Celebrating 41 Years! Issue 10 Volume 43
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Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
SCOTUS to hear oral Capitol Hill hate crimes arguments on same-sex forum draws capacity marriage April 28 crowd by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor The Supreme Court of the United States announced Thursday that 2-1/2 hours of oral arguments on whether states can ban same-sex marriage will be heard April 28. If the court rules in favor of the LGBTQ community, it will be a historic and momentous occasion. In addition, audio transcripts of the argument will be released later that day, most likely by 2 p.m.; rarely does the court release audio of oral arguments until the end of each week they are held. Briefs from same-sex couples challenging the bans in four Midwest states were filed last week. Friend-of-the-court briefs supporting them have been arriving this week in advance of a Friday deadline. By the end of the day Friday, scores of briefs supporting Gay marriage are almost certain to be piled high at the court. On Friday, a “people’s brief ” with more than 200,000 signatures will be filed by the Human Rights Campaign. The first signature was that of Edie Windsor, who won the 2013 case striking down a key section of the
SCOTUS – d35brb9zkkbdsd.cloudfront.net
federal Defense of Marriage Act. Attorneys representing Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee have several more weeks before their briefs defending the bans are due. Following that, the couples challenging those bans will have one more chance to file reply briefs in early April. The case is coming to the high court because the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, whose jurisdiction oversees the four states, became the only federal appeals court to uphold bans against same-sex marriage in November. Until its 2-1 ruling, the Supreme Court justices had let other rulings striking down state bans from Virginia to Utah stand, denying those states’ petitions seeking the high court’s intervention.
City Council member Kshama Sawant hosts Capitol Hill hate crimes forum – photo by Anna Erickson
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A standing room only crowd of 175 people gathered at All Pilgrims Church on Broadway for a March 3 forum on hate crimes sponsored by Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant and several LGBT organizations. “Hate violence is nothing new on Capitol Hill,” kickoff speaker Danni Askini of Gender Justice League said, “and this forum is
not a response to any particular crime.” Instead, Askini promised, the forum would begin a community conversation on hate crimes targeting LGBTQ residents on Capitol Hill and try to identify solutions. The idea for the community forum originated with Gender Justice League, Askini explained, and was organized with the aid of Sawant and her staff. In her introductory remarks, Sawant told the multi-racial, multi-gendered crowd “It’s so gratifying for me to look at all your faces. Some are familiar, some I’ve never seen before. “As an activist,” she continued, “it’s very gratifying to see people you’ve never seen before. “As an immigrant woman and a person of color, I know personally what it means to have hate directed at me.” After Sawant, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray spoke briefly, remembering past community organizing campaigns – around AIDS, hate crimes, marriage equality – started “in this very room.” “These conversations are difficult,” Mursee forum page 11
Tlingit and Haida Tribal What’s love got to do with it? Council OKs same-sex Alabama Supreme Court orders marriage halt to same-sex marriages by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
All love is equal? Not in Alabama! – photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
In the ruling, the court granted an emergency petition by two anti-Gay groups, the Alabama Policy Institute and Alabama Citizens Action Program, who sought to Defying federal courts, the Alabama halt same-sex marriages that had begun afSupreme Court ordered a halt to same-sex marriages on March 3. see alabama page 5
Under the new rules, at least one of a same-sex couple must be enrolled in the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian In a unanimous vote on February 27, the Tribes of Alaska to qualify for a tribal marExecutive Council of the Tlingit and Haida riage. T h e Tribes of Alaska old rules allowed adopted a new bill tribal courts to that allows samemarry oppositesex couples to sex tribe memmarry under tribbers, but it was not al law. The Couna regular practice. cil announced the The council’s new policy in a March policy is expected 2 statement. to encourage its “ We a re courts to perpleased to expand form same-and our Tribal Court opposite-sex marto meet the needs riages. Divorces of our tribal citiare also included zens,” said Tribal in the new law. Court Chief Justice Debra O’Gara T h e in the statement. ”Our court Tlingit and Haida logo – council said its action adds can now be utilized by tribal lh3.googleusercontent.com to a growing list of tribes citizens for the happy occasion amending or adopting rules of marriage without discrimination and regardless of gender.” see Tlingit page 3
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Celebrating 41 Years!
