From: katbea@katbea.Auto-trol.COM (Kathy Beatty)
Subject: What I'm doing
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 92 10:32:01 MDT
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Well, I did it yesterday. At Auto-trol's quarterly corporate meeting, I 
asked Howard Hillman, the president of the company, (in front of about 300 
people some of whom I know to be hostile) "Is the passage of Amendment 2 
here in Colorado in any way going to effect Auto-trols' EEO Policy?" 

Auto-trol currently has a sexual orientation clause in it's policy, but 
none of us queers here knew how it came to be there, since we had not 
lobbied for it.  The corporate lawyer answered that yesterday - it's there 
because we have contracts with the cities of LA and NY. When she stated 
that, I followed up my question by asking whether the sexual orientation 
clause might then be removed if those contracts were cancelled. The 
lawyer's answer to this was that she did not know, she did not have a 
crystal ball to be able to see into the future. (I'm not kidding, she 
really said it.)


The president of the corporation then made a statement in effect saying 
that Auto-trol does and will not discriminate against anyone. This received 
a rather tepid applause from the audience. I asked him directly to answer 
what would happen to the EEO policy if the two contracts were cancelled. He 
did not answer directly, and basically put an end to the discussion. NB: he 
never answers any questions directly in these formats, and most of us 
including me felt that he answered my question more directly than he did 
any other questions during the meeting. 

After the meeting, as we carpooled back to Auto-trol, the people I was 
riding with all talked about how they thought the passage of amendment 2 
was wrong.  One woman, who is a superjock who NEVER talks about anything 
but sports, proudly pointed out that Boulder, where she lives, voted 2-1 
against it. Back at work, a woman manager came up to me and shook my hand 
and thanked me for asking the question at the meeting. Another guy, who I 
thought might be a phobe, made a point to come into my office to talk. As 
for the phobes, well, at least they know that there are people at Auto-trol 
willing to stand up and say that THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.

This morning, the head of the Human Resources department came to talk to 
me about my concerns. I told her that what I really wanted was for Howard 
to issue a written statement that affirmed that Auto-trol does not 
discriminate because it's the right thing to do, not just because of the 
LA and NY contracts. I told her that I did not ask it to embarass Howard 
or the company, but that because of amendment 2, I feel that it is 
important for the company to take a firm stand against all discrimination. 
I pointed out to her that there are, quite frankly, bigots at Auto-trol, 
and that by not answering my question directly, those people might think 
that Auto-trol does not really support non-discrimination.

Well, that's where it stands now. I will let you know what's happening as
events unfold. Personally, I feel much better now that I have actively 
done something to combat amendment 2. My depression is being replaced 
with a cold and steely determination to fight this thing to the end.
One of the things I'm doing is continuing to proudly wear my No On 2
button, as a protest. I also want to get a "Shame on you, Colorado"
bumper sticker (I hope someone makes them, otherwise I'll have to do
it myself.)

As for boycotts - yes, do it. Support our politicians who are supportive 
of us, however. Governor Roy Romer and Mayor Wellingtion Webb of Denver 
LED a protest march on Wednesday. Representative Pat Schroeder has fired
off a letter to President-Elect Clinton, urging him to issue an executive
order. (Any bets as to whether he'll do it?) 

As for Coors - if you by Coors products, you are sleeping with the enemy.
The Coors family finances right wing hate groups. They cynically throw 
peanuts at other causes, to get us to shut up and keep buying their 
products.

One thing to remember - the passage of Amendment 2 is not the end, it is
just the beginning of the struggle.


Keep on fighting,


Kathy
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