In the Press...
Star Ledger article on Smith Support of US Women's Soccer'U.S. women's soccer team finds lone GOP equal-pay ally in N.J. Congressman'
BY JONATHAN SALANT, STAR LEDGER/NJ.COM STAFF WRITER - The U.S. women's soccer team's fight for equal pay has the backing of just one House Republican — and that lawmaker is from New Jersey.
U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-4th Dist.) on Tuesday joined more than 100 House Democrats in asking the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to quickly rule on a complaint filed by the women's national soccer team, which has charged that they are being paid less than male players, despite earning more revenue. Smith was the only Republican signing the letter to EEOC Chairwoman Jenny Yang that was released on Equal Pay Day, which marks how much longer into the new year an average woman needs to work in order to make the same salary as an average man did in 12 months. The complaint was filed against the U.S. Soccer Federation by five members of the World Cup-winning team, including Carli Lloyd, a Delran native and Rutgers University alum. "The team is simply requesting what they have earned and deserve: equal pay for equal play," Smith said. "And they should get it." All six House Democrats from New Jersey also signed the letter. "This team earned the title of world champion, and just like any other elite athlete they've earned the compensation to go along with that title," said Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12th Dist.). In the letter, the lawmakers wrote: "Paying people fairly for the work they do shouldn't be dependent on their gender, race or ethnicity." Lloyd, who scored three goals in the first 16 minutes of the final game, wrote in the New York Times that she got a $75,000 bonus for winning the World Cup and $15,000 for making the team, but male players would have gotten $390,000 for the win and around $69,000 for being on the team. Earlier, President Barack Obama marked Equal Pay Day by dedicating a new national monument named for New Jersey suffragette Alice Paul. |