Paid sick days and a higher minimum wage – their time has come by Ariana Davis Special to the SGN Do you know what its like to have to choose between coming to work sick or losing a day’s pay? I know what its like and I am not alone. Over a million other workers in Washington state don’t have access to paid sick days. When Seattle passed paid sick leave a few years back it was leading the way. Now workers everywhere should be able to catch up. Because when we don’t have sick days, we’re caught in a lose-lose situation where we either stay at home to care for ourselves and miss pay, or we come to work sick. Because so many in grocery and retail jobs make lower wages and often have too few or unpredictable hours, we already stretch to make ends meet even on a good week. On a bad week when we’re sick, there is no room to spare, so we get some Kleenex and come to work. This is not good for us, or our customers. Another improvement needed is to raise the wages of those workers making the least. Raising the state’s minimum wage would greatly improve the lives of tens of
Tlingitcontinued from cover to recognize gender equality. Some 29,000 Tlingit and Haida are enrolled in the Council, making it the largest Native authority in Alaska’s panhandle. Tlingit and Haida peoples also live across the border in British Columbia. Alaska’s ban on same-sex marriage was struck down by a federal court in October. The state’s appeal is pending at the Ninth Circuit Court, but Tlingit and Haida President Richard Peterson denied the tribe’s ac-
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thousands of people who don’t even scrape by and for the communities where we all live. Lower paid workers who get a dollar more an hour will spend that right in our communities. This helps workers afford to care for needs and helps local businesses. None of these are going to become law unless we speak up and demand change. This is why I joined others down in our state’s capital last month and testified in support of new laws like these that will help reduce the inequality in our economy. I started working at Safeway when I was 16. I am now 25 and make a much better wage, but still struggle to get enough hours. New workers, or those who get stuck in low paying jobs, still need to pay the rent, put food on the table, ride the bus, pay for gas and pay for school as tuition costs continue to rise. The issues of minimum wage and sick days are not partisan issues between Republican voters and Democratic voters. In fact, polls show that a majority of voters from both parties support these two proposals. Lawmakers need to catch up with their constituents. This week the House did their part and voted both the $12 mini-
mum wage bill and the Paid Sick Leave bill. Now the Senate needs to act. I challenge any lawmaker who is not willing to pass these to try and live off less than $12 an hour. I challenge any lawmaker who is unwilling to pass these to cut their pay by 20-30% the next time they have to stay home sick to care for themselves or a family member. As a young leader in the labor movement, as a lesbian who wants to make sure that all people are respected for who they are and are provided a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work, as a proud Executive Board member of my union, UFCW 21, I say, raise the minimum wage and provide access to paid sick days for all workers in the state. These higher worker standards are not just for people who work in Seattle. A higher minimum wage and paid sick leave will improve the lives of lesbian, gay, bi, and transgender across the state. We all deserve these basic human rights.
tion was related to that case. “This isn’t about an agenda,” he told The Associated Press, adding that the goal was to simply provide equal treatment to tribal citizens. Since Native tribes are sovereign in U.S. law, each tribe is entitled to make its own rules governing marriage so long as they apply only to registered tribal members. Freedom to Marry lists nine tribal governments in the Pacific Northwest, the upper Midwest, and Oklahoma that have le-
galized same-sex marriages during the past few years. President Evan Wolfson said he’s sure there are more. “Members of the tribes know what it’s like to experience discrimination,” Wolfson said. “They know what it’s like to be shoved outside, to be looked down on.” “And I think what tribal authorities are saying is that, out of that history, we know it’s important that we not commit the same kinds of discrimination, that we not isolate people, is that we not harm them.”
March 6, 2015
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Ariana Davis is an elected member of the UFCW 21 Executive Board and works at a union grocery store in Renton.
