Workplace Activism

While grassroots, community activism in the 1980s set the stage for workplace activism in Rochester, employers and employees during the 1990s made it a reality. In 1992, employees at the two largest employers in the City of Rochester formed groups: Gays and Lesbians at Xerox (GALAXe) and the Lambda Network at Kodak (LNAK). They were like siblings, and in 1993 they co-hosted their first annual Holiday Gayla, a celebration for the Rochester Area Gay & Lesbian Business Community. In 1994, the Rochester City Council approved establishing a domestic partnership registry and providing domestic partnership benefits for city employees. In 1995, Xerox extended partial benefits to the domestic partners of its employees, and in 1997, Kodak extended full benefits. As a result of their work, Out & Equal chose Rochester to host the sixth Out & Equal national conference on LGBTQ workplace issues in 1998, affirming Rochester, Xerox, and Kodak as national role models of LGBTQ workplace equality.¹

To learn more about LNAK's and Kodak's history, visit the Remembering the Lambda Network at Kodak exhibit.

¹ Le Beau, “Out and Equal ’98 to Meet Here: The National Conference on Gay and Generder Workplace Issues Moves East.”