President’s Executive Order calls attention to blue collar LGBT workers

President’s Executive Order calls attention to blue collar LGBT workers
President’s Executive Order calls attention to blue collar LGBT workers

President’s Executive Order calls attention to blue collar LGBT workers

WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date on the stories that matter.
June is Pride Month but there are those who dare not publicly celebrate being LGBT, especially at work. That’s because they live in one of 29 states where you can still be fired for being gay. And if you work in a blue collar job like a steel mill, being out can mean harassment and sometimes physical violence at the hands of co-workers. Gary, Indiana, author Anne Balay talked with LGBT workers at steel mills in Gary, Pittsburgh and Canada about the struggles they face. Their stories are included in her book The Steel Closet: Voices of Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Steelworkers. Balay joins Morning Shift to share their stories and explain why she changed her view on same sex marriage. Photo: Flickr/Indmus on Commons