California bigots lose again SCOTUS will not intervene to keep donors secret
California GOP votes to recognize Log Cabin Republicans
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from same-sex marriage opponents in California who hoped to keep the names of their donors secret. NOM, ProtectMarriage.com, and other sponsors of the 2008 Prop 8 that outlawed same-sex marriage in California have fought a long – and losing – campaign to hide their financial records. By declining to hear their appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed a prior ruling by the Ninth Circuit upholding California’s disclosure law to stand. State law requires political committees to identify those who contribute more than $100 during or after a campaign, along with the donor’s address, occupation and employer. Prop 8, which passed in November 2008, reversed a June 2008 decision of the California Supreme Court that legalized same-sex marriage. The campaign saw money pour into the anti-equality campaign from sources which the organizers sought to keep secret. In August 2010, U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that Prop 8 violated the due process and equal protection claus-
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es of the Fourteenth Amendment, a decision that was upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court. Because California state officials agreed with Walker, they decided not to appeal his decision, and the original sponsors of Prop 8 filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court ultimately dismissed the appeal, saying that equality opponents had no standing to sue. Same-sex couples began marrying in California on June 28, 2013. NOM was created to run the Prop 8 campaign, and its secretive practices in California set the standard for its conduct in other states. Lawsuits related to campaign disclosure laws went forward on a parallel track to the marriage case. In 2009, Californians Against Hate, an anti-Prop 8 group, filed a complaint with the IRS charging that NOM failed to file tax documents required by federal law. Gay Republican Fred Karger also filed a complaint with the California Fair Political Practices Commission charging NOM with trying to conceal Mormon donors. Similar charges were also filed against the anti-Gay group in Maine and Iowa. The U.S. Supreme Court previously declined to hear NOM’s Maine appeal in 2012.
March 6, 2015
For the first time in its 38-year history, Log Cabin Republicans has gotten official recognition from a state GOP organization. The California Republican Party voted 861-293 to charter the Gay GOP group at the state party’s biannual convention in Sacramento. Log Cabin is now the first Gay organization officially recognized by a state Republican Party. “We’re Republicans,” said Brandon Gesicki, a longtime GOP strategist. “We’re not East Germany.” Gesicki, a delegate from Carmel who supported the proposal to charter Log Cabin, said the vote showed how much the party in California has changed in recent years. “It would have been the complete opposite 15 years ago,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “The fringe does not control the party anymore. We truly are a big tent once again.” According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Scott Wilk, chair of the Republican caucus in the California Assembly turned to the Gay group at the close of the debate and said “Get out of the back of the bus. You deserve a seat.” On the other hand, the state party platform still suggests that Gayness is unacceptable, and opposes equal rights for same-sex couples.
“We believe public policy and education should not be exploited to present or teach homosexuality as an acceptable ‘alternative’ lifestyle. We oppose same-sex partner benefits, child custody, and adoption,” the document says. In contrast, Log Cabin’s mission statement says that “Opposing gay and lesbian equality is inconsistent with the GOP’s core principles of smaller government and personal freedom.” During the debate on recognizing Log Cabin, John Briscoe, president of the socially conservative California Republican Assembly, pointed out that the Gay group supports same-sex marriage. “I have a hard time understanding how we’re going to charter an organization that’s in opposition to our platform,” the LA Times reported him saying. While the Log Cabin Republicans were invited to attend the California GOP convention, they were first barred, then reluctantly allowed to attend the CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) convention in Washington, DC. The now-defunct Gay Republican group GOProud was allowed to cosponsor CPAC in 2010 and 2011, but was excluded in 2012 and 2013. In 2014, the group was allowed to attend as guests without a formal presence. Log Cabin Republicans was founded in 1977 as part of the California campaign against the Briggs Initiative, which tried to ban Gay and Lesbian teachers from employment in public schools.
Celebrating 41 Years!
No marriage in Nebraska yet
Judge strikes down marriage ban but Eighth Circuit stays ruling
U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon – www.talkradionews.com
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
A federal judge ruled on March 2 that Nebraska’s ban on same-sex marriages is unconstitutional, and set March 9 as the date on which state officials must begin to issue marriage licenses to Gay and Lesbian couples. The decision was later stayed by the Eighth Circuit Court, meaning that samesex marriages will not begin in Nebraska on March 9. “Appellants’ Emergency Motion for Stay Pending Appeal has been considered by the court, and the motion is granted,” the Eighth Circuit said. “The District Court’s Injunction Order of March 2, 2015 will be stayed pending the disposition of this appeal. It is further ordered that this case be set for oral argument in Omaha, Nebraska on May 12, 2015, together with the three other same-sex marriage cases now pending before the court.” U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon found that Nebraska’s ban on same-sex marriages was an “unabashedly genderspecific infringement of the equal rights of its citizens.” Bataillon turned down the state’s request to stay his decision pending appeal, and or-
dered state officials to comply by March 9, although that order is now stayed. “All relevant state officials are ordered to treat same-sex couples the same as different sex couples in the context of processing a marriage license or determining the rights, protections, obligations or benefits of marriage,” he wrote. The lawsuit was brought by seven samesex couples living in Nebraska. Plaintiffs include Sally Waters, who has stage four breast cancer and wants Nebraska to recognize her 2008 marriage to Susan Waters in California, in part to provide critical financial protections for their children. Nebraska voters passed Initiative Measure 416, banning same-sex marriage by state constitutional amendment, in 2000. The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office told The Associated Press it was studying Bataillon’s decision and would offer a statement later. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals could still issue a stay in the case. The appellate court is hearing marriage cases from Missouri, Arkansas, and South Dakota in May. In January, the Eighth Circuit declined to lift a stay in Missouri, indicating it wished to halt Gay and Lesbian marriages until it reached its own decision. This is not the first decision Bataillon has issued in favor of marriage equality. In 2005, he became the first federal judge in the country to strike down a state amendment barring same-sex marriage when he ruled Nebraska’s Initiative Measure 416 unconstitutional in Citizens for Equal Protection v. Bruning. The measure violated the equal protection clause, the First Amendment prohibition on establishment of religion, and the prohibition on bills of attainder, Bataillon ruled then. In July 2006, the Eight Circuit reversed Bataillon’s decision and let the Nebraska law stand. Bataillon was appointed to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton in 1997, and transitioned to senior status in 2014.
