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Josephine June shares her experience as a transgender woman(Josephine June)
Although 27-year-old transgender woman Josephine June still gets misgendered at coffee shops or when meeting someone new, such mistakes are very minor, she says.
She's been through worse. When she came out as trans to her fiancée and close friends, June had to rebuild her support system from the ground up. "When you come out... you very quickly get to see people's true colors, the sides of themselves that they don't show every day," June said. "Their opinions become very obvious... (on) who they think actually deserve to be treated like a person."
Still, she's had it better than most, she says. And now she's been in Austin for over a year and feels more "accepted" than when she lived in a military-focused part of San Diego.
In the workplace
Though strides have been made toward equality, transgender individuals, in particular, are still fighting for certain rights. It is legal in 32 states to terminate someone based on gender identity, including in Texas. The Lone Star State leads the nation in violence against those who make up the "T" in LGBTQ, according to a 2019 report from the Human Rights Campaign.
Since June works remotely for the San Diego LGBT Community Center, a nonprofit, she doesn't face the issues that sometimes arise when transitioning in the workplace. For instance, trans individuals are four times more likely to earn less than $10,000 annually.
"From my experience and experience of a lot of my friends, employment and transitioning in employment is always very challenging and risky," June said. "A lot of places will change their logo on social media to a (pride) flag while continuing to donate to politicians who are actively trying to take away our rights."
Activists call the phenomenon "rainbow washing," a type of performative activism to increase social capital in which municipalities, corporations or organizations use a rainbow logo or promote pride during Pride Month without actions to back it up.
Take Walmart, for example, which is currently sporting a rainbow logo but recently donated to senators who are actively blocking the Equality Act, which would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Woah, CUTE Pride logo 🏳️🌈!
What's not cute is giving more than $150,000 to Mitch McConnell and other GOP Senators who are actively blocking the Equality Act from becoming law. pic.twitter.com/dev9T6KYw5
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) June 10, 2021
"If you don't change your policies, if you're not stopping immediately all donations to politicians who are actively working to take away our rights, if you're not actually supporting the charities that are helping LGBT people, all you're doing is saying, 'look at me, I put a rainbow, so I'm accepting,' without doing any of the work," June said.
In the doctor's office
Treatments for gender transitioning, gender reassignment or gender dysphoria and hormone blockers have been hot topics for Congress, despite cries from Austin's queer community.
There are 22 states that are currently considering restricting or banning gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth and Texas had the most proposed bills of all of them: six; none of which passed.
(Laura Figi/Austonia)
June said this type of legislation not only harms trans kids but also puts pressure on their families.
"(The parents) that are accepting of their kids are going to try and relocate, which is expensive," June said. "Hormone blockers are used on cis(gender) kids who have early-onset puberty, (so) 10% of 1% of the population is being sought out to be harmed by removing access to something that in a lot of cases, is life-saving and suicide prevention."
Being proud
There is some light at the end of the tunnel—June said she is proud of the U.S. Senate for voting in Rachel Levine, the first openly trans federal official, in March, and the proliferation of trans people reaching prominence in media: Laverne Cox, Nicole Maines and Kim Petras to name a few.
So what can you do? June says to raise up trans people in the community.
"If you have a platform, especially during Pride Month, use that platform to raise up LGBTQ people who might not get a voice the other 11 months of the year. When someone comes out to you, listen to them and... take the time to listen to what they tell you, and who they are, and realize how difficult it is for them to come up to you," she said.
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Popular
The Montopolis Dollar tree, run by one employee, closed earlier this month only after an AC specialist said it was unsafe. (Claire Partain)
It's been a few weeks since a viral TikTok revealed poor working conditions at the Montopolis Dollar Tree in southeast Austin, and employee Maggie Lopez is still feeling its effects.
Lopez was filmed working alone at the location May 1 in a since-deleted video that saw 2.9 million views and over 450,000 likes.
In the video, stacked boxes littered the floor, shelves were left unstocked and a leaky, broken air conditioning unit welcomed customers into the understaffed storefront.
@trishmartinez32#x_bazan06#fyp#fypシ#tiktok#friends#like#comment#4upage#4u#share#viralvideo#trending#wow#4upageシ♬ original sound - Patricia Martinez
Lopez, who now works at the dollar store's Springdale location, says she was left with the aftermath of a 90-hour workweek, lost wages and a mystery illness after the store closed a few days later.
"Nobody ever told me... that there was no air conditioning. They didn't tell me there was danger of getting robbed," Lopez told Austonia. "Nobody said anything... they didn't care."
The location didn't shut its doors because of the TikTok exposure: instead, an AC unit specialist doing routine maintenance found employees working in extreme heat and said it was too hot for employees to continue working.
