WE SAY EQUAL WORK DESERVES EQUAL PAY!

Rochester, N.Y.-- Next Tuesday, April 12, is Equal Pay Day -- the day when women's wages finally catch up to what men earned in 2010. That's the wage gap in a nutshell-- women must work more than three months longer to earn the same income as men, because women's wages still average just 77 percent of what men earn.  The figures are even worse for women of color. African American women only earned approximately 62 cents and Latinas only 53 cents for each dollar earned by a white male.

The Paycheck Fairness Act would deter wage discrimination by closing loopholes in the Equal Pay Act and barring retaliation against workers who disclose their wages to co-workers.

In the last Congress, the Paycheck Fairness Act passed the House and fell just a few votes short of moving forward in the Senate. The Paycheck Fairness Act is expected to be reintroduced on April 12 by Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Sen. Barbara Mikulsi.

The Paycheck Fairness Act will help secure equal pay for equal work for all Americans. The bill would update the Equal Pay Act of 1963, a law that has not been able to achieve its promise of closing the wage gap because of limited enforcement tools and inadequate remedies. The Paycheck Fairness Act would make critical changes to the law, including:

*requiring employers to demonstrate that wage differentials are based on factors other than sex;

*prohibiting retaliation against workers who inquire about their employers’ wage practices or disclose their own wages;

*permitting reasonable comparisons between employees within clearly defined geographical areas to determine fair wages;

*strengthening penalties for equal pay violations;

*directing the Department of Labor to assist employers and collect wage-related data; and authorizing additional training for Equal Employment Opportunity Commission staff to better identify and handle wage disputes.

The time has come to make equal pay a reality. During this climate of unprecedented economic uncertainty, nothing could be more important than ensuring all workers receive equal pay for equal work. 

The folks at CSEA are asking our members to wear RED on Equal Pay Day to symbolize how far women and minorities are "in the red" with their pay!  Please visit the Coalition of Labor Union Women CLUW website for more on working women's issues.