alabama
continued from cover ter a decision by U.S. District Judge Callie Granade. Both Granade, the original trial judge, and the U.S. Supreme Court had declined to stay the federal ruling, and probate judges in most Alabama counties were issuing licenses to Gay and Lesbian couples. But in a 150-page opinion, the state’s highest court ordered probate judges to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. “As it has done for approximately two centuries, Alabama law allows for ‘marriage’ between only one man and one woman,” the court said. “Alabama probate judges have a ministerial duty not to issue any marriage license contrary to this law. Nothing in the United States Constitution alters or overrides this duty.” The justices dismissed the idea that love justifies same-sex marriage in the state. “This notion has broad public appeal and is, perhaps, the mantra most repeated in public discussions of this matter,” the court wrote. “But although love may be an important factor in a lasting marriage, civil marriage has no public interest in whether the people seeking a marriage license love one another.” Alabama Chief Judge Roy Moore, who previously said he was prepared to defy even the U.S. Supreme Court to prevent same-sex marriage in his state, recused himself from the ruling. The anti-Gay organization Liberty Counsel, which represented the plaintiffs in the lawsuit to stop same-sex marriages, was predictably encouraged by the Alabama court’s decision. “The ruling represents a significant shift of momentum in the same-sex marriage agenda, and is a direct challenge to the orders of U.S. District Court Judge Callie Granade, who in January purported to overturn Alabama’s marriage laws,” the group said in a statement. “The ruling of the Alabama Supreme Court offers the most forceful and clearly articulated rebuttal to date of the imaginative arguments for same-sex ‘marriage’ em-
ployed by federal courts.” Freedom to Marry and HRC condemned the Alabama court’s decision. “The Alabama Supreme Court has done a disservice to itself, not to mention a massive injustice to the people of Alabama, in allowing itself to be used to temporarily obstruct the freedom to marry and the enforcement of the Constitution’s guarantees,” Freedom to Marry CEO Evan Wolfson said in a statement. “This latest Roy Moore travesty will not stand. The probate judges who are caught in the middle will be looking for guidance, and I am confident that the federal courts – and soon the U.S. Supreme Court – will provide it. The sad thing is that this manipulated lawsuit – the Alabama Supreme Court led by Roy Moore did not even ask for briefing on the constitutional questions it rushed to get wrong – will be one more delay for, and insult, to the loving couples seeking to marry, albeit a temporary one.” “The Alabama state Supreme Court does not have the authority to interfere with a federal court order,” said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow. “This order is outrageous and baffling, and no amount of legalese can hide the bare animus that forms the foundation of this extralegal ruling.”
State of Alabama – geology.com
New Aussie treatment as prevention study: No HIV transmission between partners where one is on meds, undetectable
Australian flag in the shape of Australia – meisterhunde.com
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The interim results of a new Australian
study shows zero incidence of HIV transmission between partners where one is HIV-positive, and on antiretroviral meds with an undetectable viral load, and the other is HIV-negative.
