Proud and Union

"I would really be honored if I could walk in the Michigan Pride parade...underneath the UAW banner."

This past Tuesday, the 9th, was my one year anniversary at my job. I have now worked for the American Auto Industry for a year and been a member of the UAW for the same amount of time.

For about a week I have been thinking about it all. About how much pride I have in being a part of unionized labor, even though labor unions are weak anymore. About how much pride I have in myself for overcoming some fairly major obstacles in my life. About how happy I should feel for still having a job in Michigan during this economy.

On top of this new found pride I have hit a new stride it would seem with my personal life as a gay man. I am sooo passed the random hooks ups phase. I am past the phase of assuming every guy I meet is the one. I have found the stage where I am able to go on a date, get to know that person, and address everything in a slower and more reasoned way. I still want to find Mr. Right but I am willing to go slowly and do things the right way to set myself up for a successful long term relationship.

In all these ways my life is changing and I really feel like there should be a moment to really usher in these changes. In that way I would really be honored if I could walk in the Michigan Pride parade, which is the Gay and Lesbian pride parade that takes place in Lansing Michigan, underneath the UAW banner. I can't be the only gay member of the UAW after all, and would honestly mean a lot to see the GLBT members of the UAW walking behind a UAW banner that would say "GLBT, UAW, and Proud" then rework the UAW logo so that five of the people in the circle of people holding hands are colored to resemble the pride rainbow.

Lets make this happen. I would love to be a part of this.