Garden State Equality (GSE), an LGBTQ+ rights advocacy group based in New Jersey, are unionizing. The group was established in 2004 to advocate for marriage equality in the state of New Jersey. In 2013, they sued then-State Attorney General Paula Dow in her official capacity, arguing that New Jersey’s marriage laws violated the rights of same-sex couples’ equal protection in the state’s constitution. The New Jersey Superior Court ruled in GSE’s favor, and it was ruled that the state must allow same-sex couples to marry.
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Recently, GSE employees announced they wanted to form a workers’ union to ensure dedication to the group’s mission is maintained.
“We care about GSE, we care about the work that we do, we care about the organization that we work for, and we want to make it so that every single person involved in the operations of the organization is able to do this work equitably and sustainably,” GSE Communications Manager Aedy Miller explained to OutInJersey reporters.
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Miller was one of the employees on the organizing committee for Garden State Equality Workers United; however, after staff filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) they began the initial process on April 16th, 2025, announcing the proposed union’s campaign to management and presenting a petition to be recognized as an official union.
Initially, GSE had chosen not to recognize them, according to @gseworkersunited on Instagram, and created a community petition on May 10th to sway management to reconsider their decision.
On May 15, @gseworkersunited posted, “Two dozen organizations and more than 50 individuals signed a petition urging management to voluntarily recognize our union … Unfortunately, management did not listen to our community and refused to consider the petition.”
According to GSE Deputy Director Brielle Winslow-Majette, GSE leadership never denied the request for voluntary recognition, but wanted to move forward with an election process due to the union’s decision to file with the NLRB.
After a unanimous vote, GSE Workers United was recognized as the official union to represent GSE staff on May 21st.
Bergen County Gay Straight Alliance published a statement on social media in support of GSE Workers. BCGSA board member Addison Almagor, on behalf of BCGSA wrote “We recognize this — the struggle of workers to be treated fairly and to have their voices heard — and hope that GSE will rise to the occasion and work with the GSE Workers Union to create a better, more inclusive, and more fair environment for all their workers.”
As of now, there are 5 union-eligible employees at GSE.
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