Between inclusion and disconnection: LGBTQ Workers and the challenge of union renewal

Over the past three decades, unions have played a critical role in advancing the rights and equality of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people and other equity-seeking groups within and outside of unions. Accordingly, most unions in industrialized countries have institutionalized equity internally and through external campaigns, often delivered by union centrals. Scholarship about these initiatives has been largely celebratory, arguing that they have rendered unions more representative and socially just. This paper draws on interview and survey responses to explore LGBTQ union members’ experiences and perceptions of their unions in two deindustrializing cities. Workers who participated in union LGBTQ initiatives felt protected by their unions, less isolated in the workplace and more connected to coworkers and their unions. More commonly, however, workers faced barriers to accessing LGBTQ programming, felt disconnected from their unions and preferred employer to union support. These findings qualify the assumption that upscaling LGBTQ initiatives will advance union renewal. Instead, we suggest that strategies that foster inclusion in the workplace and union local are more likely to promote union engagement among, and social justice for, LGBTQ workers, particularly in places without preexisting support for LGBTQ people.