A Letter to the Senator

I recently began supporting the ACLU. Sure, it may have been a result of being accosted by volunteers on the street (I'm such a sucker and can never say 'no'). But the fact that I have since actively participated in its pursuit of justice makes the 'how' and 'why' of my membership irrelevant (so I tell myself).

Anyway, I sent an email to Senator Barbara Boxer as part of a petition and I received the following response email today. Am I to assume that this is a generic, mass distributed response? Moreover, is it naive of me to hope that it isn't? Cuz I really want to believe that she actually agrees with me, personally, for some odd reason.

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Dear Ms. Gocke:

Thank you for contacting me to express your support for legislation to reverse a recent Supreme Court decision on pay discrimination. I appreciate hearing from you, and I agree with you. I am proud to be an original co-sponsor of S.1843, the Fair Pay Restoration Act.

As you may know, on May 29, 2007, the Supreme Court ruled in Ledbetter vs. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Inc. that workers can file suit for wage discrimination only within 180 days of the original discriminatory act. This outrageous decision undermines basic protection for workers against pay discrimination.

S.1843 seeks to correct the Court's decision. This bill would clarify current law by explicitly stating that workers can sue for pay discrimination any time they are issued a paycheck, no matter when the discrimination actually began.

A bill similar to S.1843 recently passed the House of Representatives. Please know that I will work to ensure that this legislation passes Congress and is signed into law.

Again, thank you for writing to me. Rest assured, I will keep fighting to eliminate pay discrimination.

Barbara Boxer
United States Senator