The union movement motto, "An injury to one is an injury to all," has served us well in expanding awareness of organized labor within the LGBTQ community and mobilizing the power of labor in the fight for equality. Over the last 20 years, the union movement has been central to efforts at the federal, state, and local level to end discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. And LGBTQ union members have been leading that work. This is why reported union resistance to basic policy changes at the San Francisco Sheriff's Department is such a travesty.
Currently, almost all transgender people in San Francisco jails are automatically housed based on their anatomy. For transgender women, in particular, this means that going to jail equals being stripped of their identity and dignity. This is unacceptable anywhere, but particularly in a city like San Francisco. Every other agency in the county respects people according to their expressed gender identity. But, if a transgender woman – with an "F" on her identification, known for two decades at her job, by her neighbors, and among her friends as a woman – were to go to jail, she would be housed in a men's section and regularly referred to as "he" simply because she had not had surgery as part of her transition.
In response to this injustice, then-Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi announced in 2015 that he was moving forward with a new policy that would regularly house transgender people based on their gender identity. Sheriff Vicki Hennessy, then a candidate for office, publicly supported such a change. In response, Eugene Cerbone, the gay president of the San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs Association, made some of the most openly transphobic comments any public figure has made in the city in recent memory. He opposed the changes both Mirkarimi and Hennessy supported and, in the process, defined "transgender" as someone who has had "the surgery." Fast forward 18 months and the housing policy at the jail hasn't changed. A recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle attributes the delay to union negotiations.
If this reporting is true, it is appalling that the San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs Association is abusing hard won union rights to prevent adoption of progressive policies that keep transgender people safer and improve conditions in the jail. Union members throughout the ages didn't band together and sacrifice their own safety and security so that their brothers and sisters in the movement could use their power to oppress others. The union's reported actions are anathema to what our movement stands for.
We both believe that mass incarceration needs to end. But just as importantly, people who are incarcerated need to be treated with dignity and kept safe from harm. The San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs Association and its individual members should be among the loudest voices calling for improvements in conditions for everyone in their jails. They most certainly should not be standing in the way of the basic human rights of transgender people in their custody.
Union workers aren't separate from transgender people or inmates. We are them and they are us. Unions are strongest when they stand with everyone in our communities and prioritize the dignity and safety of the people in their care. A core part of respecting transgender inmates is recognizing their gender identity as their gender and, when appropriate, housing them according to it. Union members should be leading the fight for policies that reflect labor's principles.
We strongly believe that rank and file sheriff's deputies agree with us. They are, and justifiably want to be treated as, professionals. And, like doctors, nurses, and emergency response personnel, these deputies stand ready to perform their duties regardless of their personal beliefs or the transphobic attitudes of their union president.
One of the most common excuses that corrections agencies use not to safely house transgender women is that female staff will object to performing searches on someone who has not had surgery. This is ridiculous. While staff – regardless of gender – may need some specific training, the idea that female staff are somehow incapable of doing their duty in a respectful manner is sexist and not supported by our experiences with union members in criminal justice fields.
Like so many things, this argument is an excuse to hide ignorance or bias. Well, the time for ignorance is long past and there was never a time to give into biased views. Unions across the country know this and live it in their daily work on the job and in their communities. They are increasingly demanding it from their leadership and that is exactly what needs to happen here. If those in positions of authority in the Deputy Sheriffs Association refuse to live up to basic union movement principles and respect the humanity and dignity of transgender people, it is time for individual union members to stand up and do it for them.
Gabriel Haaland is a member and former co-vice president of Pride at Work. Jerame Davis is the executive director of Pride at Work.