It's Great to be Gay at AT&T
Detailed History

… with thanks to EQUAL! at Lucent Technologies and League@NCR for additions to the original document

3/1975

AT&T Chairman John DeButts declares AT&T's sexual orientation nondiscrimination policy in a letter to the National Gay Task Force

12/1979

Corporate Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) office sends a "strong recommendation letter" to Bell System affiliate companies reconfirming commitment to sexual orientation nondiscrimination policy

5/1982

Lesbian and Gay Awareness (LGA) group forms at Bell Labs in Holmdel, N.J., with bylaws, charter, and regular meetings

10/1982

Lesbian and Gay Awareness group applies for Bell Labs recognition

12/1982

• Lesbian and Gay Awareness group is denied recognition by Bell Labs, but continues to function without company support or recognition
• Lesbian and Gay Awareness club was denied recognition by Bell Labs

1983

AT&T agrees to divesture. Its local service units will reorganize into seven Regional Bell Operating Companies by Jan. 1, 19984; AT&T to retain equipment and long-distance service units

10/1983

LGA changes name to Lesbians and Gays in Telecommunications (LEGIT) as members are assigned to multiple post-AT&T-Divestiture companies; scope expands beyond company-specific issues in ensuing years

1983

Small electronic mailing list (allegra!gg) is formed for lesbigay employees in and around Murray Hill, N.J.

9/1986

LEGIT members hold first meeting with Bell Labs Affirmative Action (AA) managers

12/1986

LEGIT members hold meeting with Bell Labs AA counselors, employee counselors, and medical department

6/1987

LEAGUE-Denver (Colo.) begins organizing

11/1987

LEAGUE-Denver ratifies bylaws, becoming the first LEAGUE chapter

1/1988

E-mail list allegra!gg is renamed to research!gg and expands participation

4/1988

Anonymous article, "The Invisible Minority," is published in the CENTERpiece affirmative action newsletter at Indian Hill (Naperville, Ill.)

6/1988

• LEAGUE-Denver meets with Denver Works executives and AA/EO counselors
• Two gay employees at Summit, N.J. complain of discrimination, speak to Division office and AA committee; they are invited to form a group

9/1988

• LEAGUE-Summit forms as recognized EEO group at Summit, N.J.
• Pilot of Brian McNaught workshop sponsored by Middletown (N.J.) Diversity Management Center

10/1988

Article entitled, "Gay at AT&T," is published in the Division Affirmative Action newsletter at Summit, N.J.

1/1989

AT&T's Equal Employment Opportunity Policy and Code of Conduct includes "sexual orientation"

4/1989

Informal network forms at Columbus (Ohio) Works and considers forming a chapter of LEAGUE; participants join gg e-mail list

6/1989

• First Gay Awareness Week is held at Summit, N.J.
• Members of LEAGUE-Columbus meet for first time over lunch and view Denver's PFLAG video
• Precursor of LEAGUE-South Jersey has tables at the Middletown (N.J.) and Lincroft (N.J.) Diversity Days

7/1989

• LEAGUE-Columbus displays gay awareness posters on AA bulletin boards
• LEAGUE-Columbus members meet with AA Advisory Committee, which agrees to sponsor Brian McNaught workshop and authorizes LEAGUE to continue meeting
• LEAGUE-South Jersey adopts charter and applies for Bell Labs Club recognition; multiple "concerns" are raised by Bell Labs Club Board members

10/1989

• LEAGUE-Columbus begins weekly business meetings over lunch
• Columbus, Ohio publication, Alive!, publishes article "Gay Couples Fight for Equal Treatment," which includes an interview with an AT&T employee

11/1989

Bell Labs Club Board approves LEAGUE-South Jersey in split vote

12/1989

• LEAGUE-Columbus members design the "Safe Place" magnet
• LEAGUE-Columbus distributes desk-to-desk flyer announcing LEAGUE's existence and their first noon-hour program. Contact person receives much harassment