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The Kirby Institute’s Opposites Attract study looked at sero-discordant relationships to evaluate the risk of infection for the HIV-negative partner. In December 2014 the Kirby study enrolled 234 Gay male sero-discordant couples: 135 of these were from Australia, 52 were from Bangkok, Thailand, and 47 were from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The study reported no new HIV infections among its participants in the interim analysis done halfway through the projected study. This echoes results of other similar studies, which show that men who are on meds and have undetectable viral loads pose little to no risk of infecting HIV-negative partners. The chief researcher on the project, Professor Andrew Grulich, said he thought the results were promising. “These are very exciting results that seem to mirror findings from other important international studies of heterosexual couples, which have provided strong evi-
dence that treatment as prevention works,” Grulich said. “Essentially, what we are seeing among the gay couples enrolled in Opposites Attract is that HIV transmission is quite unlikely when someone’s viral load is undetectable. In fact, no HIV-negative man in the study has contracted HIV from his positive partner.” Grulich cautioned that a larger sample size would be needed to establish definitive results, however. “The true risk of transmission could be anywhere between zero and 4.2% per year, with a very small chance that the per-year risk could be higher than 4.2%,” he said. “We still need more gay couples to enroll in Opposites Attract, and we need to continue following up with the couples in the study before we can produce a more conclusive result to fully answer the question of how much HIV treatment reduces HIV transmission between partners in gay, serodiscordant couples.”
March 6, 2015
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AMERICA REFRAMED presents Out in the Silence on PBS WORLD Channel FREE from March 4-April 2 FRAMED
Diane Gramley marriage protest – courtesy of America Reframed
AMERICA REFRAMED presents Out in the Silence on PBS WORLD Channel FREE from March 4-April 2 NEW YORK, NY – Joe Wilson and Dean Hamer’s documentary Out in the Silence had its national broadcast television premiere on Tuesday, March 3, at 8 p.m. on PBS WORLD Channel as part of the third season of the AMERICA REFRAMED series. Audiences across the nation can also view the film FREE from March 4th to April 2nd on http://worldchannel.org/ or www. worldchannel.org/americareframed. When filmmaker Joe Wilson announces that he is to be wed to another man, a firestorm of controversy ignites his small Pennsylvania hometown. Drawn back by a plea for help from the mother of a Gay teen being tormented at school, Wilson’s journey dramatically illustrates the universal challenges of being an outsider in a conservative
environment and the transformation that is possible when those who have long been constrained by a traditional code of silence summon the courage to break it. “Determined to champion values of diversity and inclusivity, Out in the Silence serves as a solid example of the adage the personal is political,” says Chris Hastings, Co- Executive Producer, America ReFramed. “AmDoc is thrilled to collaborate with WORLD Channel and WGBH on the third season of AMERICA REFRAMED presenting the television premieres and encores of important films such as Out in the Silence. As co-producers, we share a passion for storytellers committed to helping us gain a deeper and more nuanced understanding of America today,” says Simon Kilmurry, Executive Director, American Documentary, Inc.
CJ Bills in his car – courtesy of America Reframed
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March 6, 2015
About AMERICA RE-
AMERICA REFRAMED is a co-production of the WORLD Channel and American Documentary, Inc. and is hosted by journalist Natasha Del Toro. Through the lens of independent documentaries, AMERICA REFRAMED brings to national audiences compelling stories that illuminate the changing contours of an ever-evolving America. The 26-week, social-issue documentary series presents an array of personal voices and experiences through which we learn from our past, understand our present and are challenged to seek new frameworks for America’s future. Season three of AMERICA RE-
gic engagement activities around socially relevant content on television, online and in community settings. These activities are designed to trigger action, from dialogue and feedback to educational opportunities and community participation. The WORLD Channel delivers the best of public television’s nonfiction, news and documentary programming to U.S. audiences through local public television stations and streaming online at worldchannel.org. WORLD reached 35 million unique viewers 18+ last year (55% adults 18-49) and over-indexes in key diversity demographics. Online, the WORLD Channel expands on broadcast topics and fuels dialogue across social media, providing opportunities for broad and diverse audience interaction. (Source: Nielsen Local Buyer Reach Scorecard 01/13-12/13) The WORLD Channel is programmed
FRAMED curates a diverse selection of films highlighting innovative and artistic approaches to storytelling from emerging to veteran filmmakers alike. Viewers will be immersed in personal stories from the streets of towns big and small to the exburbs and country roads that span the spectrum of American life. The documentaries invite audiences to reflect on topics as varied as culture, healthcare, politics, gun violence, religion and Joe Wilson and Dean Hamer wedding announcement – courtesy of AMERICA REFRAMED more. Hosted by journalist Natasha Del Toro, several episodes will feature by WGBH/Boston, in partnership with a roundtable discussion with special guest American Public Television and WNET/ commentators and filmmakers. New York, and in association with the AMERICA REFRAMED in its first American Public Television and National season won five 2013 CINE Golden Eagle Educational Telecommunications AssociaAwards, and recently was nominated for its tion. Funding for the WORLD Channel is second national Imagen Award, which hon- provided by the Corporation for Public ors films featuring Latinos and their culture Broadcasting and the Ford Foundation. in television and film. Additional funding for AMERICA REAmerican Documentary, Inc. (AmDoc) FRAMED is provided by the MacArthur is a multimedia company dedicated to cre- Foundation. ating, identifying and presenting contemporary stories that express opinions and Courtesy of AMERICA REFRAMED perspectives rarely featured in mainstream media outlets. AmDoc is a catalyst for public culture, developing collaborative strate-
Celebrating 41 Years!
