Gay & Lesbian Times: What brings you to San Diego?

SL: I am here for the AFL-CIO Labor Pride at Work board meeting to support our San Diego chapter. There is a lot of dialogue in California on the upcoming marriage equality ballot initiative. There is a lot of social dialogue and political dialogue, and LGBT activists and labor must convene for equality.

GLT: It looks like labor and the LGBT community work well together.

SL: Classically, they haven’t worked well. But things have been changing, and now, in general, there are a lot of LGBT individuals self-selecting to participate in the labor movement. It’s more than the average, you know, and everyone who works for justice understands that it is a natural fit to extend your self-knowledge for workers rights issues of equity to inequities for LGBT workers.

GLT: How did you get involved in Pride at Work?

SL: I have always thought it important to work in the labor movement. My mother taught me that. She worked in the [Washington,] D.C. General Hospital during the ’80s, and she saw the vast difference between her union-supported working conditions and friends and relatives who were not in unions. She was paid better, had better hours. She just had a much better work environment. And the non-unionized hospitals were terrible, horrible places. My mom had to move to [a non-union hospital] when I was young, and I guess I have that memory that, well, they just weren’t being nice to my mom.

GLT: But why GLBT rights and not just labor?

SL: I have dedicated myself to workers rights. Working is the next biggest activity we do besides sleeping. And as a lesbian, as an African-American, I have to be mindful of my communities’ rights.

GLT: Speaking of communities, you spoke at the San Diego Democratic Club’s meeting the other night, talking about Friday’s reception. You were very passionate. You invited people to the event, but you challenged them, saying, “This is only for those who are pioneers.” Do you think of yourself as a pioneer?

SL: For me, it just flows. In the past, the labor movement has become diversified on paper. I think now more than ever the reality of the labor movement will become more diversified in reality, where full inclusion of the LGBT community is supported. The reality is that the labor movement is in serious trouble. It is under attack by our government, consulting firms, a general split within the unions. Some numbers show half of the members of the AFL-CIO have left. This crisis creates opportunities – but only if you’re willing to be a pioneer.

GLT: So that is how the marriage of labor and the GLBT community is coming together?

SL: I think everyone realizes to win power you must reach out to sectors that weren’t classically part of your comfort zone. Labor is beginning to reach out to youth, people of color, the LGBT community. More importantly, they are putting these people into leadership positions. Let’s face it, labor unions largely consist of members who are people of color, and, yet, that classically is not the case with union leadership. We are seeing a trend of membership and leadership reflecting each other.

GLT: You see this, then, as a time for opportunity and not a time for crisis.

SL: Exactly. It’s a great time. True, it’s a scary time because it is a time of change. I love it. Four out of five of our staff members are under 30. Youth are stepping up for the challenge. And now, as an African-American being in this position, 10 years ago, doing this kind of work I would have encountered so many obstacles, obstacles along racial lines, cultural lines, gender lines. But because the labor movement is in such shakeup – diversity across so many classes, race, gender, sexuality – it is all coming together as a powerful force.

GLT: Change can be scary for people. It can create feelings of fear, no?

SL: Society is never ready for change, and when change happens it is never popular. But gay issues are being spoken about a lot more now than ever. Thirty years from now, it will be unbelievable that we were arguing over marriage equality, the same way today it is unthinkable that people were protesting in the streets about interracial marriage. What may seem like radical change at the time can leave people shocked and afraid. And fear can make you do one of two things. Fear can make you hold onto everything you have, and foes of equality can exploit that. Or fear can help you move beyond your normal boundaries and comfort zone. I believe our efforts will allow people to safely move beyond their normal boundaries. And the change we are creating will be a good thing. I am optimistic. Most pioneers are.