1/1990

• LEAGUE-Columbus meets with upper management of Columbus Works, who issue a memo of support reiterating the company EEO policy
• LEAGUE-North Jersey forms as outgrowth of LEAGUE-Summit

3/1990

• LEAGUE member serves as panelist on Life Cycle Panel of prestigious Conference Board conference on Work and Family Policies in New York City
• LEAGUE publicized the 15th anniversary of the company policy on sexual orientation via the AT&T newsgroups on the Netnews electronic bulletin board
• AT&T's FOCUS Magazine prints six-page article on company and employee initiatives related to AIDS

4/1990

• Six members of LEAGUE North Jersey meet with Anne Fritz, Manager of Corporate AA/EEO programs, for the first time and receive her support for LEAGUE
• AT&T's FOCUS Magazine includes first reference to LEAGUE, in editorial response to a letter from a lesbian employee ("name withheld by request")

6/1990

• Gay Awareness Week is held at multiple Bell Labs locations
• Affirmatively Speaking, the quarterly newsletter of Middletown, N.J. Diversity Management Center, includes a lengthy article on lesbigay employees
• LEAGUE-Northern Illinois is granted Bell Labs Club status

7/1990

• Panel discussion from Conference Board Conference is printed in its magazine, which is mailed to human resources managers throughout America
• Bell Labs News printed full-page article on LEAGUE and lesbigay employee issues
• LEAGUE member presents an invited talk at the AT&T Human Resources Director's Council, at the invitation of Anne Fritz

8/1990

• LEAGUE-Northern Illinois is granted EEO group status and attains a seat on the Indian Hill AA Advisory Council
• Chicago subchapter of LEAGUE-Northern Illinois is established
• E-mail list research!gg is replaced by multiple league!X mailing lists as participation continues to grow rapidly
• Sandra Rovira, lesbian partner of a deceased AT&T employee, sues AT&T for a benefit available to legal spouses of deceased employees

9/1990

• AT&T Central Florida Employee News publishes article announcing the formation of LEAGUE-Central Florida
• Articles about gay employee groups, including LEAGUE, appear in Computing (Australia) and Computer Weekly (England)

10/1990

• "Safe Place" is renamed "Safe Space"; Safe Space* magnets are distributed to all management at all Bell Labs Indian Hill locations
• LEAGUE sends invited speakers to Atlanta (Ga.) to two meetings of the NPSO management team from around the country

11/1990

LEAGUE sends invited speaker to Orlando (Fla.) EO/AA conference of AT&T Technologies diversity counselors from around the country

1991

AT&T buys NCR

1/1991

• Indian Hill and NSC (Network Software Center) EO publishes policy adds sexual orientation and marital status at request of LEAGUE-Northern Illinois
• LEAGUE produces the "LEAGUE Family Album," a collection of short autobiographical sketches of members, primarily those in long-term committed relationships, to help overcome society's stereotypes
• LEAGUE members meet with corporate benefits managers to discuss domestic partnership benefits issues

2/1991

• "Gay Pride Week" is included in 1991 diversity calendar published in FOCUS Magazine
• Article on LEAGUE-Metro DC appears in the Washington Blade
• LEAGUE-NSC is established as an ATTAC Club (AT&T Activities)

4/1991

• Article titled, "Gay Rights, Issue of the 90s," appears in the NY Times and discusses LEAGUE
• LEAGUE participates in ATTAC days at NSC

6/1991

• Lesbian and Gay Awareness week is held at dozens of Bell Labs & corporate locations
• Lesbian & Gay Awareness Week calendar is pulled from Bell Labs News at last minute due to external anti-gay pressure campaign
• Article titled, "Out of the Closet", appears in PJ - Personnel Journal and discussed LEAGUE and Gay Awareness Week

8/1991

LEAGUE-Massachusetts holds its first meeting

9/1991

• LEAGUE member participates as panelist at first national Invisible Diversity Conference in NYC; a dozen AT&T employees and diversity managers attend the conference
• First noon-time display by a lesbian/gay bookstore occurs in the cafeteria of the Network Software Center in Lisle, Ill.

