Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), AFL-CIO, President Richard Lanigan on the Supreme Court decisions for Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, and R.G. & G. R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

OPEIU applauds yesterday's Supreme Court decisions, which solidified long-sought workplace protections for our LGBTQIA+ siblings.

This is a monumental victory for our LGBTQIA+ family. No one's livelihood should be taken away by a discriminatory employer just because of who one loves, or how one identifies.

All working people deserve justice in the workplace, so we are pleased by the Supreme Court's decision to extend essential rights to a group of people whose rights have unjustly hung in the balance for far too long.

Dear OPEIU Member:

We all have been affected by the turbulence created by the Covid-19 pandemic. Our workplace environment has changed, travel, family and social engagements are at a distance or halted, our financial wellness is on high alert and what we prioritized earlier in the year may have changed.

The U.S. also has seen a sharp increase in pandemic-related unemployment fraud as jobless numbers climb and more people file for unemployment benefits.

Thanks to your membership with OPEIU, you and your family have access to an array of important benefits from Union Plus. With mortgage assistance, discounts on union-made automobiles, special credit card financing offers and personal hardship loans, you can count on OPEIU and Union Plus to have your back.

The Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), AFL-CIO, is outraged by the murder of George Floyd and stands in solidarity with the peaceful protesters calling for an end to the racial injustice and inequality that plague this nation.

OPEIU has always been committed to finding solutions to economic and societal inequalities both on and off the worksite. The murder of George Floyd is the latest in a long line of instances of police brutality against people of color, and just one of the many insidious examples of systemic racism in this country. This is clear as our nation struggles with a much higher rate of infection among communities of color during the COVID-19 pandemic.

All elected officials and people of conscience must fully commit to rooting out instances of institutionalized racism in the United States and implementing policies that address abuse at the hands of law enforcement, as well as income inequality, education inequity, minimum wage reform and affordable housing shortages.

It's time for real and positive change. It's time for our nation to end the centuries-long abuse of communities of color and instead commit ourselves to building a fair and equitable nation for all our citizens.

Because of the current economic and health uncertainty facing many of our members, your union is making it possible for all students who enroll through the OPEIU Low-Cost Degree Program at Central State University this summer to complete their degree with no out-of-pocket costs.

OPEIU members who enroll in the term beginning May 18 can do so under the same terms as the OPEIU Free College Program. All new and continuing students who are enrolled this summer will be eligible for a Free College last-dollar scholarship, which allows students to complete their degree (through graduation) with no out-of-pocket costs for tuition, fees or e-books. This represents a savings of more than $9,000.

Students can finish their teacher education or business administration bachelor’s degree affordably and safely. You must have earned an associate degree or have at least 60 credits in either field to be eligible. And remember, if you haven't earned your associate degree you can do so as always for NO COST through the OPEIU Free College Program.