Tag Archives: Lilly Ledbetter

“Ladies, put your lipstick on, square your shoulders, and get ready to do battle. This calls for a revolution!”

That’s what Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) said on the floor of the Senate during the successful fight to pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. And now she needs our help for the next battle over equal pay — passing the Paycheck Fairness Act.

In the coming weeks, we expect a Senate vote on this vital legislation so we need you to contact your Senators today

Please tell your Senators to show their support for equal pay by co-sponsoring the Paycheck Fairness Act.

The Paycheck Fairness Act would deter wage discrimination by updating the nearly 50-year-old Equal Pay Act and barring retaliation against workers who disclose their own wages to coworkers.

No law prohibits employers from penalizing and even firing employees just for TALKING about their salaries. By leaving workers in the dark, workers are prevented from ever learning they are experiencing pay discrimination in their workplace.

Please take two minutes to tell your Senators to co-sponsor the Paycheck Fairness Act and support equal pay.

Your Senators need to hear from you now! The last time the Senate voted on the Paycheck Fairness Act, in 2010, it fell just a few votes short of moving forward. Women and their families can’t afford for that to happen again.

Thanks for taking action today.

Sincerely,

Fatima Goss Graves Vice President for Education and Employment National Women’s Law Center

P.S. Please donate $10 today to support the Center’s work to eliminate the wage gap and press for other policies critical to women and their families.

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speaking of truth to power … 6

04/19/2012 Nativegrl77

What a week — Rick Santorum dropped out of the race, Mitt Romney continued to attack women’s rights, and the Republican National Committee dropped an ad we absolutely have to debunk. On top of all that, Thursday marked the six-year anniversary of Mitt Romney’s health reform in Massachusetts — one of the models for Obamacare — but you won’t hear him taking any credit for it.

Check it out all in this week’s tips:
#1 Video: Mitt Romney — Memories to last a lifetime With Rick Santorum leaving the GOP primary on Tuesday, it’s almost certain that Mitt Romney will be the nominee. To commemorate the GOP primary, and remind people of the extreme positions Romney’s taken over the course of it, we put together a short videolaying out some of his most “severely conservative” moments. Check them out, then share them with anyone who still thinks he’s a moderate:

#2 Keeping his word: 5 ways our president supports economic opportunities for women Governor Romney spent a good deal of this week attacking President Obama’s economic record among women. President Obama has said, “Every decision I make is all about making sure … all our daughters and all our sons grow up in a country that gives them the chance to be anything they set their minds to.” That includes supporting economic policies that help women, like extending the payroll tax cut — which helps 75 million women — or granting more than 16,000 business loans to small businesses owned by women. Check out the top five waysour President has kept his word to women, then pass them on:

#3 Fair Pay Act for women: Romney’s campaign not sure he would’ve signed if president The morning after Rick Santorum left the race, the Romney campaign was asked whether Romney supports the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which helps to ensure women can get equal pay for equal work. Their answer (which should’ve been a no brainer): “We’ll get back to you on that.” This is a basic step to stop pay discrimination in the workplace, the first bill President Obama signed into law in office — and Romney’s campaign isn’t sure if their candidate would’ve signed it. We put together a short video, featuring Lilly Ledbetter, on why equal pay is “not Republican and it’s not Democrat. It’s civil rights.” Watch it, and share it with folks who should see it, too:

#4 The six-year anniversary of Romneycare (Where’s the celebration?) Exactly six years ago yesterday, Mitt Romney signed Massachusetts health reform, or Romneycare, into law. At the time he called it a model for the nation. Six years later, and you don’t hear him celebrating it. Why? Because this godfather of Obamacare is promising to repeal national health reform on Day One in office. So much for a model for the nation. We put together a videoexplaining it — check it out, pass it on, and make sure people know he’s trying to take away the very protections he once fought for:

#5 Debunk this new RNC ad The Republican National Committee is out with a new ad smearing President Obama’s record, saying he hasn’t kept any of his promises from four years ago. You and I both know that’s a lie, so we put together a charge-by-charge rebuttal of the ad, laying out exactly what our president has done. Check it out, and make sure none of the RNC’s lies stick:

#6 Fact check the Koch Brothers on Obamacare The George Mason University Mercatus Center released a report this week claiming Obamacare will actually add to the deficit, to the tune of $340 billion. But don’t for a minute believe that they don’t have an agenda — this center is primarily funded by the Koch brothers, and was founded by their chief lobbyist. A quick look at studiesfrom actual non-partisan sources, like the Congressional Budget Office, back up what the President has said about Obamacare all along — it will actually cut the deficit by $127 billion. Make sure their report doesn’t pick up any steam — share the truth:

Thanks,
Stephanie
P.S. — Now that Mitt Romney is almost surely our opponent, the race is on. We created this Facebook graphic for folks to say they’ve got our president’s back. Share it on your wall here:

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Shh! Never Discuss Your Salary … Fatima Goss Graves, National Women’s Law Center

04/19/2012 Nativegrl77

Never discuss your salary with anyone.

That’s what they told Lilly Ledbetter on her first day on the job in 1979. It wasn’t until she found an anonymous note in her locker that Lilly realized that she was being paid as much as 40% less than her male colleagues in the same position.

This sort of pay secrecy policy that punishes employees helps to hide discriminatory pay practices. And here’s the kicker: Lilly worked all those years for Goodyear Tire & Rubber, which had the privilege of being a federal contractor.

