Standing with the President on the the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

This morning President Obama made a powerful statement about his priorities for our nation when he signed his first piece of legislation into law. I was so proud and honored to stand with my colleagues beside the president as he put pen to paper, signed his name, and enacted the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

Even before I got to the East Room of the White House, I felt a real electricity in the air. The hallways overflowed with old friends and colleagues, countless advocates and vocal champions who have spent years fighting to ensure women can get equal pay for equal work.

As we waited in line, Congressmen, Senators, and staffers alike snapped pictures and shared stories. And I thought, "I haven't been here in 8 years!" It was good to be back. Everywhere I looked I saw smiles. We shared in the excitement of finally getting somewhere. At last, this is what progress feels like.

When Lilly Ledbetter walked by with George Miller, Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, I reached out -- maybe I leapt -- and hugged them both. We had all traveled so far to reach this point and, over the last few years, I have come to know Lilly personally as an inspiration and a true warrior for justice. When I finally let her go, there were half a dozen members of Congress and grassroots activists waiting to share their gratitude with Lilly too.

President Obama said it well, just before signing the bill: "Justice isn't about some abstract legal theory or a footnote in a casebook. It's about how our laws affect the daily lives and daily realities of people: their ability to make a living, care for their families, achieve their goals."

That is why Lilly went to that Goodyear plant all those years, worked her heart out, and did her job well. It is why she fought for justice when she learned she had been discriminated against. And it is why, even though today's victory will not return the decades of fair pay she was denied, Lilly never backed down.

To honor Lilly and all the women on whose shoulders we stand today, we must continue to face gender discrimination head-on. Earlier this month, the House passed the Paycheck Fairness Act and I know the Senate will follow suit to begin eliminating the systemic discrimination women still face. Today, with Lilly Ledbetter at his side President Obama began that process in earnest.

Comments

[odyssey58]

This issue really pushes my buttons. During the 1970's my mother was paid less than the men she trained to do her job simply because she was a women.
Equal pay for equal work. No excuses. And all of the reasons why this law is bad for women and business is just bull crap!!!!

[alt bob]

Yea, the times are a changing - reality may be coming.

The bottom line is that women are invaluable for the species. Even the cavemen likely knew this but the extreme Islam wants them as property for child bearing and care, etc. The law is good for women, no doubt. BUT most women are not worth as much as men in most work places, period. Get in a real business that effects your living conditions and income and see which you hire between equally qualified canidates for an opening. If the job calls for staying late on developng conditions, quickly getting on site for days, etc. then women are not the equal of men in most cases. It works when business is good and income high as in last few years. But being women most have a more important role in child and family care than their job. Not always so I know.

The law is bad for it hurts most businesses to be albe to hire the best bang-for-the-buck between two equally quailified canidates for a job. This is not true of every case, but the owner today cannot ask if woman plans to get pregnant, has kids, if need special care and if significant other is full time child care so as not to impact job production. Yes there are and always have been excecptions.

When there are no more poor, homeless, etc. around the world then such a law would not likely be needed.

[camper65]

I think the intent of this legislation is noble. But it sounds like it was written by ATLA and for ATLA. Enforcement is going to be monumentally expensive to business - just when businesses need all the help they get. Seems silly to have them spending their "stimulus" money on legal fees, doesn't it?

[000Jade000]

If they pay their workers fairly, they won't have to worry about legal fees, right?

All workers who have the same title, the same education, and do the same wok should be paid the same. If there is differential pay based on seniority, fine, but employees should know that and not be kept in the dark about how pay is negotiated.

[ConfuciusSay-]

Mr. Obama is already burnishing his legacy by deeds.

[MacQ]

Given that this bill is about allowing people to bring lawsuits after time has elapsed, I do hope none of the president's own previous senate staffers sue him (women on his staff were paid 78 cents to men's dollar).

[camper65]

Now, THAT is a terrific idea!

[ketchupandfries]

It's been a long time comin'! Hallejuah and thanks to everyone who worked and sacrificed to bring this law to fruition! Kudos to Rep. DeLauro, President Obama and most importantly, to Ms. Lilly Ledbetter, who took a stand on behalf of all women ,past and present, who have toiled and been denied fair pay.
P.S.
To "Yuro" who said, "Remember that no one holds a gun to people's heads and makes them work at a certain place. They can always go elsewhere. They can always go back to school, change careers, etc.," ---moving to a different job does not insure equal pay for equal work in any economy. That is why this law is necessary.

[callmegigi]

I also live in Gadsden, Alabama (home of the Goodyear plant that Lilly worked at). My brother-in-law worked with her doing the exact same job. He knew her by sight and said she did her job . . . and he had no idea that she was not receiving the same pay.
The way I look at it she should have been paid more since she was a supervisor on the third shift, commonly called the "graveyard shift". Most companies pay employees a few cents an hour more if they will work this shift.
Thank you Lilly for standing up for women all over the United States. It has not helped you get the pay that you deserved, but it will possibly help the women coming behind you. You are truly a modern day hero.

