A couple of weeks ago, I published an essay titled Betsy DeVos and the Koch brothers must be so proud: Michigan teacher salaries down 16% from 2009. The title is pretty self-explanatory and the bottom line is that there is a very predictable (and predicted) teacher shortage in our state now because of how we have demonized, diminished, and demeaned […]

A couple of weeks ago New York Times writer Neil Irwin wrote a piece in the Business Section about why a nation with our wealth is reluctant to ask for more from its richest citizens. Some of the reasons given included: low taxes encourage greater investment and entrepreneurship; the rich have grown accustomed to their income and have built their […]

That button there on the right belonged to my mother. She was an ardent feminist and, in fact, took me to my very first political protest when I was in high school; an 85,000-person strong march in Chicago in 1980 demanding passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. 59¢ cents was how much women made for the same job a man […]

Package of legislation is intended to close the wage gap between what women and men earn for equal work. On Equal Pay Day 2015, Michigan’s Progressive Women’s Legislative Caucus introduced a new wage discrimination policy agenda that offers comprehensive solutions to combat Michigan’s wage gap. The legislation would empower workers to negotiate for equal pay, strengthen support and create strong […]

On Equal Pay Day, Congressman Dan Kildee and Senator Gary Peters are standing with women, who still earn an average of 78 cents on the dollar compared to men. Imagine if your year was more than 15 months long. Sounds exhausting, doesn’t it? Well, that’s the reality for too many American women who still do not earn the same salary […]

Tomorrow is Tax Day and the group FightFor15.org is holding rallies across the country demanding a living wage for low-wage workers like those in the fast food industry. Here in Michigan, there will be a rally on the campus of the University of Michigan at noon to demand that U of M begin paying its employees and those who work […]

More than 30 organizations are engaged in the bipartisan initiative to empower women and ensure gender equality. Women make up more than half of Michigan’s population, yet they are facing some significant challenges. That’s the reason for the creation of the MI Lead coalition, a bipartisan group dedicated to protecting women’s rights and empowering women by giving them more say […]

Refusing to debate fair pay is one more way Republicans are trying to marginalize women — and their votes. It should come as no surprise that Senate Republicans have blocked the Paycheck Fairness Act for the third time. On Wednesday — the day after Equal Pay Day — they blocked a vote to simply open debate on the bill. Republicans […]