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From the IAM Journal, March/April 2000
We've Got Business to Finish
A commentary from R. Thomas Buffenbarger,
International President, IAMAW
"Unfinished business" is a theme that runs
through this IAM Journal. The stories about the space program and
women in the workforce raise serious questions about words and deeds --
about what we say we support and what we actually do.
Our society claims to be committed to equal rights and opportunities
for women. Yet U.S. employers still pay women roughly 76 cents for every
$1 paid to men, and the gap exists right down the line -- even for men and
women in identical occupations. For example, female lawyers average $951
a-week compared to $1,350 a-week for male lawyers. Female electronic
technicians average $551 a-week compared to $665 for the men, while women
in precision metalworking trades ear $444 a-week -- 28 percent less than
their mail counterparts receive.
Some people point out that the pay gap was much larger three decades ago,
when women averaged only 63 cents for every $1 paid to men. But the pay
gap narrowed mainly because real earnings for men fell $2.20 an-hour,
while women's wages rose a modest 60 cents an-hour during the past 30
years.
. . . . we have succeeded in breaking down many barriers to employment and
higher pay for women. But patting ourselves on the back is no substitute
for taking an honest look at where things actually stand and the many
things we have left undone.
Like many IAM members, I grew up during the high tide of the space program
and the struggle for equal rights. These programs and principles go to the
heart of what our nation stands for, and what we hope to be. We must see
them through.
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