From Ann Lewis' latest HillGram newsletter...
FIGHTING FOR EQUAL PAY
Hillary joined Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Barbara Mikulski, and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro on July 19 at a "Checklist for Change" Fair Pay rally in Washington, DC. Hillary joined the call for action to pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act. Hillary has been the lead sponsor for Equal Pay legislation for years.
At the rally, Hillary spoke about the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act: "Women who get up every single day and go to work deserve to be paid the same as their male counterparts. That's all Lilly Ledbetter wanted, that's what every woman deserves, and that's our mission today."
This next one includes some great background info, and is an ACTION! item gang. From a NOW action alert (this is the House version of one of Hillary's Senate bills)...
Stop the Economic Crisis for Women Workers House Could Vote on Paycheck Fairness Act THIS Wednesday!
Great news! The Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 1338 sponsored by Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn.) was passed by the Education and Labor Committee on July 24 without any harmful or weakening amendments. The House leadership intends to bring this bill to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives as soon as THIS WEDNESDAY.
TAKE ACTION NOW!
The Paycheck Fairness Act has 231 sponsors and all of them need to be reminded that women's wages have stagnated in recent years and according to the Economic Policy Institute, women's median pay has fallen in recent years. It is time to stem this economic crisis for women workers.
It is essential that they pass this bill without harmful amendments that weaken the intent of the Act. It is also imperative that they oppose any motion to "recommit" the bill. This would not only stall -- and perhaps kill -- the chance for the bill's passage this year, but could also undermine the important anti-discrimination measures in the legislation. Opponents of pay equity for women may attempt to impose an unfair cap on damages that limits monetary awards in cases dealing with gender, religion or disability discrimination. Currently, workers facing race or ethnicity discrimination are not subject to caps on damages and this should be true for other groups affected by pay discrimination.
TAKE ACTION NOW!
Background:
The Paycheck Fairness Act would update and strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963, closing loopholes and improving the law's effectiveness. H.R. 1338 would, among other things, deter wage discrimination by strengthening penalties for equal pay violations, and by prohibiting retaliation against workers who inquire about employers' wage practices or disclose their own wages. The bill also requires employers collect better data on wages, reinstate activities by the Department of Labor that promote equal pay, and develop training for women and girls on salary negotiations.
Women on average continue to be paid only 77 cents to the dollar paid to their male counterparts. With a record 69 million women in the workforce, wage discrimination hurts almost all of our nation's families and disadvantages women in nearly every occupational categories. In addition, wage discrimination lowers total lifetime earnings, reducing women's benefits from Social Security and pension plans and inhibiting their ability to save not only for retirement but for other lifetime goals such as buying a home and paying for a college education.
A vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act is a critical step forward in our goal to close the persistent and sizable wage gap between men and women working full-time year round, even those in the same or similar jobs. Our email action system will automatically give you an editable letter that will urge your representative to support the Paycheck Fairness Act and oppose all efforts to weaken the bill (or will thank your Congressmember who is already a supporter of the bill).
During this election year, it is particularly important to send this message to members of Congress who traditionally have opposed pay equity measures. We doubt that women voters in their districts will be pleased to hear that their representative helped hold up, water down or defeat H.R. 1338, the Paycheck Fairness Act
TAKE ACTION NOW - THE HOUSE IS ONLY HOURS AWAY FROM A VOTE ON THIS ISSUE.
And from an email from Hillary on that new HHS proposed rulemaking...
Since 2001, I have served as the honorary chair of HillPAC, an organization dedicated to helping working families. It is our goal to fight for a better future for every child, and for every family. To keep fighting for those who get up every day, no matter what the odds, and never give in. For those who never back down, and those who always stand their ground. HillPAC works to elect Democratic candidates to office who share these same ideals and goals and I'm proud to serve as the honorary chair and I hope you will join me in this mission.
Right now, I'm working with HillPAC to lead the fight on one very important issue, and we need your help.
The Bush White House is working to rewrite the definition of abortion in federal regulations to include common forms of birth control. This would undermine women's health and put family planning services in danger. Simply, it puts women at risk -- it could even prevent victims of sexual assault from receiving emergency contraceptives.
I need your help to speak up for the health of millions of American women who are in danger, once again, from the latest assault from the Bush administration.
Will you join me in sending a strong message to Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt to put women's health ahead of right-wing ideology?
Click here to send a message to the Bush administration asking them to protect women's health.
Imagine being told common forms of contraception like birth control pills could now fall under the definition of an abortion. This is another assault by the extreme right on the rights and health of women everywhere. They will do anything in their power to impose their beliefs -- no matter what the risk to women.
We've worked hard to guarantee women have access to a full range of health and family planning services, and we can't let the right wing undermine those efforts. This issue is far too important not to act, so I hope you'll join HillPAC and me today in speaking out to protect women's health.
Tell Bush's HHS Secretary to protect women's health!
Thank you for all your support. I'm so happy that we are still working together on vitally important issues like this one.
Sincerely,
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Guys this is nothing new for Hillary. She's built up that impressive CV of hers by getting the job done - keeping her head down and picturing the results she wants, and then going after them with everything she's got at her disposal. And I'm not just talking political campaigns here folks - I'm talking about doing the work of the people in the Senate. Even during the campaign, she made sure she was earning her salary as a US Senator while her opponent was out there reaching for the next rung on the political ladder.
Now, thanks to her tireless work in that campaign she's got 18 million of us to reach out to and we simply can't let her down when it comes to fighting for our rights to equal pay and access to contraception and our other reproductive rights.
We're still fighting to get her name into nomination at the convention next month, but we've proven time and again that we're about the issues and the substance of our candidate. Issues like these matter and when it comes to continuing the struggle to get results, we've still got Hillary's back.
Why?
Because she's always had our back and she always will. |
