FRESHMAN STATE LEGISLATOR HOPES NEW LAW WILL RESULT IN GREATER PARITY
State Representative Debbie Meyers-Martin (38th) helped pass legislation Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law which now prohibits employers from asking prospective applicants or former employers about salary history. Photo credit: By Wendell Hutson
Freshman State Legislator Hopes New Law Will Result In Greater Parity
BY WENDELL HUTSON, Contributing Writer
In her first year in office, state Representative Debbie Meyers-Martin (38th) helped pass legislation Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law in July that is aimed at preventing workplace discrimination as it pertains to salaries.
House Bill 834 now prohibits employers from asking prospective applicants or former employers about salary history. According to Meyers-Martin, by doing so, it has perpetuated disadvantages for women during the hiring process.
“While much has been done to help improve conditions in the workplace for women, the pay gap continues to go unaddressed,” said Meyers-Martin, whose south suburban district includes Olympia Fields, Matteson and Tinley Park. “Women are considered vital to this country’s economy, but it’s not reflected in their paychecks.”
According to the nonprofit National Partnership for Women & Families, the median annual pay for a woman with a full-time job is $45,097, while the median annual pay for a man with a full-time job is $55,291. This means that, overall, women in the United States are paid 82 cents for every dollar paid to men, amounting to an annual gender wage gap of $10,194.
Meyers-Martin said she made pay equality legislation a top priority in her freshman year.
“History has worked against women when it comes to equal pay in the workforce,” said Meyers-Martin.
However, employers are still allowed to ask job applicants what is their ‘desired salary’ but cannot ask what was their starting and ending pay at previous jobs.
“This question makes a big difference,” explained Meyers-Martin. “If someone is asked by an employer their desired salary, it’s more compensatory with their skill set because you know what you are worth as opposed to employers being able to view your past wages.”
She added that for years minorities have been discriminated against when it comes to equal pay, and hopefully this new law will prevent it from happening further.
The new state law, Equal Pay Act, also works “hand in hand” with state legislation to increase the state minimum wage, according to Meyers-Martin. Currently the state minimum wage is $8.25 per hour, but will increase to $9.25 on Jan. 1, 2020 and $10 on July 1, 2020. But for people working in Chicago, the minimum wage is $13 per hour and Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she wants to see it increased to $15 in the next four years. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour and has not increased since July 2009.
“At the end of the day, what we [in Springfield] are trying to do for the citizens of Illinois is to give them the ability to make a ‘living’ wage and to have a wage that is sustainable for improvement in the quality of their life,” explained Meyers-Martin. “Realistically minimum wage should be ‘a lot’ more and hopefully over the next few years we can pass legislation to do just that.”
State Rep Debbie Myers-Martin supporting our veterans at the Richton Park Veterans Day Parade. On Saturday, November 9th, 2019.
Military members and veterans, are you getting the property tax relief you deserve?
In Illinois, members of the military can defer property taxes interest-free while on active duty, one way to ease the financial sacrifice of service to our country, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas said today in a news release.
On November 19, 2019 State Representative Debbie Meyers-Martin will be hosting a Business Forum on how to gain business contracts with the Sate of Illinois.
This forum is a MUST for businesses owned by minorities, women, and persons with disabilities, who are interested in benefiting from contracts opportunities throughout all state agencies under the purview of the governor.
State Rep. Debbie Meyers-Martin was sworn in as a freshman lawmaker in Springfield last January, but before she ever stepped foot in the State Capitol, the former mayor of Olympia Fields had already acquired more than enough public service knowledge to understand the challenges ahead.
“Mayors see a little of everything, “Meyers-Martin said. “Whether it’s property taxes, public safety, economic development, infrastructure, the more you serve at the local government level, the more you will understand the day-to-day needs of your constituents. I think having been a Mayor is a tremendous asset to be a lawmaker because you’ve had that on-the-ground experience. I believe that is something I can offer to my colleagues. It also helped me hone my persuasion skills and be a better negotiator, which requires both advocating and listening.”
Among many issues Meyers-Martin used those public service skills to address, one was passing a complicated but necessary new law to give people easier access to affordable and accessible financial institutions and avoid predatory financial practices.
“A lot of working families and senior citizens have a deep distrust of traditional banks for a variety of reasons, so it is vital we give those consumers access to the information they need to find trustworthy and affordable institutions where they can feel secure in putting their money,” Meyers-Martin explained. “I was proud to work with my colleagues and across the aisle on something that I believe will have a positive impact on consumers moving forward.”
My message to women of color in business and politics; ‘You deserve to be here, don’t let anyone tell you different!’
-Rep. Debbie Meyers-Martin
In addition to financial protection issues, Meyers-Martin worked to address infant mortality in the black community, strengthen maternity care rights, and fought for equal pay protections for women and women of color, all issues she championed as a
member of both the Legislative Black Caucus and the Illinois House Democratic Women’s Caucus.
“I am proud to bring my perspective and experiences to the Capitol because I know it is one more diverse voice that is much needed in this building,’ Meyers-Martin added. “My message to women in business and politics, especially women of color, as they start their careers it’s this; “You deserve to be here, don’t let anyone tell you different. Be confident in yourself and good things will come. And when those good days do come, don’t forget to reach behind you and mentor someone who can benefit from your experience. That’s how we succeed.”
