CWA Local 1180 President Middleton Speaks Out on Black Women's Equal Pay Day

On July 9th CWA Local 1180 President Gloria Middleton joined PowHer NY, a statewide network fighting for economic equality for women in New York, for an interview and discussion on Black Women’s Equal Pay Day — the day that Black women in the U.S. working full-time have to work  in order to earn the same amount that white, non-Hispanic men working full-time earned the year before.

The discussion focused on how we can change this reality by fighting for stronger laws like expanding pay transparency laws, making child care accessible to all, ensuring fair pay for care workers, expanding paid leave, and bringing women into higher paying roles. President Middleton highlighted several key victories of the last few years, including the union’s multi-million dollar Equal Pay lawsuit victory, and getting legislation passed to require salary transparency in job postings.

“We need pay transparency for existing employees,” said President Middleton. “They should know what a new employee is making to make sure that they are being paid the correct salary. We find too many times, new people come in at a higher salary than the person who’s been doing it for ten years. We don’t want that to happen anymore.”

When asked what advice she would give to young people looking to get involved in the labor movement and to help make a difference, President Middleton said, “First of all, they have to vote. You have to vote. I’m going to say it over and over again—you have to vote. Many people died for that opportunity for us to be able to vote. Secondly, find your passion. Find what you like to do, whether it’s organizing people, representing people, being a leader. Educate yourself, know what it is to be a leader. Young people coming up into activism, I’m just so happy that they’re looking to labor as a friend now.”

You can watch the full interview here.