For many gay, lesbian and bisexual San Diegans, the expression “working while gay” seems a bit archaic since workplace and employment discrimination based on sexual orientation has been gradually banned in California (first through the passage of Assembly Bill 2601, authored by Assemblymember Terry Friedman (D-Encino) in 1992, followed by way of AB 1001 Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles), in 1999). In fact, California’s anti-discrimination labor and employment law is so sweeping that even conservative ideologue proprietors like Manchester Grand Hyatt owner Doug Manchester are found touting their inclusive tolerance policies toward GLBT workers.

But sadly, our state’s protections are simply not enough. Millions of GLBT Americans face workplace and employment discrimination daily, with little or no recourse at their disposal. The Employee Non-Discrimination Act (EFCA) and recent introduction of the Employee Free Choice Act (ENDA) this week are vital to the federal extension of the very same rights we enjoy in California to the entire GLBT American workforce. These two pieces of legislation are complementary and should be lobbied as such.

The provisions outlined in an all-inclusive ENDA would be buttressed by a worker’s streamlined ability to form a union. While an all-inclusive ENDA would add sexual orientation and gender identity to our existing anti-discrimination policies, many state governments and employers otherwise disinclined to shield GLBT workers from employment discrimination would feel further compelled to abide by federal law if under the watchful eye of an institutionalized organized labor. So what would Employee Free Choice actually change? The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1935 stipulates that workers can form a union free of employer intimidation and is enforced by the National Labor Relations Board. Unfortunately, the antiquated NLRA does little to realize the intentions of its legislative authors since more than 25 percent of employers unlawfully fire pro-union employees, subject those who wish to form a union to threats and intimidation and spend millions annually “busting” union organizing drives. Employee Free Choice would simplify the process of forming a union by: allowing workers to sign a card authorizing their wish to form a union (card-check neutrality); increasing fines and penalties for employers found intimidating their workers; and providing binding arbitration that would force employers to negotiate contracts with unions no later than six months after formation. Right now, employees must endure a long and arduous election process spanning months, sometimes years, which gives employers the time to and advantage of strategically firing key union activists and sympathizers, forcing workers to eventually vote the union down for fear of retribution.

For those of you still convinced that the shared plight of Labor and the GLBT community is a stretch, just look at our adversaries. Labor and the GLBT community are often vilified by right-wing figureheads just the same, insisting that our cultures are anathema to the fabric of America. According to their logic, Labor unions disable the competitiveness of a capitalist society. One congressmember even equated passage of Employee Free Choice to the “death of American capitalism as we know it.” Likewise, the right-wing has also been found deriding the GLBT community as sexual deviants who seek to erode the very underpinning of the family unit. We are both working to dispel the same myths, battle the same stigmas and dream of a more perfect union.

As a proud union member and gay professional, I feel strongly that the Employee Non-Discrimination Act absent passage of the Employee Free Choice Act would leave much to be desired. After all, depressed wages, exorbitant healthcare premiums, an inability to extend benefits to a domestic partner, and basic “paycheck-to-paycheck” sustenance dims the shining glow of workplace and employment equality to an unrecognizable flicker.

The legislative battle set off by introduction of the Employee Free Choice Act will likely be one of the most sanguinary standoffs between working people and big business that the U.S. has ever seen. In no uncertain terms, it’s in the interest of the GLBT community to side with Labor. Employee Free Choice will provide much needed “teeth” to ENDA so that we may all have the freedom of “working while gay.” Senator Feinstein has yet to co-sponsor the Employee Free Choice Act. She remains the sole Democrat in Congress not formally supporting this legislation.