Nancy Wohlforth was an American union leader and activist who advocated for a variety of civil, labor, and

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

causes throughout her career including

single-payer healthcare Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare, in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer"). Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from pr ...

, domestic partner worker benefits, and non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ workers. She was the first out member of the LGBTQ community to be elected to the

AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...

Executive Council in 2005.

Career

Early career with OPEIU Local 3

In 1980, Wohlforth helped found the Lesbian and Gay Labor Alliance (LGLA). She was also active with

Office and Professional Employees International Union The Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) is a trade union in the United States and Canada representing approximately 88,000 white-collar working people in the public and private sectors. It has members in all 50 US stat ...

, Local 3 in

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California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Wohforth was a member of "A Growing Concern," a caucus within Local 3 seeking to reform the organization and draw attention to women's and gay issues after a 19 week-long strike at Blue Shield failed. In 1983, she was elected to be Local 3's Vice-President as a part of "A Growing Concern's" first slate of candidates. Wohlforth later took on Business Manager responsibilities for the union and was elected to be their Secretary-Treasurer in 1986. As an out lesbian, Wohlforth faced rumors that she was in relationships with straight colleagues; however, her reputation as an out lesbian gave her credibility with LGBTQ workers and helped her win over local shops including the Episcopal Community Service, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Information Store, and Hospitality House.

Creation of Pride at Work

On June 24, 1994, LGBT labor leaders met in New York for "Pride at Work, the Founding Conference of the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transgender People in the Labor Movement" meeting. The meeting was partially in honor of the 25th anniversary of the

Stonewall riots The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising, Stonewall rebellion, Stonewall revolution, or simply Stonewall) were a series of spontaneous riots and demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of ...

. Wohlforth, representing LGLA and OPEIU, co-chaired a group working to create an organization uniting the different LGBT, labor organizations into a single organization,

Pride at Work Pride at Work (P@W) is an American lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender group (LGBTQ+) of trade union, labor union activists affiliated with the AFL-CIO. Gay rights and the labor movement The openness, visibility and participation of LGBT peopl ...

. Nancy was elected to the position of co-president with Cal Noyce in 1996, and Pride at Work adopted a resolution in support of affiliation with the AFL–CIO as an official constituency group at the same conference in San Francisco. They went on to secure constituency status in 1997.

National leadership

In 2003, Wohlforth was elected as the Secretary-Treasurer of the

(OPEIU) making her the first open member of the LGBTQ community to hold an international union officer position. A couple years later, she was elected to the AFL–CIO Executive Council in 2005, making her the first open LGBTQ person elected to the Executive Council.

Death

Wohlforth died on December 31, 2024.

Awards

* In 1999, the ''Advocate'' listed her among their Best and Brightest Activists. * Pride at Work Solidarity Award, 2018.

Writing

* * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wohlforth, Nancy Columbia University alumni AFL-CIO people American LGBTQ rights activists Lesbian trade unionists Year of birth missing (living people) 2024 deaths Activists from San Francisco Trade unionists from California American women trade unionists American trade union leaders Vice presidents of the AFL-CIO