I must be a glutten for punishment

I must truly be a masochist because I sent in another Letter to the Editor this morning. Since they published my letter yesterday I hope they publish this one too.

Here it is:

To The Editor,

This week the Supreme Court ruled that paying women less than their male counterparts was acceptable, as long as you don't get caught for 180 days. Instead of encouraging employers to identify and correct pay discrimination based on gender, the US Supreme Court in Ledbetter v. Goodyear laid out a general plan for any employer who wants to pay women less and get away with it.

They basically said, "It's okay, boys. Just keep it quiet for 180 days and you're home free."

We who are concerned or care about the working women in our lives must organize all across the country to demand that Congress pass, and the president sign, legislation that will repair this damage to our existing pay discrimination laws. We must also press the media to cover this issue seriously, so that women (and the men who care about fairness) understand the very damaging consequences of this decision to every working woman and their families.

Several of our allies in Congress, including Sen. Ted Kennedy and Rep. Carolyn Maloney, are committed to introducing new legislation which will make it perfectly clear that pay discrimination is wrong and there must be remedies for those who have been harmed -- and they need our help. We need to encourage our elected officials in Congress to co-sponsor this new legislation and to help garner votes, not just in our congressional district, but in all 435 congressional districts.

We must demand that this bill be so clear that no Justice can misunderstand -- or pretend to misunderstand. Remember that Chief Justice Roberts characterized the idea of equal pay for women as a "radical redistributive concept." A "radical redistributive concept"???? The definition of redistributive is favoring, supporting, or practicing income redistribution. What is so radical about a concept of favoring, supporting or, heaven forbid practicing, income redistribution to those who have earned it by working for their paycheck at the end of the week?

I ask that the readers of this paper contact their representatives now to help us spread the word, and to press forward on corrective legislation. Thank you for standing with us to support equality and fair treatment for women everywhere.

For equality,

Melissa L. Rains