On this day in queerstory: US unions support gay rights

October 3 has quietly played host to some important moments in queer history – moments that might not always make the headlines, but ripple into bigger waves when you let them.

One of the most prominent is from 1983, when the AFL-CIO, one of the largest labor unions in the United States, voted to support gay rights legislation. This may sound like a boardroom decision, but it was a gutsy public act: a signal that labor – a sector rooted in solidarity, justice, and collective progress – was starting to include queer rights within its moral compass.

Labor unions have long been about defending marginalized workers, but for many decades LGBTQ+ people were often left out of the conversation. By aligning with gay rights legislation, AFL-CIO helped say: queer workers deserve protection, too. It was a step toward making the struggle for equality less siloed, more intersectional, more woven into the broader fight for social justice.

Then there’s another story on October 3 in a legal setting: in 1997, a court in Ontario (Canada) ruled on a case involving the province’s Insurance Act, in which a same-sex partner dispute was considered. The decision helped push forward arguments that queer partnerships should receive equal treatment in law, including in insurance rights and benefits.

What ties these events together is the notion of institutional recognition. When labor unions step in or courts interpret statutes in queer-inclusive ways, they don’t just shift laws – they shift norms. They move the idea of equality from protest signs into boardrooms, contracts, policy manuals, and daily life.

Think about how it plays out: a union backing queer rights means local chapters talking to members, including queer workers in their trainings, maybe even negotiating non-discrimination clauses. A court ruling in an insurance case means queer couples can claim what was once denied. Over time, these smaller shifts layer up.

October 3 also sits neatly within LGBTQ+ History Month (in the U.S.), meaning that on this day many groups choose to highlight new “icons of the day,” or spotlight lesser-known queer figures whose work or life might have been overshadowed. The trick is that by doing so, those names become part of the quilt of memory – not just footnotes, but threads that hold the quilt together. (LGBTQ+ History Month officially features one icon per day in October.)

So, what does October 3 ask of us now? It asks us to pay attention to how queer equality gets folded into institutions. Not just in parades and protests, but in contracts, in collective bargaining, in legal status. Because the gains made in courts and boardrooms often create breathing room for people to live safer, fuller lives.

If you wanted to mark October 3 today, you could look up queer labor leaders, read about queer people who advanced legal equality through seemingly mundane cases, or share an icon you didn’t know (someone spotlighted on that date) to expand someone else’s sense of queer history.