Boccieri hits Schuring on equal pay

The campaign of state Sen. John Boccieri (D-Alliance) is saying opponent state Sen. Kirk Schuring (R-Jackson Township) opposes fair pay for workers.

The Boccieri camp said that Schuring has told the National Association of Manufacturers that, if elected to Congress, he would vote to block workers who are being paid less than others doing the same job from getting the pay they deserve unless they find out about the inequity during the first six months.

"Senator Schuring says that if you've worked 20 years at a factory and you suddenly find out that your boss has paid you less than everybody else in the same position, you have no right to fair pay," Boccieri said today. "That philosophy of siding with big business over middle class families is the reason Washington is broken. The common sense solution is that if you've worked hard your whole life, you deserve the full pay you've earned."

The Boccieri campaign said Schuring's declaration that he would oppose equal pay for equal work came in response to a National Association of Manufacturers questionnaire that referenced the case of Lilly Ledbetter.

Ledbetter made headlines in 2007 because she had worked as the only female supervisor at a Goodyear plant for nearly 20 years, only to discover late in her career that she had consistently been paid less than any of her male colleagues, even those with less seniority.

The Boccieri camp said that the Supreme Court ruled that because Ledbetter had not found out about her unfair pay within six months after the first discriminatory paycheck was issued, she had no right to nearly 20 years of unjustly withheld salary under current pay equity laws.

Boccieri said that when Congress attempted to change the law in response to the court's ruling, President Bush and his allies in Congress blocked the legislation.

Boccieri said Schuring assured the National Association of Manufacturers that he would side with George W. Bush over middle class families with his response.

The Schuring camp responded by saying Boccieri would "say or do anything to get elected."