COMMUNITY GROUPS
Forces ordered to add gays
to civilian EEO statements
by Stephen G. Bickford Dayton-Since the Air Force GLOBE (Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Employees) group was founded in November of 1996 we have fought and won many battles. We recently secured a victory that is the culmination of many that we have fought over our 24-year history.
Our first major victory was getting the Secretary of the Air Force to add sexual orientation to their equal employment opportunity policy statement on October 29, 1997.
Later, we had to fight a battle to get our group's meeting notices published in the
GLOBE
Air Force Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Employees
Dayton Daily News. Then we had a major battle to get the general in charge of the Air Force Materiel Command, at WrightPatterson Air Force Base in Dayton, to distribute the new Air Force EEO policy including sexual orientation to all the 108,000 employees at more than a dozen bases under his command.
The latest battle that we fought was to get the Department of Defense to add sexual orientation to all of the equal employment opportunity policy statements published by the Pentagon, especially those included in the civilian position vacancy announcements on the Army, Navy and Air Force web sites.
Since Defense Secretary William Cohen signed the 1998 Defense Dept. Human Goals Charter back on July 24, 1998, which updated the charter to include sexual orientation, little was seen in the way of actual published changes by the department.
It took my writing a letter as president of Air Force GLOBE on January 22 to Rep. Barney Frank to get the Defense Department (including the Army, Navy and Air Force) to actively update their EEO policies to include protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation for civilian employees.
Upon receipt of the Air Force GLOBE letter, Frank immediately called Frank M. Rush, Jr. the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Management Policy.
Five days later, Rush issued a memorandum to the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Reserves titled "Compliance with Executive Order 11478."
In his memorandum he referenced President Clinton's Executive Order 13087 of May 28, 1998 amending Executive Order 11478 and the Department of Defense Human Goals Charter which was updated on July 24, 1998, both written to include protection for civilian federal employees based on sexual orientation.
Rush noted that "job announcements issued as recently as this month omit 'sexual orientation' from the listing of characteristics which must not factor in the hiring decision" and he directed the forces under his command to "ensure that your civilian personnel or human resource offices (both regional and local) correct this oversight in vacancy announcements and in any other documents which set out the bases on which discrimination in Federal civilian employment is specifically prohibited."
We commend Secretary Rush for taking this immediate and direct action. We are very glad to see this accomplished.
It has been the focus of Air Force GLOBE from our beginning to get the Air Force and later the entire Defense Department to include protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation in all of its EEO policy statements and to have these statements made available for all Defense Department employees to read.
Now that this has been required by the Acting Assistant Defense Secretary for Force Management Policy, we will continue to monitor the policy changes on the internet, but turn our focus toward the passage of the gay and lesbian Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA. Only with the passage of ENDA will prohibitions against discrimination in the workforce based on sexual orientation have real meaning and enforcement value for the American people.
Air Force GLOBE is a division of Federal GLOBE and has the chartered purpose is to eliminate prejudice and discrimination in the federal government based on sexual orientation by developing and providing educational programs, materials and assistance mechanisms which address the distinctive concerns and problems of lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals in the federal government; and educating the general public, policy makers, and federal employees about issues of concern to lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals. ♡
Stephen G. Bickford is the president of Air Force GLOBE.
Community Groups
The "Community Group" column on this page is published by the Gay People's Chronicle free of charge, as a public service. It is written by a member or officer of the non-profit organization, reflecting the views of that group.
If your organization would like to submit a column for this page, contact the Chronicle's managing editor, Doreen Cudnik at 216-631-8646, toll-free 800426-5947, or e-mail editor@chronohio.com.
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