We chat with  Katelyn O’Brien, a pipefitter working for a shipbuilding company in Virginia. Katelyn is a trans woman with a degree in History and an adorable cat named Merlyn—she’s also, by her own admission, a comic book nerd.  We talk all about how she came to work as a pipefitter out of college and what exactly goes into a day’s work doing this difficult and quite dangerous job. We also have a frank and really important conversation about the struggles LGBT workers face in the workplace—from everyday harassment on the job site to systemic and legislative discrimination. And we talk about the work Katelyn and others have been doing to fight against these barriers to equality and acceptance.  

 

Additional links/info below...

• Katelyn's Facebook group, Positive Transgender Media Representation 
• Laura Vozzella, Washington Post, "Va. House Panel Kills Bills to Ban Anti-LGBT Discrimination in Housing and Jobs" 
• Graham Moomaw, Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Va. House Republicans Let LGBT Non-Discrimination Bills Die without a Hearing" 
• Kai Isaiah-Jamal, Broadly, "100 Easy Ways to Make the World Better for Trans People" 
• National Center for Transgender Equality, "Employment" & "Non-Discrimination Laws" 
• JUSTIA, "Transgender Discrimination in the Workplace" 

 

Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org)

• Lobo Loco, "Malte Junior - Hall"
• Derek Clegg, "I Have You"