Democratic Talk Radio Blog

Dear Stephen,

Today is Equal Pay Day. The date–Tuesday, April
24th–symbolizes the fact that on average, a woman must work for
a year and four months to earn the same wages as a man receives
in a year.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 made it illegal to pay women less than
men for work that is “substantially equal,” unless the pay
difference is because of legitimate factors such as seniority or
experience.

However, 44 years later, the gap still exists. According to
recent data, a woman earns an average of 77 cents for every $1
a man earns at an equivalent job. This pay gap adds up: On
average, a 25-year-old working woman will lose about $455,000
to unequal pay during her working life.

Tell your senators and representatives to help close the pay gap
by supporting these two important bills:

–The Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 766 and H.R. 1338), which would
provide more effective remedies for victims of wage
discrimination on the basis of sex.

–The Fair Pay Act (S. 1087), which would prohibit sex-based
wage discrimination and would address the issue of comparable
worth by calling for equal pay for equivalent work.

Take action here:

http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/H7a31_F1BuUD/

Over the weekend, Congress came to an agreement on the first
federal minimum wage increase in 10 years. But raising the
minimum wage isn’t the only way to help working people
struggling to get by–closing the pay gap would help the growing
number of dual-earner families.

Equal pay is not only about basic fairness; it’s also about
basic family economics. The average U.S. family loses $4,000 a
year because of the pay gap. More wives and mothers are working
than ever before. (In 2003, both parents were employed in 61
percent of two-parent families with children under age 18.) The
earnings of these working women are essential to supporting a
family. Pay discrimination hurts husbands and families, too.

Tell your senators and representatives to support the Paycheck
Fairness Act (S. 766, H.R. 1338) and the Fair Pay Act (S. 1087).
Take action here:

http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/H7a31_F1BuUD/

In solidarity,

Working Families e-Activist Network, AFL-CIO

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 25th, 2007 at 3:46 pm and is filed under Labor Issues, Civil Liberties, Employment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.