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 A 71-year-old man who has been fighting for over two years to gain rights to his deceased partner's pension plan has finally won, in a case that sets precedent for 5,500 union workers in northen California.
Marvin Burrows had been with his partner Bill Swenor for 51 years until Swenor's death in 2005. (Yes, you read that right -- 51 years.) Swenor was a longshoreman, and his union, International Longshore and Warehouse Union, refused to grant Burrows domestic partner benefits for the pension. As a result, Burrows lost his house, and had to depelete his bank account after a surgery.
The union finally came around last week. Sounds like it could be the most macho labor union possible from its name, but they issued a touching statement:
"Our union's motto is, `An injury to one is an injury to all,' and we definitely feel that applies in this case."
The National Center for Lesbian Rights was responsible for advocating Burrows' case over the past two years.
(The image of Burrows on this page is a screen capture from a poignant video about Burrows and Swenor's relationship produced by the National Sexuality Research Center at San Francisco State University. It can be viewed in its entirety here.)
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