With the trans employment quota law stalled in the Salta legislature, groups of trans women and men have created an alternative: they've joined together in a cooperative offering services such as design, tutoring, construction, painting, and technical support for phones and computers, among others. The initiative has been very well received. They plan to expand their offerings soon and include trans people from other areas in their workforce. By Elena Corvalán, from Salta. Photos: Santiago Romero and Víctor Notarfrancesco. The organizations Mujeres Trans Argentina (Trans Women Argentina) and Varones Trans Argentina (Trans Men Argentina) launched a Trans Self-Managed Cooperative in Salta. It's a "guide to employability in services, production, and related fields" that is distributed through social media and groups of friends. And it's already yielding positive results: dignified employment. The Trans Self-Managed Cooperative emerged in June from the weekly meetings held by trans men and women. Given that the trans employment quota bill was stalled in the legislature, one of its proponents, Pía Ceballos, proposed organizing alternative ways for people to access the job market. The presentation was brief and direct on June 16th, when thirteen people announced their services: “You’ll find different sectors where we work. We ask for your support and that you hire us, buy our products, and purchase our services.”

What services does the cooperative offer?

Ceballos says the experience is “a success.” “In the first few days, I was flooded with calls from people requesting, hiring, and wanting the services and products.” The oil vendor sold out of stock. The master builder was hired to complete three projects. They offer services including dentistry, hairdressing, graphic design, tutoring, construction (with a master builder), house painting, telephone and computer repair, transportation, formal dressmaking, and general clothing alterations. Some members of the cooperative sell olive oil. They are currently working on adding more members and services. They plan to incorporate service providers from other towns in the province.

"Things that are normal for anyone else, not for us."

Pía recalled the joy she felt when someone told her she had been paid for her first job. She highlighted the good treatment that trans women and men receive from those who employ them through the Cooperative, which manifests itself in "simple things, normal for anyone else, but not for us." "When the trans women were going to interviews, they would say to me, 'Do they know we're trans? Nothing's going to happen?'" Ceballos speaks of the fear "of discrimination and rejection that they have already experienced with employers."

[READ MORE: They created a cooperative hair salon to escape prostitution] 

One of those who received the most calls was Luz María Cruz. She's a seamstress, altering clothes and making party dresses, costumes, and special outfits. A drag queen needs her help every Friday, and she works for carnival troupes, caporales groups, and for the festival of the Virgin of Urkupiña (in Salta, due to its proximity to Bolivia, it's an important event).

The story of Luz María, dressmaker

At 45, Luz María feels she can now live her identity in a more open society. She says her family's acceptance prevented her from ending up on the streets, as she saw happen to other trans people she met at meetings. But not everyone was as open-minded as her family. She dropped out of high school: she wasn't comfortable with the binary organization of the educational space. A sewing and tailoring course at her neighborhood community center opened the door to a trade for her: “The first time I made a skirt by hand and put it on my younger sister; I liked it.” Later, she worked in a sewing workshop, but again, as in school, she felt discriminated against. “They don't pay much at the workshop, and when they see that you're gay, they want to exploit you.” She opened her own workshop at home. Through word of mouth, she gained clients who grew through the Cooperative. Her leisure time consists of going out dancing ("once a month, because the economy doesn't allow for more") and the February holidays, a month dedicated to enjoying Carnival, which Luz María experiences to the fullest, not only in the preparations but also because she participates in the historic comparsa Los Caballeros de la Noche (The Knights of the Night).

"It's a job opportunity created by us."

Luz Macarena Bejerano, 23, says she didn't experience discrimination, even though she didn't receive a dance certificate when she completed the course. "Maybe I did; that's where I was discriminated against," she reflects. Luz is studying accounting and business administration at the National University of Salta. At the cooperative, she offers tutoring in accounting and mathematics. "It's a job opportunity we're creating ourselves," she stated. Two months ago, Luz Macarena began to take an interest in trans organizations. “I didn’t get very close to the trans community before, because I saw that many of the women were working on the streets.” Getting involved with trans organizations gave her a different perspective from which to view these women. “I saw something else, the other side of it all. All the women there, beyond working on the streets, wanted to get ahead, to do something more.” Luz says, “I don’t like politics.” However, she acknowledges that contact with the trans community “opened my mind a little more.” She left the province of Salta for the first time a few days ago: she traveled to Jujuy to begin her acting career in a short film. Charly: "My life as a man began at 30." Charly has been painting for 15 years, a job he offers at the Cooperative. “I’m already old, I’m 47, but it was always my dream to be a man. I’ve always done men’s work, ever since I was four.”“My life as a man began when I was thirty,” Charly Cabeza recounted. “My mother never accepted me. (…) When she passed away, about six months later, I started buying men's clothes, men's cologne, and cutting my hair like a man.” Charly began attending meetings for transgender people, interested in “transforming a trans boy.” When the idea for the Cooperative arose, he wondered, “Why didn't we think of this before?” and joined. “It's never too late to do the things you want,” he told Presents while painting the private residence and pharmacy of Mariana Amelia Mancuso.

What the cooperative's customers are saying

Mariana is one of the people who hired services from the cooperative. “They shouldn’t have any kind of conditions attached to them, but the reality is that there are always prejudices,” she told Presents. Mariana hired services from the cooperative.  Another of Charly's employers is retired military officer Néstor Voss. The man knew him under his previous identity and still refers to him using feminine pronouns: “Several times the I called him to work with me and he really did a perfect job every time, in fact the “I recommended it.” Voss owns a security company. She praised the creation of the cooperative: “We think that (trans people) only engage in prostitution, and that’s not true; they have skills that they might not have the opportunity to demonstrate.” The updated newsletter with new services will be relaunched soon, Pía Ceballos announced. People from other towns have asked to replicate the experience. The new list of services will include digital support for direct access to the Cooperative’s Facebook page.

"We received calls from men who wanted sex."

In analyzing this short time since the cooperative began, Pía also points out the other side of the coin: there were calls to the cooperative from men seeking sex. “There’s a segment of society that still associates us solely with prostitution. And there are women who work independently, but that’s their choice; we’re not going to judge them,” she explained.

"It doesn't solve the underlying problem."

These calls don't change the conclusion: “We are very happy with this. It doesn't solve the underlying problem, which has to do with the approval of the job quota, with serious employability policies. But this really helps and shows solidarity in such a difficult time.”

[READ MORE: This is the map of trans employment quotas in Argentina]

To contract the cooperative's services, you can call (0387)446-8466 To see the services offered by the cooperative, click here. here.]]>