Call to Arms, Call to Arms, Sister!

Please contact both of your U.S. senators immediately, urging them to vote to pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act, all designed to help working women achieve pay parity with their brothers in the workforce.

The U.S. Senate will take up these bills almost immediately, so it is urgent that you take action at once and urge your sisters to do the same! (Maybe, even some of the brothers will help out.) The House of Representatives passed the bill January 9, 2009 247 - 171.

With enforcement powers these bills will nail those work places which reward equal work with unequal pay. Victims will be able to more easily find redress.

We earn only 78 cents to every dollar the boys bring home! Up from 77 cents in 2006. What a giant leap for womankind!

Lower wages also mean a lower social security benefit when retirement comes.

The Senate narrowly defeated this bill last year so with more progressives in Congress, maybe, just maybe we can help proclaim victory for American female employees! If you contacted your legislators last year, it is important to contact them again.

Please contact me right away if you need your names, e-mail addresses, and/or phone numbers and pass this on! The American Association of University Women is a key proponent of the Act.

Who was Lilly Ledbetter? She worked for 19 years in Gadsden, Alabama for Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company (why do you buy Goodyear?) as the only female supervisor who successfully sued ($3 million) after she found out Goodyear was paying $thousands more to male co-workers for the same work. However, in the company’s appeal (why do you buy Goodyear?) the Bushes’ Supreme Court in a 5–4 decision last May rejected her argument saying she waited too long to file suit. (Ahem, how ya gonna file if he done you wrong if you don’t know he done you wrong?)

After the court ruling, legislation was quickly drafted to correct this injustice and, falling right in line with the business community (big surprise), Bush said he would veto the bill. All but six of his Republican Senate allies went along with him to defeat it.

Are you sitting down? That’s good for you will be shocked to learn that during the presidential campaign, John McCain did not support the legislation; Barack Obama did.

Sisters, unite and fight! For us! Pass it on.