MNclusive Statement from MAPE Board of Directors

We are Minnesota public-sector employees building better workplaces and supporting strong, diverse communities. This includes LGBTQI+ employees, their families and the communities in which they live. As more than a dozen states have recently enacted laws restricting LGBTQI+ rights, rules intentionally written to make life harder for LGBTQI+ people, we want it known that MAPE does not tolerate discrimination of any kind.  

We stand beside our sibling government employees in Texas and other states whose families and livelihoods are being threatened and hurt by these controversial, heartless, and inhumane plans. We support our members who may have families in these states. 

During the first week of 2022 alone, Republicans in seven states introduced legislation targeting trans and nonbinary youths, including their ability to participate in sports, receive gender-affirming care or use the bathroom. Florida’s “Don’t say gay” legislation bans instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through third grade, and other states are considering similar measures.     

Three states (Arkansas, Arizona, and Texas) have enacted heartless laws limiting gender-affirming treatments, including surgery, hormones, and speech therapy for children. Texas goes even further by requiring teachers and other adults to report parents they suspect of providing such care to their children. Their governor has ordered state officials to investigate parents for child abuse in these cases, although a judge has blocked that order for now.  

We all want our children to live their best lives and be accepted by their peers and teachers. Trans children wish to be connected and part of the community, just like any other child does. It is unconscionable for politicians to use trans kids as a political wedge by trying to tear families apart or to use public labor to do it.   

We stand in solidarity with MNclusive and all members of the LGBTQI+ community. We will work with our Negotiations team to find the best path forward to ensuring our MAPE contract preserves and secures the protections of the Minnesota Human Rights Act (Chapter 363A) including LGBTQI+ state employees. This action is necessary for supporting and maintaining an inclusive workplace. It is essential to have clear accountability for situations where state employees experience discrimination in state workplaces or may be directed to carry out discriminatory policy. 

We all need to feel safe and free from discrimination in our workplaces. MAPE will be working with MNclusive to convene listening sessions to discuss cultivating safe work spaces for LBGTQI+ team members and how state employees can best support our colleagues during these difficult times.      

Join MAPE's upcoming LGBTQI+ Listening Sessions via Zoom on Wednesday, May 11, 5:30-6:30 p.m. and Thursday, May 12, 12-1 p.m. Please register in the Portal.