Victory! Obama Signs Fair Pay Act

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act signed by President Obama

President Obama signs the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act with Lilly Ledbetter to his right and the support of Congress.

January 29, 2009

This morning I had the honor of witnessing President Barack Obama sign his very first piece of legislation -- the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. This victory for economic justice wouldn't have been possible without your support.

Thank you for taking repeated action over the past two years, calling and writing your senators and members of Congress to pass this important Fair Pay bill. Thank you for letting President Obama know that equal pay is a top priority for you. And thank you, President Obama, for championing the right of working women to receive fair pay.

And yet, this victory only takes us back to the good ole days before the Supreme Court's 2007 decision in Lilly Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber. The Court's decision essentially gave companies the go-ahead to pay discriminatory wages forever, as long as no one complained about it within the first six months after the discrimination started.

To move forward seriously on fair pay, we need the Senate to pass the companion bill to Ledbetter -- the Paycheck Fairness Act. The House has already passed this act, which would close the loopholes that allow employers to pay men and women discriminatorily, and would provide consequences for that discrimination. To put on a full court press, we need your help again, because women deserve fair pay laws with real teeth.

You may have heard that the Global Gag Rule was lifted last Friday, and this week we defeated a surprise Senate effort to reinstate that terrible policy. I'm excited about what we can accomplish with a president and congressional leadership in support of women's rights and with your ongoing help. I look forward to updating you about our successes as the year unfolds.

For equality,

Kim Gandy
NOW President

Copyright 1995-2009, All rights reserved. Permission granted for non-commercial use. National Organization for Women
(This was printed from http://www.now.org/issues/economic/012909ledbetterty.html)