Paul Ortiz, SEIU-UHW member
After waiting for four and a half years, I am at last able to marry my best friend and companion, Tony. I ask all of my brothers and sisters in SEIU to stand with me and proclaim once and for all that California is a state for equality for all in the eyes of the law. No matter how you feel about marriage, the real issue here is basic human rights, something all of us fight for everyday as we represent our members in the workplace. Help see through the propaganda, this proposition’s defeat will in no way effect religious marriage, it will simply afford your gay and lesbian brothers and sisters, equal protection under the law, and after all that is one of the true tests of a just cause.    

Harold Sterker, SEIU Local 721 member    
 Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Yesterday I voted No on Proposition 8.
In California, Proposition 8 would eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry. It insists that only marriage between a man and a women would be valid or recognized in California. On May 15, 2008, the California Supreme Court ruled the barring same-sex couples from marriage is unconstitutional.

The labor movement has been bargaining for domestic partner benefits for decades. These arrangements offer many protections for couples and families that would otherwise be unavailable. They do not provide the same security as marriage. Relinquishing the just granted right to marry for same-sex couples creates a two tiered system at odds with the principle that separate is not equal.

Just as the labor movement stands for work equality, two people doing the work of marriage deserve the respect and support that only comes with marriage.

Organized labor has a long history of fighting for equal rights for working people and has been a leading force in securing Domestic Partner benefits as a means of leveling the playing field for lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) workers and their families. Included in this proud tradition is support for equal rights for LGBT workers. Refusing to legally recognize same-sex relationships deprives thousands of families the most important attributes of their labor, "the ability to take care of and provide for their family members". The fight for marriage equality is not about religious marriage; it is about who can enter into a legal relationship of commitment and obligation, and receive a civil marriage license from the government. Members have asked me, "does this ruling require religious groups or clergy members to marry same-sex couples"? Religious and clergy members remain free to recognize or refuse to recognize marriage within their religion as each sees fit.  Please join me in voting NO on PROP 8 November 4th.
 
In Solidarity,
Your Brother
Harold Sterker, SEIU Local 721