John McCain is known to have a nasty temper and to drop the c-word in reference to his wife, but even I don’t believe that he hates women.
He just hates Lilly Ledbetter and Fair Pay Restoration Act of 2007.
What’s this all about, you ask? Here’s a mash-up summary from Middle Class dot Org and the CNN website:
An Alabama woman, Lilly Ledbetter, claimed that her employer, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., paid men doing similar work 15 to 40 percent more. Ledbetter said she discovered the discrepancy late in her career — too late, SCOTUS ruled, to go to court.
The Supreme Court ruled that Lilly Ledbetter was not eligible for compensation despite years of being paid far less than her male peers and even some male subordinates. According the Court, unlawful discrimination had occurred only when her employer first set the discriminatory pay rate, even though Ledbetter had no way of knowing about it until years later. Under this ruling, since Ledbetter’s employer was able to conceal the discrimination for years and she did not find out about the discrimination until it was too late to file a complaint (within 180 days of the first discriminatory paycheck, according to the Court), she had no legal recourse.
Lisa Takeuchi Cullen at Time Magazine sums up the insanity of Lilly Ledbetter’s lawsuit in a simple paragraph:
…if you don’t make a formal complaint of discriminatory pay within six months of the time your pay was decided, you don’t have a case. Never mind that most of us have no idea what our colleagues make, and certainly not within months of our hiring.
The proposed equal pay legislation, which stalled on Wednesday (while I was watching the latest episode of South Park), would have reset the 180 day clock with every paycheck. That’s a big deal because supporters of the legislation argue that each paycheck — not just your date of hire — is a discriminatory act.
John (McNasty) McCain doesn’t support the Fair Pay Restoration Act because he fears it would lead to more lawsuits. Surprise! Senator McCain is quoted as saying, “This is [an example of] government playing a much, much greater role in the business of a private enterprise system.”
::sigh::
Obviously I’m an idiot and I missed the part where the free market successfully addresses the issues of pay inequality in Corporate America. From Huffington Post:
In 2007, women earned only 80 cents for every dollar a man earned. This pay gap was substantially greater for minorities, with African-American women making only 70 cents and Hispanic women making only 62 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts. While women are more reluctant to negotiate salaries and are often employed in underpaid professions, one grim reality remains — gender-based discrimination still inherent in our society has largely caused the pay gap that persists today.
So thanks, John McCain, for standing up for the rights of working women in America. We love how you embrace the free market and yet demonstrate a sensitive and thoughtful approach to the issues women face in the American workforce. Here’s another gem that gives us some insight into McCain’s excellent grasp of employment issues and gender inequality — from Think Progress:
“They need the education and training, particularly since more and more women are heads of their households, as much or more than anybody else,” McCain said. “And it’s hard for them to leave their families when they don’t have somebody to take care of them.”
For reals? Are we solving pay inequality in America by instituting a ’send the ladies to community college for training’ strategy?
::double sigh::
Boy, it’s nice to know that a candidate for the presidency of The United States can be angry, condescending and out-of-touch.
**
If you want to learn more about the history of this case or how you can keep this important piece of legislation in the news, please read Lilly Ledbetter’s own words here. Then you can tell GOP Senator Mitch McConnell, the husband of US Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, to stop blocking this legislation and to stick his filibuster up his butt.
moar funny pictures
Gah. Once upon a time my husband and I were fans of McCain - he seemed pragmatic, sensible, quick-witted, and independent. And then the Pod People kidnapped him. Or maybe it’s like that moment when you stop thinking your boyfriend is deep and artistic, and start realizing that he’s a navel-gazing self-absorbed twit.
Luckily I work in the pediatrics department of a non-profit hospital. Regardless of gender, we’re all equally underpaid.
With Equal Pay the clock should start when you become aware of the discriminatory act, this was always the old standard. The Court really miffed on this one.
Oh man. What a sad state of affairs this is. Thanks for bringing this all to light, Laurie. I was in the bookstore the other day and saw this new book Ask For It by Linda Babcock. Seems like a good resource…
@Perrik John McCain benefits from his own brand of being a maverick. I just hope the press doesn’t give him a free ride, this time, and starts to question his floppy positions on evangelical christians, evolution, abortion, taxes, immigration, the war, etc.
@Bryan Agreed. It’s tough to become aware of the discriminatory pay act when compensation is so secretive & closed. I don’t believe in a soviet-style system of compensation, but no one knows what other people are paid at most companies. Also, pay is so subjective and the difference between a high performer and a mediocre performer — and how those people are paid — is highly nuanced. Maybe I do support a soviet-style pay system after all!
Alison, I think it’s fair to say that women have a tough time asking for most everything in life. My philosophy is that I don’t ask — I just say what I want (with a smile, of course).
I thought, as Bryan mentioned, it was within 180 days of you finding out about the pay. Huh. It doesn’t make any sense to have it been within 180 days of when pay is initially decided in a country whose “corporate culture” of compensation is all about competition and secrecy.
It’s within 180 days of the discriminatory act, which is unfortunately seen as the first paycheck that represents that act (and not the most recent one). You are right, Wenchie. When was the last time anyone had a candid and honest conversation about compensation at the office? (I’ve never had one.)
PS - Bryan should be our new secretary of labor.
Who was the old secretary of labor and why is the position vacant?
It’s vacant because my cat, Lucy, is retiring!!
dude. stop smoking pot. u freeakin hippies
McCain has a very ugly history of insulting comments and inappropriate humor toward women that should make it impossible for women voters to support him. Former Representative Pat Schroeder, a Colorado Democrat famous for her fight for women’s rights recently told the LA Times: “He has always had trouble dealing with women as equals.”
Check out http://www.McCainHatesWomen.com for: Thirteen “Sexist McCain” Incidents — a list of the best known McCin incidents, with related videos and testimony.
I went to http://www.mccainhateswomen.com/ - I can’t believe they have it all documented…most of it with video evidence!