Labor Union Blog

A group of 10 women, some accompanied by their children, delivered a big message to Sen. John McCain today. The Washington, D.C.-area mothers, sporting “Magnificently Overqualified Mother” sashes, handed more than 9,000 résumés to McCain’s office on Capitol Hill to show him that women are well-trained, highly educated and qualified and should be paid the same as men for doing the same work.

In late April, McCain didn’t even bother to show up when a minority of primarily Republican senators once again made it harder for women workers to overcome pay discrimination. The U.S. Senate failed to cut off debate on the Fair Pay Restoration Act (S. 1843) and bring the bill to the floor for a vote. The legislation, also known as the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, would have reversed a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision dismissing a suit by Lilly Ledbetter, an employee for 19 years at a Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plant in Alabama. Her suit alleged she was paid less than her male counterparts.