Pennsylvania’s third-most populous city is poised to adopt a law that would allow city workers to extend their benefit plans to same-sex partners.
A committee of the Allentown City Council unanimously approved domestic-partner legislation Jan. 5. The measure is cosponsored by five of the seven councilmembers and is expected to easily achieve final passage by full council this month.
If the council approves the measure and the mayor gives his consent, which he is expected to do, Allentown would become only the fourth municipality in the state to offer government workers domestic-partner benefits: Philadelphia approved a similar domestic-partner law in 1998, with Pittsburgh and Harrisburg following suit in 2008.
Allentown City Council president Mike D’Amore introduced domestic-partner legislation on Dec. 15.
Adrian Shanker, vice president of Lehigh Valley-based LGBT agency Pennsylvania Diversity Network, and the agency’s executive director, Liz Bradbury, first broached the issue with D’Amore three years ago.
Shanker said the vast majority of Fortune 500 companies offer domestic-partner benefits, and D’Amore and other supportive councilmembers agreed such policies are “sound business practices,” enabling the city to attract the best workers.
“Our friends on City Council understand that this bill is about fairness and equality for everyone,” Shanker said. “They understand that this is in the best interest of the city of Allentown because this legislation will help the city to recruit and retain the most talented employees. We have a pretty high-quality workforce, and we want it to stay that way.”
Equality Pennsylvania, of which Shanker is a board member, also joined the fight.
Executive director Ted Martin commended the work of the PDN in advancing the measure thus far.
“Equality Pennsylvania salutes the work the Pennsylvania Diversity Network has done to bring this to where it is now, and we’re glad to be partnering with them,” Martin said. “If they do this, it really sends a great message about Allentown: It means that Allentown believes in equality and is looking for an excellent workforce, one that is the strongest and healthiest it can be.”
Philadelphia’s and Harrisburg’s domestic-partner benefits are open to opposite-sex unmarried couples, while Pittsburgh’s is limited to same-sex couples.
Allentown’s measure would only apply to those in same-sex relationships.
Shanker said the measure was structured for same-sex couples to cut down on the cost and because opposite-sex couples, unlike gay couples, have the choice to marry.
“People have asked why this is only for gay couples and not for unmarried straight couples, but that’s like saying in order to give equal rights to the gay community, you have to give more rights to the straight community. It’s not about that: It’s not a game of who has more rights, it’s about who has equal rights,” he said. “This about righting a structural wrong. It’s unfortunate that we even have to do this. It’s unfortunate that the state of Pennsylvania doesn’t recognize these relationships because we wouldn’t need this if they did.”
The measure has seen little resistance, although some critics have argued that the bill could be a financial burden.
Shanker, however, countered that the cost to the city is minimal, while the financial gain could be substantial.
“The financial benefit to the city will greatly outweigh the cost,” he said. “The benefit has been seen by so many of the Fortunate 500 companies that have already done this. This is a way to increase the image of the city and the talent in the city’s workforce without costing a lot of money.”
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].