"To operate a business, you have to have your temperature within a certain parameter," Ikaika, the specialist who didn't disclose his full name to protect his job, told Austonia. "As soon as you walk in, you start sweating... it's not good at all."
Lopez said working in 90+ degree heat became the norm in her two months at the location as air conditioning units remained broken for months before the closure. She added some employees, including her former manager and several customers, passed out in the store due to the heat. But she said company leadership remained unresponsive.
Lopez said she sent her district manager, Veronica Oyervides, screenshots of 90+ degree temperatures inside the store. (Maggie Lopez)
Four days after the air conditioning repairman told employees they should no longer keep working at the store, Lopez said her district manager, Veronica Oyervides, was asking her to come back in to prep the location for reopening. Lopez worked May 8 in the shuttered store prepping it for a reopening, which has yet to happen. Oyervides has declined to comment.
Ever since she started working in the deteriorating Dollar Tree, Lopez said she often wakes up with nosebleeds. She said she's constantly thirsty, her hands shake, and she's experiencing headaches and mood swings—symptoms she believes are due to long-term exposure to mold.
Former assistant manager Linnea Bradley told Austonia she has been hospitalized with symptoms linked to heat and stress after working at the store.
"We are sick and corporate does not give a shit," Lopez said. "What kind of damage did these stupid units do to our bodies?"
Lopez hasn't sought care for her symptoms. She says she makes $13.50 an hour and doesn't have health insurance.
Former employees have more complaints than just the heat: Lopez said that personal safety became a concern in the understaffed store. Catherine, a former employee who wished to only reveal her first name, said she's witnessed large-scale theft and instances of mismanagement in her months as a stocker at the location.
"They have no security, no cameras... they don't want you to have anything in writing," Catherine told Austonia. "It's just complete chaos."
Catherine said that she and other hourly employees were given zero hours for weeks on end as managers, who work on salary, were left to run the store alone from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day. She said some managers became so desperate they were hiring homeless people to help stock shelves in exchange for a drink and a bite to eat.
While Catherine (top, middle) often had zero-hour weekly schedules, Martinez, who was paid on salary, worked back-to-back 90-hour workweeks. (Catherine) (Claire Partain)
"They actually did have people willing to work, they just refused to give them hours," Catherine said. "I'm not understanding whether Dollar Tree wants to go under... are they doing this as a tax break?"
Other Austin Dollar Tree locations have reported similar issues. Former manager Jonathan Martinez, who says he was supposed to work 45 hours a week, says he was racking up 90+ hour workweeks and sleeping in the store as he shouldered both the Montopolis and William Cannon locations while his newborn baby was in the ICU in March.
Martinez kept extra clothes in this office after working seven-day weeks at two Dollar Tree locations. (Claire Partain)
Martinez said he slept on boxes as he juggled the job and visiting his newborn in the ICU. (Claire Partain)
Martinez said he slept on boxes as he juggled the job and visiting his newborn in the ICU. (Claire Partain)
"As long as the store stays open, there are corporate people getting bonuses," Martinez, who quit last week after receiving a $100 annual bonus, told Austonia. "Six months ago, when corporate people had a shitload of bonuses, that's when they upped the price (of everything in the store from $1 to $1.25)."
In the six months since Dollar Tree hiked its prices to $1.25, it's gained plenty of mostly negative national attention. In February, the Food and Drug Administration shut down an Arkansas distribution plant due to a massive rodent infestation, and several lawsuits have ensued. The company has also come under fire for selling allegedly expired over-the-counter medicine and its worker shortage at locations across the country.
One employee, who still works for Dollar Tree and wished to remain anonymous, said that they've seen or heard that many area locations are near their breaking point.
"I've seen the good, the bad, the bad to worse," they said. "And it's always a rinse repeat kind of thing... How many more (stores) will go? And what about the employees?"
"Every time I would tell (Oyervides) 'I'm just going to close, I can't stand it anymore,' she would say, 'No, no, no,'" Lopez said. "And I'd be so upset because why? They have my paycheck. It's just been mortifying... the most horrible year of my life."
Dollar Tree's regional director did not respond to requests for comment from Austonia.
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(Pexels)
Grab a helmet and get active this morning by celebrating Bike to Work Day alongside the city.
The community will gather for a celebration at Austin City Hall starting at 8 a.m. with free tacos, coffee and giveaways.
A few things to remember around bikes:
- Over 80% of bicycle crashes happen at intersections
- It’s important to wear reflective clothing during dark hours
- Drivers should keep a distance—take at least three feet of space when passing.
Residents can find the most comfortable, safe bike routes via the 2022 Austin Bike Map, or rent a MetroBike with the code B2WD2022.