Women's organizations rally for equal pay legislation

Equal Pay Day has some Michigan women seeing red - and some feeling red.

A wave of red blazers, dresses, scarves, hats and blouses rolled through the Michigan Capitol Rotunda Tuesday, April 20, as advocates for pay equity held a press conference to highlight the state's gender pay gap. While Michigan women comprise more than half of the state's work force, they earn about 72 percent of what men make, said Kathy Shaw, President of the American Association of University Women.

"More than three decades after the passage of the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, women and people of color continue to suffer the consequences of unfair pay differentials," she said.

Michigan has the 43rd worst gender pay gap; nationally, women's wages have crept up to about 80 cents on the dollar. Traditionally, advocates have worn red on Equal Pay Day - the day women's wages catch up with men's wages from the previous year - to symbolize the "red ink" in women's paychecks.

Shannon Garrett, Midwest Director of The White House Project, said she's a bit past just wearing red.

"I'm at a point, in my mid-thirties, where the pay gap really starts to widen," she said. "I feel red. I'm angry this is still an issue... and I'm also embarrassed for my state."

Many who spoke at the event expressed frustration at the state's poor ranking, and the failure of any legislative action to address it, despite numerous attempts. Advocates urged passage of SB 486-489 and HB 4851-4854, which would establish a Pay Equity Commission and ensure that Michigan women are paid the same as men for comparable work. The same legislation has been presented in every session for more than 20 years, and the current version is, once again, stalled in committee.

Millie Hall, President of the Metro-Detroit Chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women, said she has been attending Equal Pay Day events for several years. "I'm beginning to wonder, are they really listening to us?" she asked.

Every year, Michigan NOW President Renee Beeker shows photographs of her two daughters at the event, and this year was no exception. "My children, at the rate we're going, will be 50 and 47 before we reach pay parity. I have a hard time explaining that," she said.

Beeker said NOW's biggest challenge is to get people to do something simple: write their legislators. To make it easier, ProgressMichigan.org rolled out a "virtual lobbying" Web page that allows equal pay advocates to contact their legislators through an on-line form. After entering a street address, the user is shown a list of their legislators, and then may click through to an editable e-mail form to send a customized message.

Speakers at the press conference also included Representatives Joan Bauer, Pam Brynes, Sarah Roberts and Dian Slavens, Senators Gretchen Whitmer, Deb Cherry, Gilda Jacobs and Liz Brater, who are among the legislation sponsors and co-sponsors, as well as Debbie Mesler, Business and Professional Women; Deb Macon, Director, League of Women Voters; Jennifer Salvatore, Women Lawyers Association of Michigan; Polly Howe, Coordinator, Pay Equity Network; Carolyn Cassin, Michigan Women's Foundation; and Fern Ettinger, National Council of Jewish Women.