Today is Equal Pay Day — the day that a typical woman’s wages finally catch up to a typical man’s in 2011. Ask President Obama to ban federal contractors from retaliating against employees who talk about wages.

It took Lilly 20 years to find out that she was being paid less than her male co-workers. But we know that Lilly is not alone: nearly fifty years after President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act, women working full time are paid just 77 cents on the dollar compared to their male counterparts. And the wage gap is far worse for women of color.

It’s time to end punishing pay secrecy policies among federal contractors.

The President has the executive power to protect employees who work in companies that have federal contracts. Presidents have used executive orders to address other workplace rights, including requiring that contractors protect their employees from discrimination on the job.

In recognition of Equal Pay Day, join us in calling on President Obama to end retaliatory pay secrecy policies in federal contracting.

Thanks for your support!

Sincerely,

Fatima Goss Graves
Vice President for Education and Employment
National Women’s Law Center
P.S. NWLC has some brand new resources released for Equal Pay Day. Check out our interactive wage gap map and new fact sheets on the wage gap and women of color, minimum wage and combating punitive pay secrecy policies.

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Support Senator Maria Cantwell for Re election

03/21/2012 Nativegrl77

It was a 41-year battle for women to pass the 19th Amendment, affording us the universal right to vote. It took another 50 years for women to win a constitutionally guaranteed right to choose. And it wasn’t until a few short years ago that we passed legislation helping women like Lilly Ledbetter have a fair shot at getting equal pay.

It has taken women generations to secure the rights we enjoy today. And the extreme right wing in Congress wants to strip those rights away in the blink of an eye — whether it’s overturning Roe v. Wade or denying women health coverage for contraception.

The latest attack in the radical war on women is absolutely infuriating. Some Senate Republicans are set to OPPOSE extending the Violence Against Women Act — a law that helps survivors of brutal domestic violence start new, healthy lives. As I said on Hardball last week, the safety of millions of women depends on this and I will do everything in my power to see it reauthorized right away.

I have had enough. I will continue to speak out in the media and on the Senate floor until the right ends its ridiculous war on women — but I can’t do it alone. The first FEC filing deadline of the year is March 31st. So while all the pundits are watching, let’s prove that our grassroots organization is as powerful as ever, and standing strong for women’s rights.

I’ve set a goal — I want to raise $50,000 by March 31st. Your dollars will help us build a campaign that can fight back against anti-women politicians in the fall. Will you pitch in?

Mitt Romney wants to “get rid of” Planned Parenthood under the guise of cutting spending. Rush Limbaugh unabashedly smears women who speak out on the issues. These are the ideological leaders of the modern right. And earlier this month, the right-wing controlled Arizona state House passed a law that would open the door for employers to fire female employees who seek contraceptive coverage.

Women have come a long way, but there’s more to do — and we can’t accomplish anything while politicians in Washington D.C. are determined to drag women’s rights back to the last millennium.

March 31st is coming up fast. Contribute today — $5 or whatever you can afford — and let’s build a campaign strong enough to end the right’s war on women!

My mission in the U.S. Senate is to give a voice to those who don’t have one. With your help, I have no doubt that we can reach our $50,000 goal, and show pundits from one Washington to the other that our network stands for women’s health.

It’s supporters like you that will make the difference in this election.

Thanks for everything you do.

Maria

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Take Action: Lilly and Betty Need Back-up …Fatima Goss Graves, National Women’s Law Center

10/03/2011 Nativegrl77

As a fair pay advocate, you stood hand-in-hand with Lilly Ledbetter and Betty Dukes as they fought for fair pay against some of the largest employers in the United States. As courageous as they have been, women like them shouldn’t have to go at it alone.

It’s time that Lilly and Betty have some back-up. Take action today: Tell the Department of Labor to help protect women from pay discrimination. WWW.NWLC.ORG

The Department of Labor is currently considering creating a new compensation data tool that would make it easier to enforce laws that prohibit pay discrimination. Since 2006, the federal government has had NO tool to effectively monitor wage discrimination based on race, national origin and gender by private employers. This means that our tax dollars could possibly be going to federal contractors who are not paying women fairly. It’s time to take a stand. Raise your voice: tell the Department of Labor to move us forward and collect wage data.

WWW.NWLC.ORG

So what do we want the new data tool to look like? In developing the compensation tool, we urge the Department to:

*Require that federal contractors submit wage information for all workers and in a wide range of categories, including workers that are part-time;

*Require that the Department conduct compensation reviews for companies that have more than one location in order to address companywide discrimination;

*Require that businesses bidding on federal contracts submit compensation data as a part of the bidding process. Federal tax dollars should not be wasted on companies that unlawfully discriminate against its workers; and

*Include comprehensive data that highlights gender, racial and ethnic disparities not only in pay, but also in hiring, terminations, promotions and tenure. Pay discrimination is often inextricably intertwined with other practices prohibited by employment discrimination laws.
The wage gap has been stuck at 77 cents for the past three years, despite important laws that prohibit gender discrimination in compensation. And we know that individuals like Lilly and Betty face significant obstacles in addressing and detecting pay discrimination. Collecting this data would be a critical step in ensuring the government can effectively combat pay discrimination. As a fair pay advocate, we urge you to weigh-in and support this new data tool at the Department of Labor.

WWW.NWLC.ORG

Sincerely,

Fatima Goss Graves
Vice President for Education and Employment
National Women’s Law Center

P.S. Your generous donation allows us to continue to stand up for women and their families. Support our work today.