by Matthew Hay Brown
While their most prominent colleague was in Pennsylvania, trying to secure a presidential salary, a parade of Democratic woman senators took the floor this morning to argue for equal pay for all women.
""Women make this country run," said Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski of Maryland, the longest-serving woman in the Senate. "We are business leaders, entrepreneurs, politicians, mothers and more. But we earn just 76 cents for every dollar our male counterpart makes. ... People should be judged solely by their individual skills, competence, unique talents and nothing else."
Sens. Barbara Boxer of California, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Claire McCaskill or Missouri and Patty Murray of Washington joined Mikulski in calling for passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act.
Ledbetter was a Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. employee who learned after several years of employment that she was earning less than men working in the same job. She brought a pay discrimination case against the company, but the Supreme Court ruled last year that she had waited too long after her employer had decided to pay her less to file a claim.
"How many people know the salary of their co-workers, especially in the first six months that you're on the job?" Mikulski asked. "What if you're hired at an equal rate with your male counterpart but he gets a raise every few months and you don't?"
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act would start the clock for filing a discrimination claim from the date of the most recent unequal paycheck. The House passed a version last year; the Senate votes on Wednesday.
Republicans warn that the legislation would loose a flood of new litigation. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the Senate could take a lesson from professional sports.
"This weekend, we cheered on Danica Patrick when she made history as the first woman to take home first prize winnings from an Indy Car race," the California Democrat said. "And last year, for the first time in history, Wimbledon awarded equal prize money for its prestigious men and women's tennis tournaments. ...
"As families grapple with an uncertain economy, equal pay for equal work is about daily survival for millions," Pelosi said. "The unemployment rate for women workers has increased more rapidly than for men. Women are more likely to have subprime mortgages and be affected by the foreclosure crisis. Many low-wage women workers are the sole source of support for their families and closing the pay disparity could strengthen their households."
• 
• 
• 
• 
Comments
"WOMEN SPEAK"
HEY WE ARE WORTH MORE THAN THE EXCHANGE RATE OF A "EURO" PAY US WHAT WE DESERVE.
HEY WE BROUGHT YOU HERE. WITHOUT US, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE A WOMAN TO EXCHANGE FOR A "EURO"
KEEP YOUR 76 CENTS ON THE DOLLAR. WE WILL TAKE A "EURO" ANY DAY.
KEEP YOUR "STATUS QUO" WE WILL TAKE A "EURO" OVER YOUR DOLLAR ANY DAY.
OR GIVE US DIME! GIVE US A DIME AND WE WILL GIVE YOU LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE CONTINUED PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS!
JUST A DIME MY BROTHER FROM ANOTHER MOTHER, JUST A DIME!
Posted by: Roger Morris | April 22, 2008 4:15 PM
So we should judge people individually as measured by the collective?
Perhaps Lilly, who 18 years ago may have been discriminated against or not, was not as aggressive a personal salesperson since then. There are numerous factors in granting pay raises that aren't documented.
Posted by: whatnow | April 22, 2008 4:16 PM
whatnow,
So good and obedient you are. Blaming the victim is always the right thing to do.
Posted by: Typical Republican | April 22, 2008 5:22 PM
There is no justification for paying one group of people, one amount and paying another group, a different, and lesser amount, when they do the same or comparable work. It is time to demand that women in the work place, or any where else, be treat like any other citizen! Equality=Democracy!! America made a promise to all of its citizens and it is up to us, to help it fulfill its promise!!!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, Chicago | April 22, 2008 6:01 PM
Just another classic example of the lies told by the left and their lap-dogs in the press.
They get this bogus number by totaling all the money made by men, and all the money made by all women, and divide by the number of men and women respectively.
This totally neglects the effect of women who have CHOSEN to remain at home with their families.
Thus if you have 10 men, each making 100,000 (total 1,000,000), and 10 women, 7 making 100,000 and 3 staying at home (total 700,000), you "prove" that women make only 70% of what men make (1,000,000 compared to 700,000).
This is too confusing for most reporters, so they will repeat it forever because it involves math and math is not part of their job description.
