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26 February 2009

As one of my favorite bloggers would say, teaspoons! Although I thought it would be a contentious issue, my employee representative committee just voted unanimously to recommend that our company offer insurance benefits to domestic partners of employees.→[More:]Well, the vote was a little more meaningless than that. We're a 6-person committee that represents one 100-employee division out of 3000 or so total employees. So our vote really means that the chair will go to the company-wide meeting in a few weeks and vote "yes". But from the way some of the committee members were blushing and not meeting each other's eyes, the outcome was far from clear to me.

post by: muddgirl at: 15:05 | 16 comments

Cool!

But from the way some of the committee members were blushing and not meeting each other's eyes, the outcome was far from clear to me.

How do you mean? Were some people uncomfortable with the decision?

posted by mudpuppie 26 February | 15:08

The blushing was before the vote. I think the uncomfortableness stemmed from a few sources: Some were
1) afraid of starting contentious arguments with coworkers (this one was me),
2) religious but afraid of coming off as bigots, or
3) non-religious but afraid of coming off as insensitive or intolerant of other's beliefs.

It was a pretty respectful discussion all around, actually. No one really clarified what the arguments against it were, except the additional cost to the company (which is silly, because why would they offer health benefits to married spouses in that case?)

posted by muddgirl 26 February | 15:13

That is excellent!

posted by LoriFLA 26 February | 15:22

That is so completely awesome. (And it also reminds me of just how awesome my place of employment is. They'll do benefits for someone who has lived in the same residence with you for 3 years!)

posted by sperose 26 February | 15:28

Yay!

posted by BoringPostcards 26 February | 16:03

A LOT of YAY!!!

posted by danf 26 February | 16:04

some states now require just that(MA for one), so you're moving in the right direction. That's the way the law is headed, and you're now ahead of the curve.

To me, that's a good sign of a progressive employer. I rank it with things like lactation rooms... I personally don't need either, but that they are offered speaks volumes about a company and makes me think it would be a better place than most to work.

posted by kellydamnit 26 February | 16:16

Awesome!

posted by chewatadistance 26 February | 16:16

The argument that seems to be working with upper management is that we'll lose out on talent who'd go with our competitors that do offer domestic partnership benefits.

posted by muddgirl 26 February | 16:20

That's a good argument and totally true.

posted by Miko 26 February | 16:22

it is. my former company gained some people for that very reason.

posted by kellydamnit 26 February | 17:18

This makes me extremely happy. Here in NC they just introduced a bill to amend the constitution to define marriage as being between a man and a woman blah blah blah haters. There's a poll up on a news website and the "would vote for" tally is 74%. Now, I know that website polls are stupid, but it still freaks me out to see that NC could really be just *that* bass-ackwards. Ugh.

So yes, I'm VERY happy for you!

posted by Stewriffic 26 February | 18:23

That's great! And, I agree with Miko -- that argument is both very good and very true and one of the main reasons the private sector has been far more progressive than governments in this regard.

posted by treepour 26 February | 19:34

There's a poll up on a news website and the "would vote for" tally is 74%. Now, I know that website polls are stupid, but it still freaks me out to see that NC could really be just *that* bass-ackwards.

Backwards? That seems about right. For all that 21st century people like to say they "don't mind" us gay people, I think every state that has given its voters a chance to nuke our families from orbit has done so, by just about that same percentage.

posted by BoringPostcards 26 February | 20:19

Has anyone uncovered a more or less accurate percentage of the population that is gay? I have always seen something like 10% +- 5%. Roughly that leaves 15% of the population that is non-gay and supportive. (I know these are very rough estimates at best.)

posted by Ardiril 26 February | 21:23

Well, that's not counting the self-loathing gays (or more accurately, the gay-loathing "straights" who just happen to like to have sex with MotSS).

posted by muddgirl 26 February | 22:11

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