TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Do your homework before the election or pay the price, potentially with your job. That's the message one of the key figures in the fight for workplace quality has for Florida women.

After discovering she earned less than her male colleagues at the Goodyear tire plant, Lilly Ledbetter took her fight for equal pay all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Now, with the election looming and an open seat on the high court, she's urging Florida women to think long and hard about which presidential candidate is most likely to advance the cause.

"We are still so far, far behind," she said. "Women still do not get the benefits and the rights that they are entitled to. It is one of the most unbelievable situations in this country."

While Ledbetter lost her case in a 2007 split decision, Congress eventually did pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which was the first act signed into law by President Obama in 2009. Hillary Clinton was a sponsor of that legislation, while Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence voted against it.

Ivanka Trump said during the Republican Convention that her father would likely look at the pay-bias issue. Donald Trump however, has said he'd expect his daughter to leave her job if she were being discriminated against.

Theresa King is the president of the Florida Building Trades, and said that simply isn't an option for most working women.

"To suggest that if I was sexually harassed on a job site, that I am the one who should change careers is an absolute insult to not only me but to every woman that works daily to have their own American dream," she said.

King said she and other members of the Florida AFL-CIO will spend the next few months going door-to-door and trying to educate Florida voters about the importance of women's issues in this election.

Ledbetter said her landmark case may have turned out very differently if a different set of judges sat on the bench. Two of the Supreme Court justices who sided with Ledbetter have since retired, and one who voted against her has died. With one high court vacancy in play, she said it's a reminder that the decisions the next president makes will outlive him or her.

"It could determine our lives for generations to come," she added. "And this year is no less. It is the most critical year of my life."

President Obama and congressional Democrats have tried to pass separate legislation to make it easier for workers to sue for wage discrimination, but that has been blocked by Republicans who argue it would be a boon for trial lawyers that won't help close the pay gap.


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A case before the U.S. Supreme Court could have implications for the country's growing labor movement. Justices will hear oral arguments in Starbucks versus McKinney today to determine if the bar should be raised for the National Labor Relations Board when it seeks to impose court-ordered injunctions on companies.

David Groves, communications director with the Washington State Labor Council, said the Supreme Court could further undermine the power of the NLRB, the independent federal agency that protects employees' rights.

"We already have weak labor laws in this country that have such minor penalties for breaking union organizing laws that companies routinely do it, and this is another opportunity for them to weaken labor laws even further," he argued.

The case involves Starbucks' firing of seven employees in Memphis during their union campaign in 2021. The coffee company says it rehired the workers and denies wrongdoing. If the justices rule in favor of Starbucks, it could make it harder for the NLRB to seek court orders.

Groves said the law states that workers have a right to organize unions in their workplace without coercion or retaliation from their employers.

"That's all fine and good but if the penalty's not significant enough, then they'll just go ahead and break that law and consider it the cost of doing business if they have to pay a fine two years down the road," he explained.

Groves said his and other labor organizations support the passage of the Protecting the Right to Organize or PRO Act in Congress, which would strengthen labor laws, including providing greater authority to the NLRB.


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The U.S. House has approved a measure to expand the Child Tax Credit. It would help 16 million children from low-income families in Indiana and nationwide. Despite bipartisan support, the bill is stalled in the Senate. Advocates praise the credit's pivotal role in combating child poverty, pointing to its effectiveness in the past, and especially during the pandemic, when it was broadly expanded.

Candace Baker, an Indianapolis mother of 4, said the previous tax-credit expansion worked for her family, and she wants it reinstated.

"Having a child, and I had to get on some government-assistance programs. My grandmother never did because she just didn't want that stigma over her, but I utilized those services when I had a child. I didn't want to either, but I'm like, I need this support," she explained.

Congress approved expanding the Child Tax Credit in 2021. However, the expansion has expired, leaving families without vital assistance. As the Senate deliberates, pressure mounts on lawmakers to prioritize the needs of struggling families and secure passage. Opponents believe taxpayers who don't work should not be eligible. Some Republicans also contend the provision may incentivize parents to leave the workforce.

Families reeling from the pandemic received between $300 and $360 per month per child from the expanded tax credit. It lifted 3.7 million children from poverty. Baker currently works for a food bank in Indianapolis where she says she is able to help neighbors in need and give back to the community.

"Being able to be a voice for those who have no voice - that is my motto. Even though where you start, you don't have to stay there. So, that is my biggest motto that I stand on: You may start here, you may be on government assistance, you may be in poverty, but that does not have to be your end game," she said.

Families who benefited from the increased aid were more than twice as likely to pay their overdue rent during the initial stages of the pandemic. The Child Tax Credit did not pass in time for this year's tax deadline, and its prospects for the future are uncertain.


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Washington joins a handful of states to do away with mandatory meetings for employees on political or religious matters.

Sometimes known as captive audience meetings, the gatherings were seen as a way for employers to give their opinions on subjects like unionization, and held potential consequences for employees who didn't attend. Lawmakers passed a bill this session allowing workers to skip the meetings without repercussions.

Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines, a sponsor of the bill, said we live in a divided society where emotions run high on political topics.

"This bill simply protects employees to have a real choice on whether or not to attend a meeting called by their boss to be told about some political or religious issue," Keiser explained.

Keiser pointed out the legislation is nonpartisan. For instance, employers could not force employees to attend anti-union meetings, but also could not force them to attend a meeting about the importance of reproductive rights. The bill takes effect June 6.

Keiser noted the bill likely got across the finish line this session because of the uptick in union organizing and support for labor. She added there are widely known stories of Starbucks managers, for example, requiring employees to attend anti-union meetings while the employees organized the workplace.

"Employees have been forced to attend meetings to listen to the boss or the employer basically tell them why they shouldn't join a union," Keiser observed.

Washington is the sixth state to pass a law prohibiting attendance at captive audience meetings. Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota and New York have passed similar laws in recent years. Oregon passed a law allowing workers to skip such meetings without repercussions in 2010.


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