Posted by: Dan C | April 22, 2008 6:12 PM
Let's see da Jr. Senator from Hyde Park and the land of Phyllis Scafly incarnate Michelle Obama support this VIGOROUSLY.
ANY Obama supporter who thinks it is okay for a candidate or his operation to AVOID any media member, to threaten any journalist or blogger, or that it’s okay to REMOVE a journalist the messiah points out from the press pool (go to the link here and read the account of the McClatchey journalist at the Obama/Daily Show event: http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2008/04/on_the_daily_show_with_jon_ste.html#comments)
needs to really think about what kind of president such a person would be.
Hilary takes the blows. And keeps on going.
No need for a sausage eating photo op—she just deals with things.
Angellight/Julie Mack, Matt, John E—and any other seemingly paid blogger for Obama HQ—just hold tight a minute.
ASK yourself why your potential employer or heart throb or whatever the heck he is for you:
Needs and has the support of the white male over 30 controlled mass media right now?
Why is CBS letting him get away right now with dodging the debate AGREED TO LONG AGO?
Could there be questions about the water MSNBC/GE nuke power plant builder is carrying for the “Senator” who got 300 G from Exelon after watering down a nuke reg bill in IL, voted for Dick Cheney’s 2005 Energy bill with 29 new nukes:
Look how they distorted the fingering of Hilary episode.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTJs0VRJLO8
The above is the original 43 second plus IN ORDER and with the VOLUME UP as Obama mentions Hilary and fingers her.
When you open below, you’ll see a clip of MSNBC you can roll on.
http://mediamatters.org/items/200804180010
MSNBC took it OUT OF ORDER and potted down the volume of Obama mentioning Hilary—didn’t even leave the nat sound up on background but also had the anchor speaking over it. She LIED and says it “took a while to get to” the flip off. THEY ARE DISTORTING THE ORDER OF THE TAPE.
And then Jon Stewart, whom I normally respect, carried Obama’s dirty water last night, running the MSNBC version of the tape.
Was there a promise that Obama would be a regular on the show and help Comedy Central’s ratings if Jon aired the distorted version? And allowed Barack to call people calling this a finger flip ‘paranoid’?
It speaks to statesmanship.
Another White boy who doesn’t get it? Michael Moore—who gave a diatribe about Hilary yesterday. Apparently he missed Hillary painting Petreus into a corner a few weeks ago—now the Bushies must bring to Congress any possible peace plan.
Brilliant!
And ignored by the mainstream white male media and the white male comedy and don’t get me started on the left establishment.
The ultra-left was run by a bunch of sexist piggies who were quite happy to let the women clean up and club house—and the women who stuck with them were more than happy to do just that. They deferred getting degrees, for the most part. And they are the opposite of Hillary.
So why didn’t Michael Moore berate Michelle over the man who the U of C system let die—similar to the examples deftly depicted in Sicko? Cuz he’s part of the “I know best” wing of the ultra left.
The American media hasn’t covered how U of C hospital let a guy die.. Here’s a link to an article which does—and it’s openly biased with its use of adjectives—but the facts itself seem solid.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=517824&in_page_id=1879
So, all the koolaid drinking bloggers take note: If you’re paid to harass us on the blogs; if the guy is censoring journalists now—what will he do to journalism and free speech while in the White House?
Posted by: Ladies against Women | April 22, 2008 6:28 PM
Thus if you have 10 men, each making 100,000 (total 1,000,000), and 10 women, 7 making 100,000 and 3 staying at home (total 700,000), you "prove" that women make only 70% of what men make (1,000,000 compared to 700,000).
This is too confusing for most reporters, so they will repeat it forever because it involves math and math is not part of their job description.
Posted by: Dan C | April 22, 2008 6:12 PM
Not at all the way the statistic is compiled. The statistic compares the pay of full time, full year workers. It does not take non-workers into account.
http://www.mdf.org/megc/individualindicators/gid.pdf
Posted by: Lois | April 22, 2008 6:42 PM
The men who can't do simple statistics think they should be paid more than college women who passed stat 101. Look, start paying women the same and there's no problem. The ratios haven't gotten significantly better since Lincoln's time when women got paid $1.05 a week and men $1.67 per week.
Posted by: Bevv | April 24, 2008 3:09 AM