Editorial: Fair pay (Santa Rosa Press Democrat)

[struggle4progress]

Congress should reverse ruling that denies women fair play
Associated Press
Lily Ledbetter, whose pay equity case is the subject of legislation in Congress, spoke last summer at the Democratic National Convention.
Published: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 at 3:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 at 5:04 p.m.

In one of the first official acts of the new Congress, the House of Representatives struck an important blow against pay discrimination ...

The measure is named for Lily Ledbetter, who has personified inequitable pay since a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2007. Ledbetter, a grandmother from Gasden, Ala., was the only female supervisor at a Goodyear tire plant. After 19 years on the job, she learned that she was being paid substantially less than her male counterparts. As a result, she receives a substantially smaller pension ...

During last summer’s campaign, the Republicans introduced us to Joe the Plumber, an ersatz working man with no license and an unpaid tax bill. The Democrats spotlighted Ledbetter, a real working woman who suffered a real injustice.

And it was mostly Democrats who voted for the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which would make clear that each paycheck is a new violation if it results from a discriminatory pay decision. The same bill passed the House last year but got bogged down in the Senate by Republican opposition and a veto threat from President Bush ...

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20090114/OPINION/901130222?Title=PD_Editorial__Fair_pay