Last week, the AFL-CIO, along with the National Education Association (NEA) and Change to Win, filed amicus briefs challenging the constitutionality of California's Prop. 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Because of DOMA and laws like Prop. 8, many same sex couples do not have the same access to workplace and health care benefits that are tied to marital status. The AFL-CIO supports equal rights for all couples. These include health care benefits, Social Security and other retirement benefits, workers' compensation and other federal programs such as survivors' benefits. 

The brief states:

DOMA deprives married gay and lesbian working people and their children of significant benefits associated with employment. Because most Americans obtain health insurance through their own employer or through their spouse’s employer, DOMA prevents or substantially restricts access to spousal healthcare benefits. DOMA also denies married gay and lesbian couples important protections and benefits provided to other married couples when one spouse suffers a workplace injury or illness. DOMA further impinges on the ability of married same-sex couples to plan and provide for retirement. Finally, DOMA unfairly eliminates opportunities for married gay and lesbian couples to work and remain lawfully in the United States.

Read the entire amicus briefs here and here. 

AFT President Randi Weingarten released the following statement:

Embedding discrimination of gay and lesbian Americans into our laws and workplaces is not only morally reprehensible, it also makes zero economic sense. We must no longer be a nation that allows loving, committed same-sex couples to be denied the economic and workplace rights and protections that heterosexual couples simply take for granted. The right to join your spouse’s healthcare plan, to enjoy the tax benefits of marriage, to receive the Social Security and pension benefits following the loss of a spouse, to visit your spouse in the hospital or make end-of-life decisions—these are all denied to same-sex couples. DOMA and Proposition 8 help legitimize workplace discrimination against gay Americans and create a two-tiered workforce based on sexual orientation. These laws also deny immigration opportunities for same-sex couples.