Dear John:
Today is Equal Pay Day. But this day is not something to celebrate, in fact, we should all be outraged. We should be outraged that in the year 2020 women are still earning less than their male counterparts.
In Montana, women earn just 73% of what men earn, making Montana 29th in the nation for pay equity. And women of color earn even less.
This is wrong.
The Montana Attorney General has the power to do something about this. But it takes an AG willing to act, to fight for the women of Montana and demand fairness and economic justice.
Here in Montana, the Montana Human Rights Act and the Montana Equal Pay Law prohibit discrimination against employees in practices or wages based on sex.
As your Attorney General, I will go to court to vindicate the protections provided in these laws, backed by the full force of the Department of Justice.
And I will support the use of state-local-federal partnerships and political advocacy in support of gubernatorial and legislative efforts to support pay equity and livable wages in Montana.
I will continue to stand up for the rights of unions to bargain collectively for equal pay. The labor movement has been at the forefront in pay equity throughout American history and unionized industries continue to have the smallest gender wage gap in the nation.
This is personal for me, my family, and families all across Montana. I’m ready to fight and to be an advocate for women across Montana until we no longer have to be outraged on Equal Pay Day.
I hope you’ll join me in this fight.
-Raph
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