The mission of the IHDWC is to promote the leadership of women elected to the Illinois House of Representatives and to create inclusive and collaborative policy outcomes for the state. The caucus is working to address systemic challenges for women in government and throughout the state, and to provide resources and forums for leadership development, mentoring and issue expertise that will elevate the role of women in public service.
Property Tax Reform Town Hall
Tuesday October 1st, 2019
6pm to 7:30pm
South Suburban College
When: Tuesday, September 17, 11:30am – 7:00pm
Where: Vertiport Chicago, 1339 S. Wood Street, Chicago, IL 60608
Registration Link and FAQs: amazon.jobs/en/landing_pages/careerday
Amazon Announces Amazon Career Day on September 17th – 30,000+ Permanent Jobs Available across the U.S. Paying $15 an Hour or More and Offering On-the-job Training and Upskilling Opportunities
Amazon Career Day – the nation’s largest job fair – will feature six informational and networking events in Arlington, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Nashville, and Seattle – job seekers can register here
Tens of thousands of corporate, tech, and customer fulfillment roles include full-time, full-benefit opportunities for people with a wide range of skill levels, offering at least $15/hour and competitive benefits, as well as skills training as part of Amazon’s $700 million Upskilling 2025 Initiative
Amazon Career Day will also help individuals learn more about how to build a business with Amazon, from starting your own delivery business to selling online or publishing your own book
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–September 9, 2019– Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced Amazon Career Day on Tuesday, September 17th, a series of events across the U.S. where anyone can learn more about the 30,000 full and part-time jobs available at Amazon in locations across the country, from the company’s headquarters and tech hubs to datacenters and fulfillment centers. There are jobs for people with all types of experience, education, and skill levels – from entry-level roles at Amazon’s fulfillment centers working with the latest robotics technology, software development engineers helping make Alexa smarter, or computer vision scientists building the technology behind Amazon Go. All candidates will have access to on-the-job training and upskilling opportunities as part of the company’s $700 million Upskilling 2025 initiative to help employees gain new skills to build their career.
Amazon will hold six Amazon Career Day events across the U.S. where candidates can learn more about the career opportunities with the company. The events on September 17th are in Arlington – the site of the company’s second headquarters in North America – as well as Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Nashville, and Seattle. Amazon Career Day events are open to anyone interested in learning more about opportunities with Amazon, from applying for a job with the company to learning more about how to start a business delivering packages or selling online. For more information – including how to register for the events and apply for open roles – visit amazon.jobs/careerday.
“Amazon has created more than 300,000 new jobs in the U.S. over the last decade – and we’re proud to continue investing and creating opportunities for people across the country,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO. “These are jobs with highly competitive compensation and full-benefits from day one, as well as training opportunities to gain new skills in high-demand fields such as robotics and machine learning.”
Candidates can explore open positions on amazon.jobs – and they can learn about the fastest-growing jobs at Amazon here. The Amazon Career Day events will feature businesses across Amazon, and recruiters will be on-hand to talk to candidates about corporate roles at our 18 Tech Hubs, as well as within our customer fulfillment, delivery, and retail facilities. In addition to the positions available at the company, the events will include informational sessions on how to be your own boss with help from Amazon by selling on Amazon, starting your own delivery company becoming a Delivery Service Partner, or publishing your own book.
Additionally, Amazon is starting to hire for tens of thousands of seasonal roles for its operations network in the coming weeks to meet increased demand for the holiday season. Candidates interested in these positions – also paying $15/hour– can visit amazondelivers.jobs.
Competitive benefits and upskilling opportunities
With more than 650,000 employees worldwide, Amazon has been recognized on LinkedIn’s Top Companies list for the past four years, ranked #2 in the Fortune 2017 and 2018 World’s Most Admired Companies, #5 in Fast Company’s 2018 World’s Most Innovative Companies and 2019 50 Best Workplaces for Innovators. Amazon has more than 300,000 full-time employees in the U.S., across more than 40 states and 250 different counties, two headquarters, 18 Tech Hubs, more than 150 fulfillment centers, sortation centers and delivery stations, and more than two dozen Amazon Go, 4 Star and Amazon Books retail stores. Since 2010, Amazon has invested more than $270 billion in the U.S., including infrastructure and compensation to our employees. Learn more about Amazon’s economic impact across the U.S. here.
Amazon provides highly competitive benefits to full-time employees — from the company’s most senior executives to its hourly fulfillment center associates — including comprehensive healthcare from day one, 401(k) matching, and up to 20-weeks of paid parental leave. Through its Upskilling 2025 initiative, Amazon has also committed $700 million to programs aiming to provide its employees with the skills they need for new, in-demand jobs, from paid cloud computing apprenticeships to its Career Choice program, which pre-pays 95% of tuition for courses in in-demand fields, regardless of whether skills are relevant to a career at Amazon.
On top of the company’s direct hires, there are more than 1.9 million businesses, content creators, and developers in the U.S. using Amazon products and services to start or grow their careers. Small and medium-sized businesses selling their products on Amazon stores are also creating jobs — more than 830,000 in the U.S. and 1.6 million worldwide. Developers have built more than 90,000 Alexa skills, and hundreds of thousands of authors from around the world have self-published millions of books through Kindle Direct Publishing.
About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.
