AFL-CIO gay labor
group slams gay
business organization
for Wal-Mart deal
by PageOneQ.com from
the Web, August 21, 2006
Jeremy Bishop, program director of
Pride at Work slammed the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce today
upon the announcement of the Chamber entering into partnership with Wal-Mart
Stores, the nation's largest retailer.
Bishop quoted from the NGLCC mission statement in a phone interview with
PageOneQ. "The mission statement says it is committed 'to forming a
broad-based coalition of LGBT owned and friendly businesses.' We're not
exactly sure how Wal-Mart fits into the LGBT friendly business category," he
said. "In fact, We're not sure how Wal-Mart fits into anything worker
friendly.
Wal-Mart and the Chamber have announced a partnership which will include
Wal-Mart sponsorship of the organization's events through the end of the year,
as well as support of Chamber initiatives.
As part of the agreement, Dee Breazeale, a vice president of Sam's Club Jewelry,
a subsidiary of Wal-Mart, will serve on the NGLCC's Corporate Advisory Council.
"We are honored to have Wal-Mart's support of the NGLCC. Our partnership
will not only provide more opportunities for the NGLCC, but the business
community as a whole," said NGLCC Co- Founder and President Justin Nelson in a
statement released today.
In an interview with PageOneQ today, Nelson defended the alliance by saying it
would help "LGBT businesses and entrepreneurs be a part of the largest supply
chain in the United States."
Bishop countered the benefits of the alliance saying his organization would
rather the Chamber "Encourage the NGLCC to demand that Wal-Mart create
'friendly' practices, of say, paying their employees above poverty line wages,
offering affordable health care, and when that is done, they could think about
offering domestic partner benefits and dealing with the massive class action
lawsuit facing them regarding gender discrimination," he added.
The National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce describes itself as "the
largest LGBT business development and economic advocacy organization in the
world." Their website is
here.
Pride at Work, a constituency group of the AFL-CIO, mobilizes mutual support
between the organized Labor Movement and the LGBT Community around organizing
for social and economic justice. Their website is
here.
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