Dec 05, 2008  |  By: CHRIS JOHNSON  | COMMENTS     

President-elect Barack Obama this week was reportedly considering nominating an openly gay person to serve as labor secretary.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Obama was considering Mary Beth Maxwell, the founding executive director of American Rights at Work, to head the Labor Department. If nominated, and confirmed by the Senate, she would be the nation’s first openly gay cabinet member.

The Journal reported that other officials in consideration for the position were Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D).

Maxwell in 2003 founded American Rights at Work, a non-profit organization that works to modernize laws to improve the conditions of the workforce, according to her bio on the organization’s web site. The bio credits her with “finding common ground among diverse groups to solve problems in our nation’s antiquated labor-management public policies.”

Maxwell, who declined the Blade’s requests Wednesday for comment, is also “a leading voice” for improving the effectiveness of the National Labor Relations Board, an agency that conducts elections for labor union representation and investigates unfair labor practices, her bio states.

Originally from Omaha, Neb., Maxwell lives in D.C. with her 7-year-old son, according to her bio, which also states she is “an active member” of the Human Rights Campaign and the Family Equality Council.

HRC President Joe Solmonese endorsed Maxwell for labor secretary in a Dec. 1 letter to Obama.
“Ms. Maxwell’s impressive accomplishments in support of workers’ rights make me confident in her ability to shape policy and regulations that will strengthen the American workforce,” Solmonese wrote.

Solmonese also states in the letter obtained by the Blade that Maxwell has worked to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in Congress.

“American Rights at Work and Ms. Maxwell are strong allies in our fight to pass an inclusive ENDA,” he said. “Ms. Maxwell clearly understands that the challenges facing our workforce must be solved by including all American citizens, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”

Solmonese’s letter supporting Maxwell follows a letter that HRC sent Obama advocating Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) for the position of labor secretary. Solmonese notes that HRC remains supportive of her candidacy as well.

HRC spokesperson Brad Luna said he expects both Maxwell and Sánchez “would have an impact on ENDA” if either became labor secretary because they support the passage of a trans-inclusive bill.
But, he said, “at the end of the day, what it comes down to is the votes in Congress.”

Meanwhile, Obama this week nominated several other prominent figures to fill key cabinet positions. The nominees would hold positions that would significantly influence how the administration handles gay issues.

Gays working in the State Department, for example, could benefit from Obama’s choice of gay-supportive Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) as secretary of state.

The head of the State Department could change rules on how the department treats the partners of gay Foreign Service officers, who are not entitled to the same benefits as the spouses of straight Foreign Service officers.

Michelle Schohn, head of Gays & Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies, said partners of their gay Foreign Service officers are not included in travel orders, not eligible for health insurance, not entitled to emergency or medical evacuation, and not eligible for more than basic language and security training at the Foreign Service Institute — unlike the spouses of their straight counterparts.

The State Department also provides no help in providing visas for the partners of gay Foreign Service officers, and while the department will pick up various travel expenses when moving overseas, including the cost of transporting a pet, the department will not reimburse costs for transporting a domestic partner, she said.

Michael Guest, former U.S. ambassador to Romania, retired from the State Department last year in protest because of these inequities and said they could have been rectified by a rule change from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Guest declined to comment for this article.

Schohn said Clinton could change things by making the partners of gay Foreign Service officers “eligible family members” as opposed to considering them “members of household.”

“Senator Clinton can, with the stroke of a pen, grant the families of LGBT employees equality,” Schohn said. “I am hopeful that Senator Clinton will see this as a matter of simple fairness and offer the protections to our families that will enable us to continue to serve.”

Clinton, whose office did not respond to a request for comment, could also take a stronger stand against countries that commit human rights abuses against gays.

While running for the Democratic presidential nomination, she said she “would be very outspoken about this [issue] and it would ...