Rep. Lee - Equal Pay, Paycheck Fairness Act

The House debates the Paycheck Fairness Act. Although the wage gap between men and women has narrowed since the passage of the landmark Equal Pay Act in 1963, gender-based wage discrimination remains a problem for women in the U.S. workforce. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women only make 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man. The Institute of Women's Policy Research found that this wage disparity will cost women anywhere from $400,000 to $2 million over a lifetime in lost wages. Furthermore, loopholes created by courts and weak sanctions in the law have allowed many employers to avoid liability for engaging in gender-based pay discrimination. The Paycheck Fairness Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), will strengthen the Equal Pay Act and close the loopholes that have allowed employers to avoid responsibility for discriminatory pay. Rep. Barbara Lee speaks in favor.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Democrats
• Congress
• Women
• Equal
• Pay
• Paycheck
• Fairness
• Act
• Barbara
• Lee

[imanerd36]

Too bad unmarried childless woman make 17% more than unmarried childless men. Source: US Census.

[chellebell07]

BTW, I have no doubt that he apparently thought I got paid enough, I don't argue that. I do feel he did NOT value me as much as he did the male employees, I felt I worked harder than the guys did. I also think, currently, with the economy, perhaps not all employers who are making employee cuts actually NEED to make the cuts, I think they are doing it because they CAN, because other employers are, and employees are too scared to walk, so employees are taking scraps, we ALL are paying the price.

[chellebell07]

The thing is, there is no excuse for him, in my opinion. Really, the deatils are irrelevant, there should be no excuse for him, nor the other bosses that act like that, they should not be able to get away with it. NONE of the male employees were told to "soften up"! IMO, We need a governmental watch-dog group to watch over employers, a group with no other agenda but to protect workers. I question unions, sometimes they seem to act like they work for the company instead of for the worker's rights

[chellebell07]

Our pension was after 5 years (I was just under that when I was, I felt, pushed out) and it was appx. $200 a month, or so, after retirement. I haven't read the info. lately, since it does not apply to me anymore, but this is my understanding the last time I read it. Our union fees were about $45-$50 a month, depend. on what you got paid...at $6.95an hour, that is a big chunck. Although I took a cut in everything when I left. My new job just eliminated health care, after I have been there a year

[chellebell07]

If you call just above minimum wage fair pay? I was hired at $6.95 an hour, which was .20 cents above minimum wage at that time. I am not sure how you would support your family on $6.95 an hour? We got "union bumps" NOT raises, unless the boss gave us a raise, and the "bumps" were about .30-50cents every 6 months or so depending on hours worked, depend. on how many hours the boss let you worked. I don't know where all these so-called well paid unions workers work at, but it certainly was not me

[CrowdPleeza]

I can see that being a problem with certain male bosses who aren't open minded with women in that way. You mentioned that you're are a union member. Maybe that boss felt that you were getting enough(in salary and benefits)through being a union member already?

[chellebell07]

...those were just a few examples. There is much more to the story! One time he told me that I should transfer to San Francisco (if I can't soften up)....and there's more. However, he always told me that I did a good job and I worked hard for him. He never could tell me what exactly he had a problem with, he never could tell my union Rep. either, he just made my life a living hell.

[chellebell07]

...and it turned out that boss's/store manager's father apaprently was a big-shot in that company. BTW, it was a major nation-wide chain store! Not only, apparently in his eyes, was I lucky to just have a job, but I better act softer and be happy with what little he gave me, keep my mouth shut, if I wanted to keep my job...a raise was out of the question. I worked there for 5 years and I worked very hard, for nothing, just to be pushed out and apparently replaced by a man!

[chellebell07]

One reason why women don't negociate salaries is because they are afraid of losing their jobs, and what the boss will think of them. It was my perception, at a previous job, I was repeatedly told to act "softer" by the store mamanger. Anytime I did anything considered "manly" (like negociating my salary) I was told to act "softer" if I want to keep my job. I went to my union about this, I went over my boss's head, I had NO luck, it only got worse. That boss made my life a living hell.

[CrowdPleeza]

One reason women earn less is because fewer women negotiate their salaries in comparison to the number of men who do.