Move-On Is Telling McSame Where To Stuff It As Far As Equal Pay For Women Goes

[Me.]

His statement that women need more education and training before they can receive equal pay has infuriated me. How dare he say such a condescending thing especially as he has lived high off the hog on his wife's money? Typically the media gave him a pass on this so I am delighted Move-On has taken it up.

Dear MoveOn member,

Just in time for Mother's Day, Senator John McCain opposed the Fair Pay Act—a bill that would help guarantee women equal pay for equal work. The bill simply would have restored critical anti-discrimination rules that the Supreme Court struck down in a recent decision, and failed by just three votes.

Adding insult to injury, McCain said that the solution to employment discrimination was for women to get more "education and training."1 Maybe that made some sense in his day, but today with women outnumbering men on college campuses, it makes none. Study after study has shown that women are paid less than men for the same work, even when they have the same education and training. Senator McCain and his Republican allies have chosen to stand in the way of enforcement of a law that's been on the books protecting women for 40 years.

Call on Senator McCain and Congress to pass the Fair Pay Act now. Go to:

http://pol.moveon.org/fairpay/?id=12626-3132922-5gJg1L&t=3

Our friends at MomsRising will deliver this petition to Senator McCain with the media in tow, to make sure our message gets out. And if you're as incensed as we are by McCain's statement that women are somehow poorly educated and trained, you can do one more thing: Submit your resume when you sign the letter and we'll deliver that too, so Senator McCain can see for himself that women are actually quite educated nowadays.

http://pol.moveon.org/fairpay/?id=12626-3132922-5gJg1L&t=4

Pay equity is a serious issue that faces women and mothers all across America. Consider these key facts:2

* Women make less for the same work. On average, women who work full time all year only make $0.77 for every dollar their male counterparts make.
* The pay gap is even worse for mothers. Mothers only make $0.73 to a man's dollar and single mothers only make about $0.60 to a man's dollar.
* Wage discrimination cuts across educational levels. For example, for workers 25 years old or older who had some high school education, women's annual earnings were around $15,162, compared to $24,092 for men. But even earning a bachelor's degree didn't help. Women with a bachelor's degree made around $38,221 a year, while men at the same level made $55,425.
* In some places, the pay gap has actually increased. A study done by the U.S. Government Accounting Office found that women managers across 10 industries not only made less than their male counterparts, but in seven of those industries the pay gap had actually increased between 1995 and 2001.

Our country has had an enforceable equal pay law from 1964 to May 2007, until the Supreme Court ruled against Lilly Ledbetter. Lilly Ledbetter worked for Goodyear Tire for 19 years, and got paid less than any man. She didn't learn until near the end of her employment that she was earning less for the same work. She sued and she won. But then the Supreme Court in a 5 to 4 decision overturned her award saying she failed to bring her suit within 180 days of the first discriminatory act. With this single stroke, they gutted the ability to enforce the law. The Fair Pay Act simply restores the ability to enforce a law that's been on the books for forty years.

Senator McCain's statements aren't just misinformed—they're a sad reminder that a lot of politicians are totally out of touch with the hard realities facing working women. Please speak out today.

http://pol.moveon.org/fairpay/?id=12626-3132922-5gJg1L&t=5

Thanks for all you do.

–Nita, Joan, Karin, Anna, and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Friday, May 9th, 2008

Sources:

1. McCain dismisses equal pay legislation, says women need more 'training and education.', ThinkProgress, April 23, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3643&id=12626-3132922-5gJg1L&t=6

2. "Congress must act to close the wage gap for women," National Women's Law Center
http://www.nwlc.org/fairpay/PayEquityFactSheet_050508.pdf

A Peaceful Revolution: Moms Leading on Fair Pay, Huffington Post, January 22, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3644&id=12626-3132922-5gJg1L&t=7

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PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION,

[niyad]

1. witing for the sexism deniers to weigh in on this one

[niyad]

2. k & r

[Me.]

3. Thanks

Doesn't seem as if this is of much importance when in fact it's crucial. Time for women to be treated and paid equally. I can't believe that we're still even talking about this.