NLGJA Applauds GE's New Contract Including Same-Sex Domestic Partner Benefits; Announcement Ensures Major Networks Will Make Equal Benefits a Reality for Gay, Lesbian Employees

6/25/2003

From: Steven Petrow, NLGJA National President, 202-588-9888, ext. 11; e-mail: petrow@bluedahlia.net or Pamela Strother, NLGJA Executive Director, 202-588-9888, ext. 11, e-mail: pstrother@nlgja.org

WASHINGTON, June 25 -- The National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) today congratulated the management and union membership of General Electric for their agreement to offer domestic partner benefits to all gay and lesbian U.S. employees effective January 1, 2004.

"NBC Television and its parent, General Electric, now join their corporate peers by ensuring fairness for their gay and lesbian employees," said NLGJA President Steven Petrow. "We are witnessing a tide for equality in the news industry that is unstoppable and which NLGJA has helped lead for a decade," Petrow added. "We will continue to spearhead this progress to reach every newsroom."

General Electric Co., one of the nation's largest and most respected manufacturing and financial services companies and the owner of the NBC and Telemundo television networks as well as cable networks CNBC, MSNBC and Bravo, recently announced that the company's new union contracts include health care coverage for employees' same-sex domestic partners. The new policy, contained in contracts with the International Union of Electrical Works and the Communications Workers of America, was accepted today by union votes.

In addition, with the inclusion of General Electric's NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, Telemundo and Bravo employees, this decision also ensures that every major U.S. television network now treats their LGBT employees equally with other employees for health care coverage.

Pamela Strother, executive director of NLGJA said, "NBC has relied on NLGJA research and news industry expertise and we are gratified by their move. Our entire NLGJA membership will join us in saluting GE and NBC for this milestone at our national convention in Los Angeles in September."

The GE decision follows closely on the heels of recent announcements by the Associated Press and Waterman Broadcasting. NLGJA now reports that nearly 80 major U.S. media companies and unions offer domestic partner benefits to employees at more than 1,400 newspapers, broadcast stations, online news outlets and other operating divisions. The NLGJA directory of media companies providing domestic partner benefits may be found online at http://www.nlgja.org.

The National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association is an organization of journalists, online media professionals, and students that works from within the journalism industry to foster fair and accurate coverage of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues. NLGJA opposes workplace bias against all minorities and provides professional development for its members. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., NLGJA has more than 1,100 members and 19 chapters in the U.S., with affiliates in Canada and Germany. More information about NLGJA and its 2003 convention is available at http://www.nlgja.org.