IN SUPPORT OF THE EMPLOYMENT NON-DISCRIMINATION ACT

WHEREAS, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in the workplace on the basis of race, gender and ethnic origin; and

WHEREAS, legislation has been regularly introduced in Congress since 1974 to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and, often, gender identity; and

WHEREAS, the American Federation of Teachers has a history of strong support for equity in the workplace; and

WHEREAS, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) (H.R. 3017) is a proposed bipartisan bill in the House of Representatives with 178 current co-sponsors as of Sept. 23, 2009, banning workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity; a like ENDA bill has been introduced in the Senate (S.1584) currently with 40 co-sponsors; and President Barack Obama supports this legislation:

RESOLVED, that the 2010 American Federation of Teachers convention support the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) currently before Congress; and

RESOLVED, that AFT president Randi Weingarten ask presidents of each local to send letters to members of their congressional delegations urging them to work for the passage of this bill and expressing the enthusiastic support of the American Federation of Teachers for the passage of this bill.