Ask your senator to vote for fair pay

On Monday I talked to Lilly Ledbetter, a truly awesome woman who sued her employer, Goodyear Tire, for paying her less than her male coworkers for year after year. As you may recall, the Supreme Court ruled last year that, because Ledbetter did not file a complaint within 180 days of her first paycheck. Nevermind that she didn’t find out about the pay disparity until nearly 20 years later.
Well, Congress is considering legislation that would undo the damage the Supreme Court has done. The Senate is voting on the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act at 6pm EDT tonight! So call your Senater now and ask for a YES vote.
Here a taste of my conversation with Lilly:

What do you say to people who claim that the wage gap is not due to discrimination, it’s just that women choose lower-paid work and drop out of the work force to raise children?
No! No, no, no, no. I have had my eyes opened up a great deal being involved in this. I filed my charge in 1998; I’ve been working with this situation since that time. I have correspondence [from people in similar situations] from all over the United States. I was born and reared in Alabama, and I thought this was just a Southern problem. But it’s not — it’s a national problem. It doesn’t only affect line workers like I was but professional people like doctors and university professors. It’s not right, and it’s high time for women to be paid equal.
In my case, the money I should have been compensated hurt me, because my retirement was based on what I earned. So that was much lower. I’m like a second-class citizen for the rest of my life. I will never be compensated for my lower wages and my pension, and Social Security wages are much lower, because Goodyear paid me less.
But if I can help support and get this bill passed for others, for all discrimination protection, it’ll help our daughters, our granddaughters in the future. And I am so grateful the bill has already passed the House, and I’m hoping it’ll pass the Senate.

She told me her 70th birthday was last week, and the best birthday present would be to see this legislation pass.
Here she is on video:

Also check out some Blog for Fair Pay action.
UPDATE: The bill failed to get enough votes for a floor vote. Thanks, Republicans! Doesn’t mean the legislation is dead, but it certainly didn’t pass tonight.