Letter to the Editor
Daily Mining Gazette, Houghton, Michigan, 7April 2018

To the Editor:

Imagine two average US workers, working the same job. They work all the way through to Dec. 31, 2017, then consider their paychecks for the year.

Because they’re average, they probably wish those paychecks were higher. The man sighs and gets ready to earn his 2018 paychecks.

The woman sighs too, but determines to work some more, until her total earnings add up to what the man got for 2017. She works through January, past the Winter Olympics; through February, past Valentine’s Day; through March and its Madness; past April Fools’ Day, all the way to Tuesday, April 10, 2018.

Finally! This average working woman has finally earned the same amount of money as the average working man, working the same job, received in 2017. But now she’s way behind on 2018.

April 10 ia Equal Pay Day, which marks this fundamental unfairness.

Per the Census Bureau and Department of Labor Statistics, in the US, on average, working women earn 80 cents for every dollar a man in an equivalent job makes. Over a 40-year period, that average man gets a whopping $418,800 more. If he retires at age 60, she has to work all the way to 70 before she catches up.

Michigan has nothing to brag about here. While 80 cents is the national average, in Michigan the working woman gets only 74 cents — in the U.P., it’s just 72 cents.

While $418,800 is the amount lost by the average woman, in Michigan the comparable figure is more than $500,000. Instead of working till 70, the woman wouldn’t catch up until age 74.

This is unfair. And it affects families, children, retirement, Social Security, and the economy of our region, state and nation.

Two legislative remedies languish in Congress: the Paycheck Fairness Act (S819/HR1869) would strengthen penalties for equal pay violations and prohibit retaliation against workers who discuss their wages — often the only way women have to find out what is actually going on. The Pay Equity for All Act (HR2418) would ban the use of salary history to determine future pay, to help stop the perpetuation of past discrimination.

Celebrate Equal Pay Day by calling Sen. Gary Peters (226-4554), Sen. Debbie Stabenow (228-8756) and Rep. Jack Bergman (273-2227). Ask them to work for the passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Pay Equity for All Act.

Then, on April 10, wear red to support women stuck “in the red.”

Katherine Larson
Marquette

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