Ronald Dellums: “I take this opportunity, as organized by my valued colleague, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, to address the…”

“I take this opportunity, as organized by my valued colleague, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, to address the economic condition of women, the jobs that they do and have, and the wages that they receive in relation to the general pool of wage earners. Some of us have been deeply concerned by the deteriorating economic status of the vast majority of workers, citizens, in this country. Although this fall from economic grace began about 16 years ago, the cumulative effects of this steady drop are now beginning to be painfully felt by the majority of job holders. The experience and story of one of my constituents, whom I shall call Geraldine Mason, is descriptive of many other people in my district and throughout the United States. Ms. Mason has one pre-school child. She works in a produce market and tries to work at least 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year, but can only get about 32 hours of work a week. She gets more than the minimum wage, $5 an hour. Her wage is a bit higher because the San Francisco bay area is one of the most expensive places to live in the United States. When she is lucky and works a steady 50 weeks in the year, her total income is $8,000 a year. After taxes, her take home pay is $7,710. She shares an apartment with her sister; Betty's share of the rent is $250 a month or $3,000 a year. Of course she needs child care.…”