Senate Vote on Fair Pay Happening Today

UPDATE 01/23/09 - The Senate passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act without amendment by a vote of 61-36. All 14 female Senators voted for passage - including our newly elected junior senator from North Carolina, Kay Hagan.

Richard Burr, our senior Senator, voted 'No' on fair pay, as he did in 2007.

Having passed both chambers of Congress, the legislation now moves to a conference committee to iron out differences between House and Senate versions.

Take a minute to thank Sen. Hagan for voting in favor of equal pay for equal work: by phone 919-856-4630 (Raleigh office) or by email [email protected].

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Tell Senate to vote 'YES' on equal pay for equal work

American Rights at Work is coordinating an email campaign to U.S. Senators, urging them to act quickly and vote in favor of passing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act S.181. Please send a letter to our Senators Burr and Hagan and urge them to vote YES for fair pay.

Take action and send your letter, today.

Many of our readers know about Lilly Ledbetter. A long-time employee of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Ledbetter sued her employer after discovering that for over a decade she had been paid 15 to 40 percent less than her male counterparts who did the same work.

Ledbetter's case made it all the way to the Supreme Court, which denied her justice, ruling 5 to 4 that Ledbetter should have filed her suit within 180 days of the initial act of discrimination. The ruling effectively lets employers off the hook for their illegal behavior if they can hide it from employees for longer than six months.

Equal pay for equal work is a cornerstone of our union movement. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act will make right the injustice upheld by the Supreme Court, and it's passage would be a major victory in our federal legislative agenda.