- CSE Legal Intern Liz Vennum speaks to WInston-Salem councilmembers about the domestic partner benefits proposal
On July 15, the city council in Winston-Salem, specifically the Committee on General Government, Housing, and Community Development, discussed a proposal that could add domestic partner benefits to the list of benefits that municipal employees can receive. The committee outlined possible eligibility criteria for benefits such as health insurance and retirement savings to include eligible partners of LGBT city employees.
Because of a statewide ban on marriage equality in North Carolina, LGBT couples across the state don’t have access to many of the basic benefits that opposite-sex marriages offer. A growing patchwork of city-level protections across North Carolina attempts to make up for the difficulties that LGBT people and families face, while the Campaign for Southern Equality pushes forward with a legal challenge to Amendment One that would make marriage available for all.
Winston-Salem residents and the Campaign for Southern Equality (CSE) have been advocating for the passage of this measure for many months and are hopeful that the policy will pass when it goes to a full vote before City Council. Watch a video of the committee meeting, where local activists Brent Morin and Mary Jamis, and CSE Legal Intern Liz Vennum testify in favor of the benefits policy. (Discussion of the proposal begins around 40:00.)
“We strongly encourage the city of Winston-Salem to pass a policy that extends domestic partner benefits to municipal employees,” said the Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, the executive director of Campaign for Southern Equality. “At a time when discrimination persists under state laws, it is critical to ensure that LGBT employees are treated fairly and equitably.”
Here are a few highlights from CSE’s white paper on the proposal:
With an estimated 618 same-sex couples residing here, Winson-Salem has the sixth highest density of same-sex couples among North Carolina cities.
An estimated 130 Winston-Salem city employees are LGBT.
LGBT public sector employees typically earn between 8 and 29 percent less than their heterosexual counterparts, which is compounded by the economic burdens that come when employers don’t include all members of an LGBT family in benefits.
Read the full proposal put forward in the committee meeting.
A vote on the proposal is expected in August or September. If you’re a resident of Winston-Salem, contact your councilmember and tell them to vote YES on extending employee benefits to LGBT families. District and contact information is here.
