Greg Kelley, President of SEIU Healthcare IL IN MO KS, issued the following statement condemning attacks on transgender rights: 

Today, on Trans Day of Visibility, we are horrified and outraged by sweeping attacks on the rights of transgender people in Kansas and in Indiana.  

Kansas Senate Bill 244 strips people of valid identification simply because of who they are. According to the ACLU of Kansas, SB 244 prohibits transgender people from updating their driver’s licenses and state IDs to reflect their gender and invalidates existing documents that do. 

Because this law contained no grace period and took immediate effect, Kansas has made it illegal for many trans people to operate a vehicle overnight. In a state with no functional public transportation system, this serves to isolate trans people by making it illegal for them to commute to school or work. 

Kansas notably also requires a valid photo ID to cast a ballot in an election, meaning that SB 244 has also stripped trans people of the right to vote. Without access to valid ID, you can’t get to work, keep your job, or support yourself and your family.  

It makes everyday activities, like picking up prescriptions from the pharmacy or air travel extremely dangerous because it outs trans people. 

This is a blatant attempt to remove transgender people from public life. 

Meanwhile in Indiana, state lawmakers passed similar legislation this year including additional measures restricting trans peoples’ access to public accommodations, healthcare, and educational facilities. 

These are flagrant violations of federal civil rights laws and existing court rulings. Attempts to define biological sex in statute misunderstand fundamental scientific realities of human sex variation and were passed with the stated goal of erasing the legal recognition of transgender people. 

As a labor union that represents Kansans and Hoosiers from all walks of life, we understand that trans rights are workers rights. Our members face discrimination in the workplace every day on the basis of their gender identity and expression. 

Without access to valid ID, you can’t get to work, keep your job, or support yourself and your family. 

Republicans in Topeka, Indianapolis, and Washington have cynically used the trans community to divide working people against each other, the same way they pit us against each other by our immigration status or race. They do this because when we are divided, we are weak. Our strength lies in solidarity. When our union siblings are attacked, we stand with them. 

In moments like these, and on a day such as this, we are called to shine a light on injustice and to fight for the dignity of ALL people, irrespective of their skin color, gender, national origin, disabilities, the language they speak, how they pray, or who they love. When we fight together, we are strong, and we will need this strength to fight for a country in which our families, our patients, and our consumers can thrive. 

Our union stands shoulder-to-shoulder in solidarity with everyone impacted by these attacks, all of our transgender siblings, and the entire LGBTQ community. 

We are committed to fighting back against these egregious violations of civil rights and basic human dignity with every tool at our disposal. We will not stop until these laws are defeated in court or repealed. 

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