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Celebrating 41 Years!
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Celebrating 41 Years!
GSBA neutral in labor disputes, CEO Louise Chernin says Explains award to Space Needle executive
GSBA CEO Louise Chernin – thegsba.blogspot.com
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer “Like any business organization, we don’t get involved in labor disputes,” GSBA President and CEO Louise Chernin told SGN. “We try to stay neutral, but we always encourage fairness.” In an email and subsequent phone conversation with SGN, Chernin explained her
forum
continued from cover ray said, “but we’ve been there before and we changed history.” After speaking, Murray remained to the very end, listening to the invited speakers and community comments. Besides Askini, Sawant, and Murray, speakers represented a number of community organizations, “prioritizing people whose voices have been marginalized,” Askini said. Speakers included: • Shannon Perez-Darby from Northwest Network • Lils Fujikawa of API (Asian Pacific Islander) Chaya • Raven Heavy Runner representing the Northwest Two-Spirit Society • Jackie Sandberg of Peace for the Streets by Kids from the Streets • Christie Santos-Livengood from the UW School of Public Health • Shaun Knittel of SOSea (Social Outreach Seattle) • Zach Pullin, Acting President of the Capitol Hill Community Council • Courtney Sheehan, an artist with #CapHillPSA Project • Patricia Lally, Director of the Seattle Office for Civil Rights • Debbie Carlsen representing LGBTQ Allyship Perhaps the most moving presentation was by Sandberg – a Genderqueer homeless person – recounting tearfully being a target of violence by both Transphobic criminals and the police. Following the prepared presentations, community members spoke from their own experiences about street crimes and possible solutions. Many speakers focused on underlying social problems like homelessness and
gal retaliation against them, including firing pro-union workers, threatening workers, and reneging on written agreements to resume payroll deductions for employees’ union dues. The NLRB (National Labor Relations Board), the federal agency charged with enforcing labor laws, agreed with the workers in a January 30 ruling, finding the Space Needle guilty of 64 unfair labor practices. Chernin declined to comment on the NLRB ruling, pointing out that the Space Needle had appealed it to the Ninth Circuit Court. “I don’t have a comment on that,” she said. “Businesses always have challenges. When things are still in progress, there won’t be any business commenting on other businesses – at least till there’s a final resolution.” In any case, Chernin said, the GSBA decided to honor Olson long before the NLRB handed down its ruling. “The process was all done by November [2014],” she explained. “We started in August with a committee of 22 people – past recipients of [GSBA] awards – a very diverse group, people from business, people from the trades, people of color. We meet four or five times and then present recom-
mendations to the [GSBA] Board.” The awards committee’s recommendations are based on nominations GSBA solicits from more than 4,000 people, Chernin added. “We do interviews, we talk to people, we’re committed to supporting a community process.” The result, she says, is that “when we look at the people who won awards, it’s also a very, very broad group.” “Really our role [at GSBA] is to talk about how things affect small businesses,” Chernin emphasized. “Eighty percent of our members are small businesses. Seventy percent have fewer than 10 employees.” Chernin has clashed before with UNITE HERE Local 8, the union that represents Space Needle workers and 5,000 other hospitality industry workers in Western Washington. A little more than a year ago, Chernin wrote to her GSBA members protesting union tactics in the still ongoing boycott of the Seattle Grand Hyatt and Hyatt at Olive 8 hotels. Hotel employees voted to call a boycott when management refused to agree to a fair process toward unionization. Like workers at the Space Needle, Hyatt workers have also charged the company with retaliation and intimidation.
