Anne Balay
The first of the founding principles of our United Steelworkers union, written in This commitment continues to be at the heart of everything we do. The USW stands behind our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Asexual/Non-Binary, Pansexual, plus (LGBTQ+) members. I have worked as a car mechanic, an over-the-road truck driver, an English professor, and a writer. Living both blue-collar and white-collar lives has taught me volumes, especially about the possibilities of being gay in twenty-first-century America. Midwestern Steelworkers Say It Was Easier To Be Gay In The
Although social acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues is on the upswing internationally, Balay was surprised to find that the opposite was, in fact, true among Midwestern mill workers. Many of the workers she interviewed said they found themselves victims of what she. GARY, Ind. AP — Two women who worked at a local steel mill hid a secret from their co-workers—they lived together and were romantically involved. Book delves into lives of gay Indiana steelworkers
The book also helped prompt the United Steelworkers union to approve a civil rights resolution that includes a constitutional change protecting transgender workers as well as a requirement that local chapters discuss how they will protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender steelworkers before negotiating new contracts, such as by securing them equal health care benefits for their partners. Most get overlooked, remaindered, pulped, or consigned to the farthest outer reaches of Amazon. A former Indiana University Northwest English professor overcame the odds faced by most authors, especially those of academic titles. 
Steel Pride
A first-of-its-kind, "Steel Closets: Voices of Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Steelworkers," is "a fascinating and insightful look into the lives of queer steel mill workers.". Join the HuffPost Community. Membership connects you to a movement of readers who believe good journalism builds a better world.
Steelworkers on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues
In a episode of The Simpsons called “Homer’s Phobia,” Homer Simpson becomes convinced that his son, Bart, might be gay. In response, he takes him to a steel mill. He intends to show Bart what a “real” man is and does, but the joke is on Homer when the steelworkers break into a disco chorus line number on lunch break. They’re all gay. This is one example not only of how. Even as substantial legal and social victories are being celebrated within the gay rights movement, much of working-class America still exists outside the current narratives of gay liberation. Balay draws on oral history interviews with forty gay, lesbian, and transgender steelworkers, mostly living in northwestern Indiana, to give voice to this previously silent and invisible population. 
Introduction by Anne Balay · Blue
Though I visited several archives, including Rivers of Steel in Homestead, PA, none mentioned gay steelworkers at all. Each gave me a sense of the work setting in general, its changes through time, and management and labor issues. But for queer stories, I turned to oral history. Ultimately, I did oral histories with 40 LGBT steelworkers. .
Book on gay steelworkers prompts union changes
Blue-Collar Queers: An Introduction to Steel Closets, , by Anne Balay Anne Balay tells OutHistory about her book Steel Closets: Voices of Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Steelworkers, which is based on interviews with LGBT steelworkers in northwestern Indiana about their experiences of class, gender, and sexual identity at work. .
Steel Closets
Anne Balay, author of Steel Closets, speaks with local union steelworkers about their union and why gay laborers feel uncomfortable in the workplace. .