Labor Leads the Way to Equal Pay
From the AFL-CIO
Over the course of her two-decade-long career at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. in Alabama, Lilly Ledbetter learned that she was making thousands less than her male counterparts.
She had lost out on more than $200,000 in wages—plus even more in retirement benefits. She challenged Goodyear’s discriminatory actions, eventually taking her case to the U.S. Supreme Court and the halls of Congress.
The bill named in her honor was the first piece of legislation signed by then-President Barack Obama in 2009.
Despite the law, women continue to face discriminatory pay practices—and the problem is even worse for women of color:
- Women overall make 80 cents on the dollar compared to men
- African American women make 61 cents
- Native American women make 58 cents
- Latinas make 53 cents
This outrageous pay disparity doesn’t just hurt women. Forty-two percent of working women in the United States are the sole breadwinner for their families.
One of the best ways to close the gender pay gap is to join a union. By negotiating strong collective bargaining agreements, union women earn $231 more a week and have better benefits.
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