News

May is Labor History Month, and whether you want to learn about oral histories or famous union leaders, some new websites are making it easier than ever to explore the rich history of the fight for workers' rights.

CWA locals, many of them working with other unions, community groups and occupational safety and health experts, are planning rallies, memorial services and educational activities during the week of Workers Memorial Day, April 28.

Forty-five years ago, President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act (EPA) into law, making it illegal for employers to pay unequal wages to men and women who perform substantially equal work. At the time of the EPA?s passage in 1963, women earned merely 59 cents to every dollar earned by men. Although enforcement of the EPA as well as other civil rights laws has helped to narrow the wage gap, significant disparities remain and need to be addressed. Today, women make, on average, only 78 cents for every dollar earned by men.

CWA's Women's and Civil Rights and Equity programs are getting a fresh look from a committee of members and staff who have just issued 16 recommendations to build on CWA's long commitment to equity.