The President said he’d fight for middle-class people like me, and he kept his promise
from the Obama for America blog: http://www.barackobama.com/news/entry/my-story
ON the three-year anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the bill’s namesake sent an email to her fellow Obama 2012 supporters:
My name is Lilly Ledbetter, and I was discriminated against because I’m a woman.
Some of you may have heard my story.
In 1998, after 19 years of service at a Goodyear factory, someone left an anonymous note in my mailbox listing the names and salaries of my male coworkers—who I learned that day were making at least 20 percent more than I was, even though many had less education, less training, and fewer years on the job.
I went to court and won, but in an appeal, the Supreme Court claimed I should have filed my complaint within six months of the first unfair paycheck. Of course, they didn’t say how I was supposed to fight for fair pay when I didn’t know I was being paid unfairly.
But that’s not why I’m writing you. I'm writing because President Obama heard about my case and went to work fighting for legislation that would prevent his two girls, and an entire generation of young women coming up in the workforce, from ever being disrespected in the same way. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act became the first piece of legislation he signed into law as president, exactly three years ago today.
Before he was elected, the President said he’d fight for middle-class people like me, and he kept his promise—not just on fair pay, but on so many other issues that matter to women.
President Obama didn’t have to make fair pay a priority. Lord knows he had enough to worry about those first few weeks in the White House.
But the President is driven by a strong sense of fairness, and the responsibility he believes we have to one another to correct injustice wherever we can.
Part of that comes from his own story. The President’s grandmother worked in a bank her whole life, and kept working there long after she hit the glass ceiling. Some of the very men she had trained climbed the corporate ladder ahead of her.
That’s part of why he continues to fight for bills like the Paycheck Fairness Act, which he supported in his State of the Union last week. And that’s why he fought for the Affordable Care Act and won—ending discrimination against women based on pre-existing conditions, and providing free preventive services like mammograms and contraception.
Growing up in the South, I learned the value of a good day’s work at a young age, picking and chopping cotton two seasons a year. It wasn’t until much later that I learned that hard work isn’t always enough when folks don’t have a President who’s looking out for them.
I’m excited to fight alongside President Obama in this election. I hope you’ll join us today.
Thanks,
Lilly
_____________________________
Three years after President Obama signed the historic fair pay legislation bearing her name, Lilly Ledbetter tells the story of why she stepped up to fight for equal pay for equal work. Watch the video to hear from the inspiration behind the first bill the President signed into law . . .
= new reply since forum marked as read
you owe me a clean monitor! JUST SAY THE WORD MY SWEET 
(yes).
And I am HEARING what the poster is saying but . . . Jobs first in Tandem with a Paycheck Fairness Act.
Imagine you are a gay couple - two black women - married and TRYING to obtain the American dream, raise a family in a food, shelter, medical secure environment. You work in let's say - a wireless carrier's headquarters in Open Development. You know a gay Caucasian male couple in the Marketing Communications Department.
You - the black female couple are only making .61$ for every dollar the two men make. The sexual orientation of the two men is not up for consideration and neither is that of the two women. Simple their gender is in play.
Now if it is two latina/hispanic women they are making $.52 on the dollar.
Caucasian women - $.77 on the dollar.
I'm not 100% certain as the military is shrouded in mystery - but take them out of that telecom environment and put any of these four couples in the military. Those women can serve openly, but because of their gender, they serve at less pay.
Now look at our economy . . . Imagine in January 2013 we have this President, and majorities in the House and Senate who can get an intensive infrastructure development bill passed. We need this. We do. The pay law passed in the early 1960's STILL did not catch women up with men. It's been almost 40 years - and we are still left behind. Any wages paid need to be paid fairly at these Team America jobs. If you are a government contractor - and you aren't paying a fair and equal wage - you should eligible for punishment.
We can't wait anymore - straight women or gay women. We are attending university and obtaining advanced degrees at record levels. We are delaying marriage and children (I'm a perfect example of this - getting married in April at 39) in order to pay off our debts/student loans, advance in our careers by being able to move at the drop of a hat (no need to worry about husband and children), and staying late at work so our male counterparts can go coach their daughters soccer team. Enough! We've paid our dues for team America and I don't want it pushed aside anymore.
I am familiar with unequal pay. I've felt it's sting directly - when I was hired onto a team and had to deal with an insubordinate male who could not take direction or instruction for a woman he felt was beneath him (part of that was cultural) but who ran with The Boys Club. He made 11k more a year than me with less education AND marketing experienve (previous positions all in IT) rolled in at 9:15 AM, left at 4:45 but was the fair haired boy.
By the way - I'm a black (bi-racial) woman and my company gets accolades for being a great place to work for women, blacks, working mothers, etc etc. Understand how bad my situation looks?
I'm not the only one. Because this shit spreads like wildfire there. All we need is a law that allows me to share what I know about that gay male couple that I am friends with - and the 14 women at my company who have approached me- without getting them fired. I need to be able to show that org chart AND my former employees HR Profile without fear of retaliation. Those 14 other women have documentation too.
I'm not asking for homosexuals to wait - not for a thing. I'm asking them to think of the gay women that will not be able to prosper at the rate a gay male couple will. . . Just because those two women had the misfortune to be born women.
We've waited too. And there is no point in two women getting married and having a family if they work so damn hard to provide - but never get paid what they are worth. . . So life is a constant economic struggle.
Now ask me how I feel about the book/movie The Help. 
they are a heckava group of "girls" but no one wants the ugly truth about why they had to take those jobs in the first place!
