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News release

Massachusetts Moms Tell Senator Scott Brown, 'We NEED Fair Pay Like New England Clam Chowder Needs Clams!'

November 12, 2010
Equal Pay

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

MomsRising Members Deliver Clam-o-Grams to Senator’s Office, to Highlight Need for Paycheck Fairness Act
Moms from in and around Boston today delivered clam-o-grams – clam-shaped cookies bearing messages – to U.S. Senator Scott Brown’s office (R-MA) to let him know that, “Massachusetts moms need fair pay like New England clam chowder needs clams.” The moms met with the Senator’s staff about urgent need to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 182). This Act is currently pending in the U.S. Senate.
 
The clam shape was chosen to send the message that, on average, Massachusetts women earn 21 percent less than men for the same work and that “adds up to a lot of clams.” The cookies came with messages from moms, dads and others from across Massachusetts, calling on Senator Brown to vote for the bill.
 
MomsRising, an online and on-the-ground grassroots organization that supports family-friendly policies, generated the messages by reaching out to its members across the state. The messages included:
 
“In the middle of this recession, it is even more important that women get the pay they deserve. WE are counting on you.”
-- Brooks, Amherst, MA
 
“Senator Brown, please vote to support this important legislation for your daughters and mine!"
-- Renee, Mashpee, MA
 
“Talk about being pro-family is just that - talk - unless it's backed up by action. The action that the Women of Massachusetts will be looking for is your YES vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 182). As one of your constituents, I urge you to help make this important piece of legislation a reality.”
-- Phyllis, Newton, MA
 
If passed, the Paycheck Fairness Act will strengthen the 1963 Equal Pay Act by:
  • Deterring wage discrimination by strengthening penalties for equal pay violations and by prohibiting retaliation against workers who ask about employers' wage practices or disclose their own wages
  • Empowering women to negotiate for equal pay
  • Strengthening federal outreach, education and enforcement efforts; and
  • Creating stronger incentives for employers to follow the law.
“It’s hard to believe in 2010 that we still need a Paycheck Fairness Act, but we do,” said MomsRising Executive Director Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner. “Today, Massachusetts women earn on average 21 percent less than their male counterparts. And pay gap is even greater for moms and women of color. And those numbers are similar across the country. The U.S. Census recently reported that women who work full time, year ‘round earn on average 23 cents less for every dollar their male counterparts earn, and mothers and women of color face an even greater wage gap. It’s hard to make ends meet and care for a family, especially in a recession, when unfair pay practices continue. The time to make that right is now and we strongly urge Senator Brown to stand up for the moms of Massachusetts and vote for this legislation.”
 
The Paycheck Fairness Act is expected to be voted on in the U.S. Senate and Senator Brown is considered a key vote.
 

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MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, decrease discrimination against women and moms, and to build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.