Contact: Jess Kamm at 412-562-2446, jkamm@usw.org
The following statement was released today by United Steelworkers (USW) International President Leo W. Gerard:
(Pittsburgh, PA) — “On International Women’s Day, we celebrate the accomplishments of generations of working women worldwide who fought for better pay and equal rights.
We also acknowledge Congress for finally renewing the 1994 Violence against Women Act last month, but demand more action today by calling for passage of President Obama’s proposal to raise the federal minimum wage.
Nearly two-thirds of the 3.6 million American workers earning wages at or below the minimum wage are women. Seventy-nine percent of these women are adults, age 20 or older. Increasing the minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 an hour, as President Obama proposed, would immediately help nearly 9 million women workers.
As the world marks International Women’s Day, the USW strongly encourages Congress to act swiftly to address an inadequate standard that disproportionately harms women.”
The USW represents 850,000 members in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. It is the largest private sector union in North America, representing workers in a wide range of industries including metals, mining, rubber, paper and forestry, oil refining, plus office, technical and service workers in health care, security, hotels and municipal governments and agencies. For more, go to www.usw.org.
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