10/1991

LEAGUE-Columbus hands out lots of Safe Space magnets and cookies at the AA Fair

11/1991

• Bell Labs News includes LEAGUE and anti-gay harassment in multipage article on Diversity
• Number of subscribers to league!X email lists exceeds the 300 mark
• LEAGUE-Atlanta holds its first meeting

12/1991

• LEAGUE members meet with Hal Burlingame and Anne Fritz to discuss AT&T's management relocation plan as it applies to non-traditional families
• AP Wire Service article on the gay market mentions LEAGUE
• Cover article in Fortune Magazine mentions "gay-employee group" at AT&T and talks about McNaught Homophobia Workshop at AT&T
• LEAGUE-Northern Illinois participates as one of eight groups at first Diversity Day at Indian Hill
• LEAGUE-Dallas (Texas) forms, becoming the 15th LEAGUE local chapter

2/1992

• First AT&T-wide LEAGUE conference is held, in Orlando, Fla.
• Orlando Sentinel carries article covering the LEAGUE conference

3/1992

• Column in Time Magazine references "gay employee organizations 'at companies ranging from AT&T to Xerox'"
• LEAGUE-Upper MidWest holds its first meeting

9/1995

AT&T announced "trivestiture" plan to spinoff its equipment units into separate companies by end of 1996

1/1996

LEAGUE split into three groups:

	AT&T:	LEAGUE at AT&T
	Lucent:	Equal! at Lucent Technologies
	NCR:	League@NCR

5/1996

Last joint LEAGUE conference (LEAGUE at AT&T, Equal! at Lucent and LEAGUE at NCR) is held – in Chicago, Ill.

11/1996

Lucent is officially spun off from AT&T

1/1997

NCR is officially spun off from AT&T

5/1997

• LEAGUE at AT&T holds its tenth anniversary conference at the AT&T Learning Center in Basking Ridge, N.J. AT&T President and Chief Operating Officer John Walter speaks to conference attendees at opening night reception
• LEAGUE at AT&T Foundation awards its first academic scholarships to two lesbigay, high school seniors.

6/1997

LEAGUE unveils its internet website at http://www.league-att.org/

7/1997

LEAGUE unveils its redesigned intranet website

12/1997

IRS grants LEAGUE at AT&T 501(c)(3) status as Tax Exempt Organization

4/1998

• Worthington, Ohio and New England (Fairhaven, Massachusetts) become LEAGUE's newest local chapters
• LEAGUE at AT&T holds its annual Professional Development Conference in Tempe, Arizona
• LEAGUE Foundation awards five acamedic scholarships; one of the scholarship winners appears at LEAGUE conference in Tempe (Ariz.)
• AT&T and unions agree on contract that includes Domestic Partner Benefits

10/1998

Domestic partner benefits information is added to LEAGUE's intranet site; sign-up begins for DPB coverage

12/1998

LEAGUE's intranet and internet websites are redesigned

1/1999

Domestic partner benefits coverage starts for LBGT employees at AT&T

5/1999

• Two new local chapters – Austin (Texas) and St. Louis – are added; Worthington chapter is renamed LEAGUE Central Ohio
• Minneapolis/St. Paul is site of LEAGUE's tenth annual Professional Development Conference. Leo Hindery, president and chief operating officer of AT&T Broadband and Internet Services, gives keynote address at opening ceremony
• LEAGUE Foundation awards ten academic scholarships to LBGT high school seniors. Two of the scholarships honor the memory of Matthew Shepard, a college student murdered because he was gay; these scholarships and one other were presented to the students during LEAGUE's Minneapolis/St. Paul conference.

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* Safe Space and the Safe Space logo are registered trademarks of EQUAL! at Lucent, licensed to LEAGUE at AT&T.