On June 28th Bess Watts and her wife Anne Tischer were invited to the Town of Brighton Flag Raising event to speak. They were also presented with a proclamation by Town Supervisor Bill Moehle for their work on marriage equality, LGBTQ rights and labor. Bess and Anne participated in the unveiling of the flag in front of the Town Hall.
Speeches from Bess & Anne: Thank
you for this invitation we are so happy to be here. As a former Local president of CSEA local 828
Monroe County, I have great appreciation for the Town of Brighton, Brighton
Department of Public Works was always one of my favorite units. I would like to
acknowledge Sonia who is here and is one of the few women who work in Public
Works plowing the roads and working for the community. She is a very hard
worker. I also have ties to the Town of
Brighton as a retired employee of Monroe Community College.
My
current title is President of Pride at Work AFL-CIO Rochester Finger Lakes
Chapter, Pride at Work is a constituency group which advocates for LGBTQ issues
in the workplace. I was once told to my face that we have no gay Union members.
We were established over 12 years ago because there was a distinct lack of
LGBTQ voices and visibility for workers who were covered under a Union
contract. Pride at Work acts as a
liaison between labor and the LGBTQ community.
You do not have to be LGBTQ to belong to Pride at Work but you must
support workers.
We’ve
made great gains over the years in workplace protections, often with the Town
of Brighton taking the lead whether it was domestic partner benefits or
non-discrimination language in contracts.
Brighton has proven to be a great partner for LGBTQ and all workers and
it has been appreciated. Thank you.
Of
all my titles the most important title is being the wife of Anne Tischer, we’ve
been together over 27 years and I affectionately call her Atilla my Hon.
Good
morning! My name is Anne Tischer. I currently coordinate the Rainbow Seniors
ROC organization that serves LGBTQ+ seniors in the Greater Rochester area.
Our
motto is “Live vibrantly at every age”…and we have been successful at
that… though it is a relatively easy thing to do today thanks
to the wave of equal rights protections that have washed over LGBTQ+ people in
the last couple decades. 20 years ago that was not true for us… LGBTQ people
could not live authentically as equally valued members of society.
And
that was how 20 years ago Bess & I became “accidental activists…we just
wanted domestic partner benefits at Monroe County College where Bess worked, so
I could get some health coverage as her, then partner, of 10 years.
The
County kept saying NO – they refused to recognize same-sex relationships.
The result: with every “no” we became better activists…tried new approaches,
formed new organizations, found allies, learned how to create political change.
We
are proud to have been part of the movement that resulted in obtaining
thousands of federal and state rights and benefits for LGBTQ+ people…marriage
equality, military equality, employment non-discrimination benefits, student
protections.
And
We quickly learned the value of allies….people who would open doors or speak
openly for for lgbtq people who may have lacked the confidence to come out of
the closet to speak for themselves.
We
first met the amazing Sandra Frankel when she came to lobby for domestic
partner benefits at the County Legislature….talk about lifting our confidence
& resolve! Sandy had our back.
And
when the fight for marriage equality took top billing…there was Bill Moehle…constantly
speaking on our behalf & offering his legal perspective as we educated the
public about marriage rights denied to same-sex couples.
And
we want to call out the townsfolk of Brighton who were in the vanguard for
advancing equality and equity for LGBTQ people…The Churches & synagogues in
Brighton were the first to offer educational events & visible support for
equal marriage.
That
was no surprise to us…Brighton has always been the torch bearer for human
rights…LGBTQ families, Black lives, trans kids, immigrant rights, worker
rights, people in Brighton value human beings and social justice.
We
are proud to stand here and say thank you .
The
rights we have achieved would not have happened without allies like Bill Moehle
& Sandy Frankel & you great folks here in Brighton
Thank
you for giving us LGBTQ+ seniors the opportunity to “live vibrantly” …with
respect, security, authenticity and equity and equality.
Happy
Pride
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