CSU-AAUP

06/06/2026

We continue to fight for LGBTQ+ rights today. Many labor unions have Pride committees or other coalitions that focus on these important issues. The AFL-CIO started "Pride at Work," a organization that advocates for gay rights as human rights issues.

Your local, CSU-AAUP, has a Pride Working Group that discusses LGBTQ+ issues on CSU campuses and organizes for events, like the Middletown Pride March.

Interested in joining the group or learning more? Fill out our form: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/csu-aaup-pride-interest?source=direct_link&

AFT Connecticut

06/05/2026

Back in the 1970s, Joni Christian enjoyed her good job at a GM plant in Ohio. But she faced hostility and discrimination after her transition. Her union, UAW Local 1112, defended her rights and educated her coworkers so she didn't have to work in a toxic environment. She retired from GM and received her full union benefits, allowing her time to volunteer and advocate with her church.

06/04/2026

Harvey Milk was a prominent figure in LGBTQ+ activism. Milk used relationships and community-building to improve conditions for LGBTQ+ folks. He worked with labor unions during the Coors boycott, and then leveraged those relationships to defeat the Briggs Initiative.

06/03/2026

Moving forward to the 1960s and 1970s, Jennifer Rubino talks about the impact of the Stonewall Uprising and how it broke the dam on LGBTQ+ activism and created the annual tradition of Pride events that we enjoy today.

06/02/2026

ICYMI: CSU-AAUP members attended last week's Board of Regents meeting to speak out about the recent chaos at the System Office.

“Our faculty have not seen well-reasoned and effective advocacy in the legislature by this board or management,” Cunningham said. “Instead, we have seen yet another embarrassing and horrendous scandal serving as a stain on our institutions.”

Read more:

Following series of resignations among CT State Colleges and Universities leadership, faculty voted 'no confidence' in the Board of Regents.

06/02/2026

He was the brains behind the March on Washington, an advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and a gay man who devoted his life to demanding civil rights and equity for all. Bayard Rustin was raised by Quaker women and believed firmly in nonviolence. In his later years, he advocated for AIDS patients.

Southern Professor Laurie Bonjo talks about his legacy in both civil rights and LGBTQ+ history.

AFT Connecticut

06/01/2026

For our labor and pride series, we're starting earlier than you might think. The Marine Cooks and Stewards Union the 1930s was progressive for its time, adopting the tagline, "no red-baiting, no race-baiting, no queen-baiting.”

Southern Professor Owen Biesel talks about two union leaders - and partners - of that time who helped shape labor on the West Coast.

05/29/2026

CSU-AAUP members looked into the history of labor and LGBTQ+ activism for Pride Month. We'll be taking you through the long shared history of these two issues, starting in the 1930s up to the present day. We'll be releasing videos every day next week!

Southern Professor Wendy Wallace kicks us off by explaining why union members work together on issues outside the scope of the workplace.

AFT Connecticut

05/29/2026

JOIN US TOMORROW!

CSU-AAUP's Pride Working Group is hosting a crafting event in Middletown to prepare for the annual Pride March happening on June 6. Bring a colleague and your creativity and join us to make posters, wearable art and more.

WHEN: May 30 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
WHERE: Revive Art & Craft Supply, 49 William St., Middletown

05/27/2026

Join your union siblings to celebrate Pride! The CSU-AAUP Pride Working Group is participating in the state's largest Pride celebration in Middletown.

We'll be marching together to celebrate the long partnership between labor and LGBTQ+ rights.

WHEN: Saturday, June 6 at 1 p.m.
WHERE: The march runs down Main St. in Middletown

Sign up here to get updated information closer to the event: https://bit.ly/4uscdzC