Democratic Underground Latest Greatest Lobby Journals Search Options Help Login
Google

April 22 - Equal Pay Day

Printer-friendly format Printer-friendly format
Printer-friendly format Email this thread to a friend
Printer-friendly format Bookmark this thread
This topic is archived.
Home » Discuss » Archives » General Discussion (1/22-2007 thru 12/14/2010) Donate to DU
 
PeaceNikki Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-21-08 07:25 AM
Original message
April 22 - Equal Pay Day
Tomorrow is Equal Pay Day.

What is Equal Pay Day? The point in 2008 when the average woman's wages finally catch up with what the average man earned in 2007 - will be recognized on Tuesday, April 22. To commemorate Equal Pay Day, the Senate is expected to vote soon on a key bill that would make it easier to ensure justice for employees who have been subject to pay discrimination. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act would give all employees a better shot at a fair workplace, making it easier to ensure justice for those who have been discriminated against based on sex, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, and age

Women in the United States are still paid only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. For women of color, the numbers are even worse - African American women earn 63 cents and Latinas earn 52 cents for every dollar paid to white men.

Contact your Senators today and urge them to support the Fair Pay Restoration Act
https://secure2.convio.net/nwlc/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=191
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
B Calm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-21-08 07:29 AM
Response to Original message
1. I'm still waiting for my wages to catch up with my 1982 wages. . .
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
lukasahero Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-21-08 08:48 AM
Response to Reply #1
2. Yes women still earn less
Your point?
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
PeaceNikki Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-21-08 09:39 AM
Response to Reply #2
3. I guess nobody cares.
:(

Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
lukasahero Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-21-08 10:44 AM
Response to Reply #3
4. Few do
It's "too complicated". Too hard to "prove". Too easy to justify. Too nuanced an issue for a DU "discussion".

Thanks for trying, though. :)
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
El Pinko Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-21-08 10:49 AM
Response to Original message
5. Yes! I'm all for equal Pay! All people should get equal pay!
Women, men, janitors, lawyers, CEOs. I think when I catch up to what a CEO made in 2007, it will be already Star Trek times.

Sorry if this seems to be trivializing gender pay equity - I'm all for that.

But I'm WAY more bothered by rich/poor pay inequality - which of course, affects many women as well...
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Hidden Stillness Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-21-08 02:36 PM
Response to Original message
6. As Far Away as Ever...
You make the mistake of thinking that all "liberal" males are automatically feminists, and not bigoted against women, and so on, and this is clearly not true. Spend any time in the world at all, and you will be unable to determine which ones are the "liberal" males and which are the reactionary neo-con Republicans; they all sound the same when it comes to us. They do not even take the issue seriously. The only good male is an actual feminist, specifically. All the rest are hypocrite pricks like that asshole Olbermann on TV, etc.

As to the issue of "equal" pay, which strangely never happens or comes true, the situation is worse now, the pay gap wider, than it was during the early 1980s, before that bastard Reagan dismantled the EEOC by putting Clarence Thomas in charge of it (to ignore and obstruct everything), and before the current group of extremist anti-Government types on the Supreme Court. The only times women get equal pay is at the lowest, minimum wage pay scale, and where there are unions negotiating for collective contracts, pay and benefits, and unions are being killed off in this country or jobs outsourced. I don't really agree with the gimmicky idea of an "Equal Pay Day," as I think it loses and confuses the issue, and because it is a "media attractor," "media savvy," etc., which attitude I think itself is dying, unless it kills us first. Much better is the link with the sample letter and explanation of the issue and what to write to your Senator.

To prove discrimination, an employee used to have to give evidence of unfair/unequal pay, benefits, promotions, or other conditions, obtained and filed within 180 days of discovery. It was considered an ongoing situation, and not something with one fixed starting point, because the pay disparity or other discrimination continues to the present day, and because it was not able to be discovered early on. Courts always took account of the obvious fact that no newly-hired employee could demand access to confidential pay records, to "check," and that in a hostile atmosphere for women, any "uppity" behavior of this kind would be met with retribution, and refused. Women in these hostile circumstances always talk about how they did not dare complain, there was no one friendly to take a complaint to, etc. Suddenly, though, the Supreme Court recently ruled against Ledbetter, who had discovered she was underpaid and not promoted as were all males working with her, and that there was no other reason for it; she had gotten commendations as one of the best workers, etc. The Court's "reason" for the ruling against her, was the totally new, and inexplicable claim that the law required her to file within 180 days of the very start of the situation, the first paycheck, etc., which had never been the case before, and no court had ever ruled such. This bizarre twist, understandable only as the act of a Court so extremist archconservative that it no longer even admits precedent law, is actually no longer the law as it had ever been. Too bad.

This is why there is a move to restate what was actually there all along, and that is that the "clock" does not start running on the time-to-file from the very start of employment, when the victim of discrimination could not possibly have known of the disparity; but only when it was found out, as it is a continuing situation anyway. This outrageous Supreme Court ruling, by the way, was not covered by any of the "liberal" males of the media; too "trivial," I guess.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
PeaceNikki Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-21-08 03:14 PM
Response to Reply #6
7. Hmmm. Insteresting thoughts.
I thank you for your comments.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
DU AdBot (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view 
this author's profile Click to add 
this author to your buddy list Click to add 
this author to your Ignore list Thu Apr 25th 2024, 08:21 AM
Response to Original message
Advertisements [?]
 Top

Home » Discuss » Archives » General Discussion (1/22-2007 thru 12/14/2010) Donate to DU

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators


Important Notices: By participating on this discussion board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.

Home  |  Discussion Forums  |  Journals |  Store  |  Donate

About DU  |  Contact Us  |  Privacy Policy

Got a message for Democratic Underground? Click here to send us a message.

© 2001 - 2011 Democratic Underground, LLC