Statement of NOW President Kim Gandy

January 24, 2007

NOW has worked since 1966 for economic justice, especially equal pay and fair wages for women, many of whom must work multiple jobs to support their children and families. Our members have lobbied hard, and we celebrated when 315 members of the House of Representatives recently voted to increase the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour.

Today the U.S. Senate took up the House-passed bill — a “clean” bill that was NOT held hostage by the business community, which is demanding almost $8 billion in tax giveaways. Fifty-four senators, including 5 Republicans, supported the straightforward House bill, and for that we salute them. Forty-three senators are intent on providing corporate welfare to their business cronies, and for that we will hold them accountable.

The minimum wage is a women’s issue. Women are twice as likely as men to be working at minimum wage, and that rate is even higher for women of color. Today over nine million women are at the bottom of the wage ladder, paid less than $7.25 per hour.

NOW has been hearing from our members. One, who is the director of a shelter for homeless youth and young adults, wrote: “I see daily the effects of having the minimum wage so low that people cannot support themselves. Our shelter is full of young adults who work full time at minimum wage jobs, but cannot afford housing, food and other necessities. In addition, we feed many other youth who are minimum wage earners and earn only enough for rent, but can’t afford food as well. Until the minimum wage is raised, there will continue to be increasing numbers of working homeless people.”

These aren’t statistics — they are people. The bottom line is that those working hard at today’s minimum wage (less than $11,000 a year for full-time work) still have no bottom line — except poverty.

It’s hard to imagine that a woman working full time, year round, at $5.15 per hour has to choose between paying the utility bill and taking her sick child to the doctor. And it’s a national disgrace that Republican leaders would essentially say to this woman: “Your family’s survival is less important to me than tax giveaways to wealthy people who see more money in a day than you are paid in a month, or even a year.”

A NOW member in Dallas wrote about the small business she owned with her husband in a shopping mall. She said: “…my starting pay for new employees was $8.00 per hour. Paying more than my competitors ensured employee loyalty. It’s hard to keep training new employees, so paying more at the start and offering incentives and bonuses for improvement was a good investment.”

Paying a living wage is an investment in the future of the United States. Good for hardworking families, good for business, and good for the country.

NOW applauds the new Democratic leadership for their determination to pass a clean bill raising the minimum wage, and to make it one of the first acts of the 110th Congress. We look forward to many more advances for women and their families.

“I literally couldn’t put this book down and read the entire thing…just this past Saturday. It’s a fascinating view of working hard(er than I’ve ever worked in my life) for almost nothing. I was left in awe of what one women took on and what millions of women all around the country endure every day.”
- Laura Costa, VP of Membership, RI NOW

Monday, January 29 at 7pm Please join RI NOW at its monthly membership meeting. January’s meeting will be held downstairs at the Rochambeau library in Providence. We will be talking about some very exciting plans and opportunities for RI NOW in the next six months and will begin building our legislative agenda for the upcoming session of the General Assembly. Refreshments will be provided. Please RSVP to Carolyn Mark at president@rinow.org   

On Monday, Jan. 22, NOW will hold its annual candlelight vigil in the shadow of the U.S. Supreme Court, commemorating the 34th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision affirming women's constitutional right to abortion. "Just across from the Supreme Court stands the Capitol, where the legislative branch of our government is under new leadership. The promise of a new Congress is heartening, but we cannot let our guard down. We must continue to be vigilant about upholding a woman's right to make her own childbearing decisions, including access to birth control and abortion," said NOW President Kim Gandy. NOW and its allies will join together on Jan. 22, to stand steadfast in support of the constitutional right that has protected women's privacy and rights for 34 years.

"Many states across the country are considering abortion bans like the one South Dakota passed last year — dangerous bans that no doubt will be challenged and possibly argued before the Supreme Court. With two new justices whose decisions could overturn Roe, and the Hyde Amendment federal funding ban still in place that limits poor women's access to abortion, we will remind the nation that reproductive health, rights and justice hang in the balance," said Gandy.

On January 12th, the House passed, by a bipartisan vote of 253-174, a bill that would allow federal funding of stem cell research utilizing donated human embryos, and would have the effect of greatly expanding the number of stem cell lines available to researchers. Stem cell research has the potential for expanding life-enhancing and life-saving treatment for many chronic and fatal diseases. While the bill captured the support of sixty percent of the House membership, it was still 37 votes shy of the 290 votes needed to deter a potential veto by George W. Bush.

“Congress is finally dealing with important issues concerning women’s health and economic survival. Passage of H.R. 3 by this significant margin is a start,” says NOW President Kim Gandy. “Women voted for candidates in the mid-term elections who represented fairness and decency, and we are hopeful that this common sense approach to government will ultimately prevail,” said Gandy.

The bill goes next to the Senate, where it will be voted on in the weeks ahead. The National Organization for Women will be urging our members, coalition partners, grassroots campaigns, and progressive advocates to let their Senators know how important this legislative proposal is to them and their families. Contrary to the stance taken by President Bush and religious right-wing zealots, approval of federal funding for stem cell research has bipartisan support in Congress and across the nation. Only 22 percent of those polled agree with the President’s restrictive policy on stem cell research.

Stem cell research is a woman’s issue. Women undergoing fertility treatment deserve the right to donate their leftover embryos for research. Embryonic stem cells are currently ineligible for federal funding because the embryo is destroyed in the process of extracting the stem cells. Yet these frozen embryos — destined to be discarded — could potentially treat and cure a number of debilitating and life-threatening diseases. Unlike adult stem cells, umbilical cord or amniotic stem cells, embryonic stem cells remain the most promising type of stem cell due to their ability to transform into many kinds of specialized cells.

Women can surely benefit from this research to improve their health and save their lives, but they are also primary caretakers for family members and loved ones who suffer from illnesses and injuries. The development of stem cell technology and cures could help ease the burden of those women.

George W. Bush has ignored the health and welfare of women for too long. “He has traded away the prospect for healing technologies in an effort to pacify his extremist base. That era must end,” says Gandy. “Women and men who have frozen embryos must have the right to donate them to science. In addition, we must accelerate the pace of research into cures for our most deadly diseases.”