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Election Statement from the IATSE Pride Committee

IATSE Pride Parade President Loeb

As members of the LGBTQIA+ community, we are proudly voting for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for President and Vice President. The past four years under Trump and Pence have been disastrous for our community and we need real leaders like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to move our country into a more accepting and inclusive place.

From day one, the Trump/Pence administration has moved to erase LBGTQIA+ people being mentioned in government policy, going so far as removing pages on LGBTQIA+ rights and recognition from US government websites within hours of being sworn in. The Justice Department under the Trump/Pence administration has rolled back Obama-era interpretations of the Civil Rights Act protecting LGBTQIA+ workers and they have taken a hostile stance in court cases on discrimination.

Our transgender kin have been especially hurt by the Trump/Pence administration. From banning transgender people from serving in the military, to encouraging schools to discriminate against transgender students and proactively removing protections for transgender and gender non-conforming people in healthcare, their harmful policies and actions are having devastating consequences for transgender people – particularly Black and Latina transgender women. By marginalizing, stigmatizing, and criminalizing being transgender in this country, this administration has contributed to an unprecedented surge of violence against our kin.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, on the other hand, have stated their unequivocal support for the Equality Act, legislation that will protect LGBTQIA+ people in the workplace. They plan to reinstate Obama-era protections for our community in education, healthcare, and social services and they have committed to reversing the ban on transgender and HIV+ people from serving in the military.

A. Philip Randolph once said, “The essence of trade unionism is social uplift. The labor movement traditionally has been the haven for the dispossessed, the despised, the neglected, the downtrodden, the poor.” It is clear that a Joe Biden and Kamala Harris administration will uplift and be champions for the LGBTQIA+ community and for the overall labor movement. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will work to make this country a better place, not just for the rich and privileged, but for us all.

We ask that you join us in voting for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the next President and Vice President of the United States.

In solidarity,

The IATSE Pride Committee

P.S.

Doug Boney
IATSE Local 884

Carl Mulert
IATSE Local USA 829

Rachel McLendon
International Representative

Kim Holdridge
IATSE Local 631

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The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees or IATSE (full name: International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada), is a labor union representing over 170,000 technicians, artisans and craftspersons in the entertainment industry, including live events, motion picture and television production, broadcast, and trade shows in the United States and Canada.

For more information please contact:
General: comms@iatse.net
Press: press@iatse.net

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