[annieR]

In a most amazing interview on Chris Matthews' "Hardball" today, Michelle Barnard, CEO of Independent Womens' Forum and frequent MSNBC panelist, said the Lily Ledbetter legislation did more harm than good for women. Barnard said that employers now would not hire women because of the risk of women suing them. She completely misstated the thrust of the legislation, saying that if a nurse wanted the same pay as a neurosurgeon, she should get the education to be a neurosurgeon. (John McCain made the same argument awhile back when Republicans defeated the bill, saying if women wanted more pay they should get more education and training, and that the bill would create too many lawsuits.) So, according to Michelle, women should hunker down and not complain so they can keep jobs for which they are underpaid. Fortunately, the other panelist, Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood, explained that women now would have to be paid the same as a man doing the same work.

[AllenPapapetrou]

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, questions for you:

If corporations can continue to prevent employees from knowing the pay of their peers then how can employees determine they receive discriminatory pay?

Does the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act address this issue?

Thanks

[AZWolfster]

I am amazed this took this long. The Repugnicans who stalled it are no different than the judges on the Supreme Court who made the Dred Scott decision, asserting that a black person counted as only 3/5 of a human being. Just shameful.

[Sandra Oldfield]

I'm from Alabama, lived with the idea that men were superior to women, had no right to speak in church, and if they did they were ignored.. Let's all quit buying Goodyear tires until Lilly gets her back pay. Many kin folks have worked there, only to die shortly after retirement. How could the big wigs of Good Year read all the papers, and see the first law signed by Obama and not feel guilty. God help them.
Many women like myself have had to dig and scrap to feed children without help from a man.
DO NOT BUY GOODYEAR TIRES... SANDRA

[nycusa05]

http://www.thebarackobamawatch.com/

[provgrays]

What a brave and dignified woman. She's a true role model.

[Yuro]

Why is it that I can only see more failed businesses when I see this? The only one who benefits are the trial lawyers. Now companies who are struggling to survive have to spend significant resources defending themselves against deserving and undeserving plantiffs for huge stakes. Because of the ability to go so far back in pay history, every ambulance chaser around is going to be gloming onto these discrimination suits. If they win, companies won't be able to afford insurance.

Remember that no one holds a gun to people's heads and makes them work at a certain place. They can always go elsewhere. They can always go back to school, change careers, etc. I do think discrimination is wrong, but the cure could very well be worse than the disease, especially in this economy. Change 18 months to 4 or 5 years and I'm still on board. Change it to "forever" and you've lost me.

[LaurieAnn]

Just another ploy to try to justify the unjustifiable. If a business can't pay employees a non-discriminatory wage, perhaps it shouldn't be in business. Business isn't sacred, people are (as much as anything on this planet is.)

[1differentdrummer]

Surely you jest. I think you miss the whole point. If a woman finds the man who does the exact same job, with the exact same amount of seniority, is paid more because his plumbing is different, you want to limit the time she can receive justice? The situations for lawsuit are no different before and after. If an employer cheats female employees they deserve to be sued and prosecuted. This causes them problems? Let them be honest employers.

[mythmorph]

You have entirely missed the point of the Lilly Ledbetter case. You seem to be making some other point that I might under certain circumstances agree with -- later for that -- but do read up on the issues you comment on, before you go off on some irrelevant crusade.

Ms. Ledbetter worked at Goodyear for all those years NOT KNOWING that her pay was lower than a man's, for doing the exact same job. This is what it's all about. It wasn't equal; it wasn't fair to women; it wasn't fair to Ms. Ledbetter.

That's all I feel compelled to recite; you can go back and read about the whole magilla for yourself, and it seems that wouldn't be a bad idea.

[provgrays]

Yuro,

Read up on an issue before you comment on it.

[odyssey58]

"Remember that no one holds a gun to people's heads and makes them work at a certain place. They can always go elsewhere. They can always go back to school, change careers, etc. "

What world do you live in, Yuro? Many people have very few options, especially now. I had to do the career change thing after leaving the workforce to raise my son full time. The company I had worked for wanted recent college graduates, not reliable and tested workers in their forties. My choices were to work at Wal-Mart or go into debt to get more training. I had already paid for a now useless BS. I ended up borrowing $10k to become a LPN. But I was lucky. The state kicked in another $10k. It was the most difficult year of my life. And the older you are the more dificult it is.

[Bernique]

Thank you Ms. De Lauro. Thank you Ms. Ledbetter. Thank you President Obama. I was outraged at the Supreme Court decision in your case. This is great vindication.

[foxymama]

This is a great in continuing the process of equality for women. It started with the suffergete movement with the right to vote. It continued with through the 50's and 60's with the advancement of career choices and sexual revolution. In the 70's and 80's, reaching upper management and trying shattering the glass ceiling. Now, it's equal pay. This is a great legacy for our daughters and grandaughters. And the journey continues.
Also, it's good to have a President who sees women as equals not a lower class of citizens.