10 LGBTQ trailblazers who pushed our Labor Movement forward

June 24, 2026

In honor of Pride Month, here are 10 LGBTQ+ leaders in King County unions whose organizing and advocacy strengthened King County’s Labor Movement. Their stories span decades of building bridges between two movements. They show how LGBTQ+ workers have shaped the region’s labor history and continue to drive it forward.

1. Bill Olwell

Retail Clerks Local 1001

Bill Olwell was president of both Retail Clerks Local 1001 (Seattle, now part of UFCW 3000) and the King County Labor Council (MLK Labor) He drew attacks from opponents who smeared him by outing his homosexuality. However, Bill was reelected and later became a UFCW Vice President. The UFCW LGBTQ group Outreach “Champion of Equality Award” is named in his honor.

2. Stephen Blair

National Union of Marine Cooks and Stewards

Stephen Blair was born in 1917 and grew up in the Midwest. He moved to San Francisco in 1936, where he met his partner and became involved in the National Union of Marine Cooks and Stewards, a progressive union with full integration for Black and gay members. Blair moved to Seattle in the 1960’s and became known as an elder within Seattle’s LGBTQ+ community.

3. Sarah Luthens

Out Front Labor Coalition

Sarah Luthens is a longtime organizer with several unions and the founder of the Out Front Labor Coalition, which later became the Seattle Pride at Work chapter. Sarah has spent decades fighting for LGBTQ+ inclusion in the King County Labor Movement.

4. Mike Andrew

National Writers Union

Mike Andrew is an accomplished journalist and organizer who currently serves as the Executive Director of Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action (PSARA). He was a full‑time reporter for Seattle Gay News and remains active in the labor movement through Pride at Work and the National Writers Union. Mike is also a longtime member of the MLK Labor Executive Board.

5. Marcy Johnsen

SEIU Healthcare 1199NW

Marcy Johnsen is a retired registered nurse and former vice-president of SEIU Healthcare 1199NW. She came out as lesbian during a 1994 delegate assembly while advocating for the union to oppose anti-gay ballot initiatives. Johnsen also co-founded the Out Front Labor Coalition

6. Dustin Lambro

UFCW 3000/MLK Labor

Dustin Lambro is the Political & Legislative Director for UFCW 3000, where he has successfully helped elect candidates and pass public policy at the local, state and federal level. He was formerly the Outreach & Political Director for Washington United for Marriage which led the campaign for for marriage equality in Washington State. Dustin currently serves as the President of MLK Labor.

7. Ed Hunt

SEIU 925

Ed Hunt was an early member of Out Front Labor Coalition/Pride at Work and an activist in SEIU 925. He authored several articles on organizing LGBTQ workers in the labor movement. After retirement, he moved away from Seattle but continued to be active in LGBTQ and labor-left organizations.

8. Shellea Allen

Pride at Work/WSNA

Shellea Allen was born and raised in Seattle and was the national co-president of Pride at Work from 2013-2022. She has been an organizer and served in leadership roles for UNITE HERE Local 8 and SAG-AFTRA in the PNW. Shellea is currently a staff attorney at the Washington State Nurses Association and continues to organize for LGBT rights in our unions and under the law.

9. Marsha Botzer

UA Local 32/Ingersoll Gender Center

Marsha Botzer is a pioneering trans rights leader who founded the Ingersoll Gender Center in 1977, creating one of the nation’s first community spaces for people exploring gender identity. Over the past six decades, she has bridged the LGBTQ+ movement and the labor movement.

10. Betsy Shedd

IUOE Local 302

Betsy Shedd was a crane operator in Operating Engineers Local 302 and was Vice President of Martin Luther King County Labor Council, serving alongside President Jessica Bonebright and Executive Secretary-Treasurer Dave Freiboth.

Special thanks to the Labor Archives of Washington for helping provide research. You can explore your labor archives at laborarchives.org.