IAM Union members joined labor activists, LGBTQIA+ advocates and allies from across the labor movement at the 2026 Pride At Work Quadrennial Convention, where delegates gathered to discuss the challenges facing LGBTQIA+ workers and set priorities for the years ahead.
The three-day convention brought together union members and leaders committed to defending hard-won rights, combating discrimination, and strengthening solidarity across the labor movement. Pride At Work serves as the AFL-CIO’s LGBTQIA+ constituency group, advocating for equality and inclusion both on and off the job.
The convention opened with a powerful presentation from NFFE-IAM member Dr. S.J. Joslin, a former Yosemite National Park ranger and wildlife biologist who shared their experience of being terminated from federal service.
Joslin worked at Yosemite National Park for nearly five years and is a published researcher studying the cliff-dwelling bat populations that inhabit the park. Joslin said they were terminated in May 2025 after participating during off-duty hours on a climb of El Capitan, a legendary rock formation in Yosemite National Park, where a trans pride flag was displayed.
According to Joslin, park officials initially investigated them for criminal misconduct and later administrative misconduct before ultimately citing probationary employment status as the basis for termination.
“They investigated me first for criminal misconduct, then they investigated me for administrative misconduct, and they found that I was unfit as a wildlife biologist,” said Joslin. “We are just trying to exist as people. We are just trying to go to the grocery store, use the bathroom, or have someone acknowledge that gender identity is a spectrum, and it doesn’t hurt anyone to let us accept ourselves.”
Joslin’s story underscored one of the convention’s central themes: the ongoing fight to ensure all workers are treated with dignity and respect regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.
Delegates also heard from Pride at Work Executive Director Brittany Anderson, a former IAM Union member who joined the labor movement in 2011 and served in several leadership roles at IAM District 77 before being elected co-president of Pride at Work in 2022.
“We all matter. No one wins if the rights of someone else are trampled on because you want to discriminate against them,” said Anderson. “I pray they have better angels to guide them.”
The convention featured remarks from several labor and political leaders, including AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond, and Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan.
Flanagan spoke about the importance of solidarity in confronting injustice and building stronger communities. She addressed the challenges faced by Minnesota’s Somali immigrant community and emphasized the need for workers and communities to stand together when confronting discrimination and division.
Delegates also heard from longtime LGBTQIA+ activist Cleve Jones, a protégé of the late Harvey Milk and the founder of the AIDS Memorial Quilt Project. Jones reflected on decades of activism and the importance of preserving the history of movements that fought for equality and dignity during some of the nation’s most difficult moments.
Throughout the convention, delegates participated in discussions focused on organizing, collective action, workplace protections and strategies to push back against attacks on LGBTQIA+ rights. Speakers repeatedly emphasized that the labor movement’s strength comes from its ability to unite workers across industries, identities, and communities.
Peter Greenberg, IAM International Affairs Director, serves on the Pride at Work National Executive Board and chaired the IAM Convention Committee. IAM Local 2003 members Jennifer Bourusa and Jocelyn Joyner are Co-Presidents of the Pride at Work Alabama Chapter. Jennifer co-led a training on fighting authoritarianism, and Jocelyn served on the Convention Elections Committee.
As the convention concluded, attendees reaffirmed Pride At Work’s mission of advancing workplace equality and ensuring every worker has the freedom to live and work without fear of discrimination.
Joslin’s case remains a point of concern for many advocates. A federal judge in California recently dismissed a civil lawsuit alleging wrongful termination. The ruling also allowed to stand a policy that, according to Joslin, permits free speech on federal land to be restricted to designated “free speech zones,” raising broader concerns among labor and civil rights advocates about free expression and workers’ rights.
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