Workers’ rights are queer rights!

In honor of the Labor Movement, the rapid de-unionizing of labor occurring on a global scale, and the mainstream LGBT movement’s faltering commitment to workers’ rights and economic justice, I wanted to post a link to an amazing and still highly relevant article by Susan Ruffo which was published with The Bilerico Project back in March. The piece, “What Is Happening in Madison Is an Essentially Queer Conversation,” uses the protests taking place across the Midwest to give an astute and creative analysis of how struggles for basic human rights–be they those of poor, queer, working or other marginalized communities–are always integrally linked, as well as arguing that the ways in which modern queer culture organizes itself are due in large part to the forty hour work week, one of the key battles fought for and won by the Labor Movement of the 20th century. Please check this incredible piece out, and let’s reflect today on not only what we owe previous struggles for worker rights, but also on our commitment to carrying those struggles forward into the future. This is our duty as teachers, workers, and oppressed people. Workers’ rights are queer rights!