VERMONT'S NEWSPAPER FOR LESBlANS'_.. GAY ME.N,”AND BISEXUALS

 

Volume VIII, ‘Number 10

January 1994

Creating Crowds:

Carrie Coy

Over 300 people
turned out for a day-
long conference spon-
sored by the Vermont
Coalition of Lesbians
and Gay Men in Ran-
dolph, December 4th.

“It’s wonderful,” said
organizer Terje Ander-
son, “bringing this
many people together
and re-energizing
them.” The conference
Creating Change/
Creating Community
was a first—of- its—kind
event for the newly re-
vitalized coalition. Par-
ticipants attended doz-
ens of hour—long
workshops and elected
a new slate of officers.
Workshop topics

JAN 5 1994State Worker’s
Hundreds Turn Out for Conferentaggi,-3 , figrion Battles
‘ in if, 5%   r

 

(From left to right) Terje Anderson, Mary Hurlie,
Susan Murray -Coordinators

ranged from Fighting
the Far Right Nationally to Single in the
Sticks: A Group Discussion.

Vermont’s neighbors are under attack was
the message of one well-attended session.
Lambda Legal Defense Fund attorney Su-
zanne Goldberg chronicled recent losses to
the far right in New Hampshire, Maine
and New York. Participants questioned
how to cement legislative victories in Ver-
mont. “It’s so important not to let this fade
away,” said participant Eileen Blackwood,
of the network built during the legislative
battles of the past few years.

A heralded debate on the merits of lesbian]
gay marriage collapsed in a spirit of una-
nimity. Debaters Paula Ettlebrick of the
National Center for Lesbian Rights, and
David Chambers, a University of Mich-
igan law professor, shared an opinion that
the obtaining the right to marry should be

low on the community’s priority list.
“We should ask,” said Ettlebrick, “what
mark is our movement going to make?”
She argued that the winning right to mar-
ry our partners would be a “narrow vic-
tory.” “It fails,” she said, “to recognize
the need for a broader definition of fami-
ly” Certain families, Ettlebrick said,
would remain unrecognized by the sys-
tem. “What about older people living to-
gether platonically or disabled people
with a financial disincentive to marry?”
Ettlebrick asked. These “invisible” fam-
ilies, she said, remain outside the system,
implicitly inferior and denied the perks
accorded legally recognized families.

Seventeen people representing all regions
of the state were elected to the first—ever
full, Board of Directors. Coalition Co-
liaisons to the Governor Holly Perdue and

Continued on page 16

Phot by Cheri Goldstein

Benefits

CarrieCoy

Health care benefits for partners of gay
and lesbian state workers may soon be a
reality if their union has its way. The
state says it has no legal obligation to
provide benefits, but the 4600-member
Vermont State Employee’s Association
says otherwise. Unless the state decides
to settle first, says union representative
Steve Jansen, the issue will likely be
decided in contract negotiations, or by
the Vermont Labor Relations Board, the
same entity that ruled in favor of gay
and lesbian University of Vermont em-
ployees last summer.

Either way, an outcome should be
known by next June. The union is repre-
senting three state workers whose same-
sex partners were denied coverage. A
grievance alleging an “unfair labor prac-
tice” is expected to be filed on their be-
half in December with the VLRB. An
employee who was denied coverage for
his female partner, was prevented from
joining the grievance because the suit is
being filed exclusively on behalf of
same—sex partners. A ‘quick resolution
from VLRB is unlikely since a hearing
will not likely be held before February,
and a decision may not come for several
months after that. Board decisions may
be appealed to the Vermont Supreme
Court.

The Personnel Department initially de-
nied the applicants because they did not
apply during the open enrollment pe-
riod. When workers reapplied during
the open period, they were again de-
nied. One was told it was “fruitless” be-
cause the prospective dependent was
not a “spouse or child.” A hearing in
November before the Personnel De-
partment, required by the resolution

process, was also denied.
8

Continued on page 16