Republicans Block Vote on Fair Pay

Both the New York Times and the Feminist Daily News posted stories on Senate Republicans' filibuster of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. With a vote of 56-42, the Senate did not reach the 60 votes needed to override the filibuste. The legislation would overturn last summer's Supreme Court ruling in Lebdbetter v. Goodyear Tire Company which made it harder for women workers to sue for wage discrimination. Shortly before retiring after working at Goodyear for more than 20 years, Ledbetter found out that she had persistently been paid less than her male coworkers throughout her career; at some points she made 40% less than an equivalent male employee. The Supreme Court, however, ruled that Ledbetter could not sue for discrimination because she had not filed her claim within 180 days of the discriminatory act.

The Times spoke about the political aspects of today's vote, noting that the Democrats waited until the last moment in order to try and gain more Republican votes. Both articles also wrote about the return of the two democratic presidential nominees to vote in favor of the bill and Senator McCain's absence from the vote, but his statement against the act. The Feminist Daily News highlighted Ledbetter's presence in the Senate chamber, as well as the lobbying of a numerous women's groups. The Times also wrote about Ledbetter including a quote from her and noting that the wage discrimination did not end when she retired as her pay rate affects her pension and social security.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/24/washington/24cong.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=10960