prompted by two recent executive orders – one focused on ‘gender ideology’ and the other targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (‘DEI’) programs. Defendants implemented these executive orders in a haphazard manner that resulted in the deletion (inadvertent or otherwise) of health-related websites and databases, including information related to pregnancy risks, public health datasets, information about opioid-use disorder, and many other valuable resources.”
The lawsuit does not mention that it was President Donald Trump who issued the two executive orders in question.
A White House spokesperson couldn’t immediately be reached for comment on the lawsuit.
While not mentioning Trump by name, the lawsuit names as defendants in addition to HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., Matthew Buzzelli, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health; Martin Makary, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration; Thomas Engels, administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration; and Charles Ezell, acting director of the Office of Personnel Management.
The 44-page lawsuit complaint includes an addendum with a chart showing the titles or descriptions of 49 “affected resource” website pages that it says were deleted because of the executive orders. The chart shows that just four of the sites were restored after initially being deleted.
Of the 49 sites, 15 addressed LGBTQ-related health issues and six others addressed HIV issues, according to the chart.
“The unannounced and unprecedented deletion of these federal webpages and datasets came as a shock to the medical and scientific communities, which had come to rely on them to monitor and respond to disease outbreaks, assist physicians and other clinicians in daily care, and inform the public about a wide range of healthcare issues,” the lawsuit states.
“Health professionals, nonprofit organizations, and state and local authorities used the websites and datasets daily in care for their patients, to provide resources to their communities, and promote public health,” it says.
Jose Zuniga, president and CEO of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC), one of the organizations that signed on as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said in a statement that the deleted information from the HHS websites “includes essential information about LGBTQ+ health, gender and reproductive rights, clinical trial data, Mpox and other vaccine guidance and HIV prevention resources.”
Zuniga added, “IAPAC champions evidence-based, data-informed HIV responses and we reject ideologically driven efforts that undermine public health and erase marginalized communities.”
Lisa Amore, a spokesperson for Whitman-Walker Health, D.C.’s largest LGBTQ supportive health services provider, also expressed concern about the potential impact of the HHS website deletions.
“As the region’s leader in HIV care and prevention, Whitman-Walker Health relies on scientific data to help us drive our resources and measure our successes,” Amore said in response to a request for comment from the Washington Blade.
“The District of Columbia has made great strides in the fight against HIV,” Amore said. “But the removal of public facing information from the HHS website makes our collective work much harder and will set HIV care and prevention backward,” she said.
The lawsuit calls on the court to issue a declaratory judgement that the “deletion of public health webpages and resources is unlawful and invalid” and to issue a preliminary or permanent injunction ordering government officials named as defendants in the lawsuit “to restore the public health webpages and resources that have been deleted and to maintain their web domains in accordance with their statutory duties.”
It also calls on the court to require defendant government officials to “file a status report with the Court within twenty-four hours of entry of a preliminary injunction, and at regular intervals, thereafter, confirming compliance with these orders.”
The health organizations that joined the lawsuit as plaintiffs include the Washington State Medical Association, Washington State Nurses Association, Washington Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Academy Health, Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, Fast-Track Cities Institute, International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, National LGBT Cancer Network, and Vermont Medical Society.
The Fast-Track Cities Institute and International Association of Providers of AIDS Care are based in D.C.
U.S. Federal Courts
Federal judge scraps trans-inclusive workplace discrimination protections
Ruling appears to contradict US Supreme Court precedent
Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas has struck down guidelines by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission designed to protect against workplace harassment based on gender identity and sexual orientation.
The EEOC in April 2024 updated its guidelines to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020), which determined that discrimination against transgender people constituted sex-based discrimination as proscribed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
To ensure compliance with the law, the agency recommended that employers honor their employees’ preferred pronouns while granting them access to bathrooms and allowing them to wear dress code-compliant clothing that aligns with their gender identities.
While the the guidelines are not legally binding, Kacsmaryk ruled that their issuance created “mandatory standards” exceeding the EEOC’s statutory authority that were “inconsistent with the text, history, and tradition of Title VII and recent Supreme Court precedent.”
“Title VII does not require employers or courts to blind themselves to the biological differences between men and women,” he wrote in the opinion.
The case, which was brought by the conservative think tank behind Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation, presents the greatest setback for LGBTQ inclusive workplace protections since President Donald Trump’s issuance of an executive order on the first day of his second term directing U.S. federal agencies to recognize only two genders as determined by birth sex.
Last month, top Democrats from both chambers of Congress reintroduced the Equality Act, which would codify LGBTQ-inclusive protections against discrimination into federal law, covering employment as well as areas like housing and jury service.
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