Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Executive Vice President Mary Kay Henry issued the following statement on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, introduced in the House on April 24, 2007 by Reps. Barney Frank, Deborah Pryce, Tammy Baldwin, and Chris Shays:

When members of the GLBT community are denied job opportunities, fired, or passed over for promotion because of their sexual orientation or identity, everybody loses. Employers lose out on workers that would contribute invaluably to a product or trade. Employees are denied the opportunity to work in an open and diverse environment that prioritizes the free flow of ideas over fear. Society is manipulated by the hands of a powerful few, denied the chance to decide for itself the worth of an individual person.

The Service Employees International Union represents more than 1.8 million working people united by the belief in the dignity and worth of workers and the services they provide. We are dedicated to improving the lives of workers and their families and creating a more just and humane society.

The American Dream celebrates the promise of mobility rooted in hard work and competence, not in an identity litmus test. When all people can go to work confident that their performance will be evaluated on its merits and not through the fog of fear-based discrimination, everybody wins.

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