Federal toy and product safety database delayed

by: Nancy Watzman

Mon Apr 20, 2009 at 12:44:08 PM MDT

Check out your peanut butter here

by: Nancy Watzman

Wed Feb 11, 2009 at 20:06:36 PM MST

What a diference a president makes

by: Nancy Watzman

Thu Jan 29, 2009 at 11:29:57 AM MST

And a new Congress, of course. Just minutes ago, President Barack Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, reversing a U.S. Supreme Court decision that makes it tougher for employees to sue for unlawful pay discrimination.

Back in April I wrote about how Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) opposed the Ledbetter Act. His solution to Ledbetter's dilemma was condescending--he said effectively that women just need more schooling. "They need the education and training, particularly since more and more women are heads of their households, as much or more than anybody else," he said back then. McCain stood true to this idea, voting against the Ledbetter Act when the Senate took it up.

Ledbetter herself was with the president at the ceremony. She was the lead plaintiff in the Supreme Course case, in which the court ruled that employees who believe they have been paid less because of their religion, gender, or race must file their complaint within 180 days after the employer sets the pay rate in question.

This standard was unrealistic. An employee opening her paycheck doesn't necessarily know immediately that she is getting less than her colleagues. Salary levels are typically not that transparent. Building her case could easily take longer than 180 days-- and by then, under the old law, she'd no longer have a case.

One year after graduating college, women working full time earn 80 percent as much as men do. A decade later the difference is even greater-- women in their thirties earn 69 percent of what men in thirties earn, according to a 2007 study by the Association of University Women. In Colorado, the pay gap between college educated men and women is 72 percent.

Even when you throw in controls for how many hours women work, the occupation they choose, whether or not they have children, and other factors, women with college degrees still take home less bacon than their male peers.

Under the new law, women will of course still need to prove pay discrimination. But at least they'll have a chance to make their case.

crossposted from Politics West

What the new Congress won't be talking about

by: Nancy Watzman

Tue Jan 06, 2009 at 14:17:10 PM MST

Ancient History

by: Nancy Watzman

Wed Nov 05, 2008 at 13:42:39 PM MST

So I took pencil to paper and wrote, at least partly because I knew someday I'd be famous enough that someone would care what I wrote when I was nine years old. (I know better now.) In flowery language I described what an historic day it was and that in this country, nobody, not even the president was above the law, and that in this country, democracy triumphs. Many years later when I found that piece of paper, I winced at the baroque style of what I wrote, but I still believe in the essence.

It's hard not to wax flowery today. Last night, as three generations of my family watched the election returns together in our basement, I wondered what, if anything, my four-year-old son will remember about this election. He's heard so much about it in recent months; he went with us to the polls to vote; and he saw Obama accept the Democratic nomination this summer at Invesco. But he's so young who knows what will be painted in his memory. It could be how there was a nice dog at the church where we voted. Or how we honked the car horn in the car when we saw people waving signs. Or how he got an American flag to wave when we went to see Obama last summer.

The truth is my son is unlikely to remember much and his little sister even less. And that may end up being what is most profound. They will grow up thinking that it's no big deal for an African American man named Barack Hussein Obama to be elected president. Instead it will be part of the fabric of their lives. Last night my 82-year-old father, who fought in World War II and cheered President Harry Truman back in 1948 when he desegregated the troops, said "I feel fortunate to be able to see this day." Me too. As for my kids, I'm so happy that when they grow up, the fact that this country elected its first African American president will seem like ancient history, the kind of stuff you have to learn about from books.

Why women don't run

by: Nancy Watzman

Fri May 30, 2008 at 10:05:50 AM MDT

Working sick

by: Nancy Watzman

Mon May 05, 2008 at 08:32:36 AM MDT

Like any other family with two working parents, that means we're scrambling. My parents, who can sometimes pinch hit, aren't available today. I'm at my desk now for several hours while my husband is with the kids. Then he'll go to work. I'll stay in touch with my office as best I can by phone and cell. I'm already plotting about the best strategy for both kids to nap at the same time this afternoon so I can work then, too.

Although my husband and are going to have a challenging day, we still have it far better than most. He is a federal government attorney, and providing he gets his work done somehow some way, the office is quite flexible about family needs. I work from home for Washington, DC-based public interest groups that, deadlines permitting, are also quite understanding. But according to 9to5, an organization working for family-work balance, three out of four low wage workers have no paid sick leave.That means that when a bug strikes, they lose much needed income.

In Congress, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) has a bill, H.R. 1542, that would require employers of more than 15 people to provide a limited amount of paid sick leave. Eligible employees would be those who work at least 1,000 hours per year. It has 89 cospsonors, but not a single one hails from Colorado.

In the Senate, the companion bill, S.910, sponsored by Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) in the Senate, has 24 cosponsors, including Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Barack Obama (D-IL), but not Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). But again, no cosponsors from Colorado.

Go Back to School

by: Nancy Watzman

Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 09:19:27 AM MDT

"They need the education and training, particularly since more and more women are heads of their households, as much or more than anybody else," he said.

More education is always nice. But the problem is that women who spend the same amount of time studying still come out behind men when it comes time to collect paychecks.
 

Franny Airlonowitz

by: Nancy Watzman

Mon Apr 14, 2008 at 12:41:00 PM MDT

Marilyn's sweet rewards

by: Nancy Watzman

Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 09:32:32 AM MDT

She's also gotten money from U.S. Sugar Corporation, another Florida-based sugar company that has benefited from the decades old U.S. sugar price support program-one sugar producers are pushing to preserve in this year's farm bill in the face of Mexican competition opened up by the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Then there's the Florida Sugar Cane League, which has also given her campaign cash. Also some folks from Minnesota, American Crystal Sugar. All together, Musgrave's gotten more than $46,000 from sugar interests for her campaigns over the years, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.