How to protect your trans coworkers now that Iowa won’t

Now that Iowa Republicans have passed their latest bill attempting to force us all into their pretend gender binary (which won’t go into effect until July 1, if it’s not stopped in the courts before then), it got me thinking:

If Iowa employers can now fire our transgender and nonbinary coworkers simply for being trans and nonbinary, how can we protect them?

The good news is, in Iowa, many bosses tend to want such protections in their union contract with workers, said Charlie Wishman, president of the Iowa Federation of Labor AFL-CIO.

“Most of the time, corporations don’t want to look bad,” he told me. “Letting people have their civil rights maybe increases the morale of employees.”

And it’s in a union’s best interest to include such language as well.

“Everybody, whether they want to admit it or not, has trans members. They do want to protect them as well,” Wishman said.

But that language may now be outdated.

Matt Resor, business manager at IBEW 405 in Cedar Rapids, shared his contract’s language with Starting Line:

• “The employers and the union will comply with all laws preventing discrimination against any employee because of race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap, or veteran status.”

Starting July 1, however, there will be no such law to comply with regarding trans and nonbinary members.

So what can workers do? Two possibilities for those with a union contract:

1. Make sure you have a “just cause” provision

Nate Boulton, a labor attorney and former state senator, said setting specific protections for one class of workers could be “problematic,” as you may inadvertently leave someone out this way.

Instead, he noted that “just cause” provisions—which most union contracts include already—will protect trans and nonbinary members.

“As long as ‘just cause’ language is in a contract, it provides the protection needed to prevent a termination of a transgender or nonbinary person unless the employer is able to show it actually had a legitimate basis for the firing and that the firing was the appropriate disciplinary action based on the circumstances,” Boulton told Starting Line.

2. Or, add a provision in now (yes, now!)

Wishman said unions who want to make absolutely sure workers are protected can renegotiate their contracts anytime, even if they’re in the middle of it.

“Sometimes people on both sides can be wary of doing that—next thing you know, we’re discussing other stuff—but you can do a very narrow thing, just on this particular issue,” Wishman said.

“If both sides say, ‘It’s stupid, let’s address this right now,’ you can open it up,” he added. “They still know it’s good business to not be assholes.”

Do you have a union contract that protects trans and nonbinary members? What does that language say? Email me here.

This story is reprinted from the Iowa Worker’s Almanac, which you can subscribe to here.