gentrification that breed tensions and street people cheered loudly. The citizens of Capicrimes. tol Hill want results. They want to see someone organize and do something. That is A good start what SOSea does. We are honored to take on Forum participants praised the forum this project.” as a constructive start towards finding solutions to the problem of hate violence. Real solutions “The forum absolutely met our expecIn her closing remarks, Sawant called for tations,” Askini told SGN in an email. “We “tangible, concrete, material solutions” to heard from amazing community members, hate crimes and the underlying social probLGBTQ leaders, and city leadership. Most lems, and said her People’s Budget Moveimportantly, there is strong consensus that ment could help direct City funds towards this is a vital issue and that moving forward solutions. “Many speakers tonight touched on an LGBTQ youth shelter,” Sawant said. “This needs real funding, and it should be a high priority to get it into the City budget. “Why is there not an LGBTQ CenSeattle Mayor Ed Murray listens intently at the hate crime forum – courtesy of media.komonews.com ter?” she continued. “Fundwe [Gender Justice League] can work on ing that should also be a high priority for the community based solutions.” City. “The forum was a good start,” SOSea’s “Many speakers have also touched on the Shaun Knittel told SGN. need for rent control. Just because the state “I think for many people in attendance it says we can’t do it doesn’t mean City Council was a safe space to feel validation from their members shouldn’t think about ways it can fears. They seemed like they just needed happen.” someone to hear them and to acknowledge Knittel spoke about initiatives SOSea has that what they were going through was real. underway to improve safety on Capitol Hill. And that is a healthy thing. It shows com- SOSea has acquired a van to act as a Capimunity support, which is so vital at this tol Hill Safety Shuttle, carrying passengers time. home from entertainment venues at night. “SOSea walked away from the forum The two-month pilot project will be knowing we are headed in the right direc- launched March 19. SOSea hopes to expand tion. When I announced the Safety Shuttle the fleet to five vans by year-end, Knittel
added. SOSea also has LGBTQ visibility projects underway, to notify visitors “what neighborhood you are entering and what our values are.” These include the OUR HILL online PSA video campaign, and the Capitol Hill Street Sign Project that will install rainbow street signs on Capitol Hill. Saying she felt “physically and culturally displaced from Capitol Hill,” Allyship’s Debbie Carlsen said the community should “rely less on police for safety, and more on ourselves and our community.” Housing costs are displacing LGBTQ residents from Capitol Hill, Carlsen noted, making the neighborhood less Queer and less safe for the community that remains. She called for additional steps to increase the wages of LGBTQ working people. “Fifteen dollars an hour is an awesome start,” she said, “but in Seattle that’s not even a living wage.” The audience applauded and Sawant, one of the architects of Seattle’s $15/hour ordinance, smiled and nodded in agreement.
group’s decision to honor the Space Needle’s Marketing VP, Karen Olson, as Corporate Leader of the Year. The honor was controversial because the iconic Space Needle has been locked in a three-year long dispute with its workers over a new union contract. Contrary to appearances, Chernin told SGN, the GSBA did not want to side with Space Needle management. In an email, she said the company’s contributions justified the honor. “The Space Needle was recognized for raising the Rainbow Flag and then the Marriage Equality Flag, afterwards donating those flags to auctions for LGBT nonprofits,” Chernin wrote, “[for] hosting and covering the costs of a number of early LGBT weddings at their venue; the generous support they give to Travel Gay Seattle, an LGBT Tourism initiative which they help sponsor; ongoing advocacy for marriage equality and the citywide campaign, “Marry Me in Seattle”; hosting of GSBA’s Women on Top; their very generous support of several nonprofits including the GSBA Scholarship Fund and Mary’s Place and many other projects on which they are engaged.” Space Needle workers, on the other hand, have charged the company with ille-
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Future coordination Gender Justice League hopes to use the forum to jump-start discussions among community organizations. “The next steps are to meet with several other area organizations that were present to see if we can form a round table to address safety concerns, coordinate our work together, and send a clear set of recommendations to the city on behalf of Capitol Hill residents and businesses,” Askini told SGN by email. “We will continue to keep folks up to date through our website, Facebook page, and email list serve as we bring together a coalition to continue to address this vital issue and develop concrete recommendations for the city for community based solutions.”
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Seattle Gay News
March 6, 2015
Celebrating 41 Years!
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March 6, 2015
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