The LuLac Edition #2444, June 11th, 2013

The late Vince Lombardi. (Photo: Mondayeveningclubblogspot.com)

LOMBARDI AT 100 

Legendary Green Bay Packers Coach Vince Lombardi would have been 100 years old today. Lombardi was a sports hero of mine growing up. In the 60s, Lombardi’s work ethic and philosophy inspired not only his players but Packer fans who admired him to reach for more. When I worked at Rock 107, my Sales Manager at the time, the late Tim Durkin had a meeting with Packer player Willie Davis. The former member of the Pack had a string of radio stations in Wisconsin and said that Lombardi made him a success off the football field. 
Consider his body of work on stats alone: over the course of his career with the Pack, he led the club to a 105-35-6 record and five championships, including three straight titles, from 1965 to 1967. The team never suffered a losing season under the Hall of Fame coach. Lombardi had one of the best winning percentages of any NFL coach. He died too soon in 1970 at the age of 59 from colon cancer. 
 

Congressman Matt Cartwright. (Photo: LuLac archives) 

CARTWRIGHT ON FAIR PAY ACT 

From the office of Congressman Matt Cartwright: Yesterday, Rep. Cartwright announced that the nation would mark the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy signing the Equal Pay Act into law on June 10. “When he signed it, President Kennedy stated that the Equal Pay Act of 1963 would mean ‘when women enter the labor force they will find equality in their pay envelopes,’” Rep. Cartwright pointed out. “And yet, 50 years later, women still do not have equality in their pay. In 1963, women on average made 59 cents for every dollar earned by men. Today, women on average nationwide make 77 cents for every dollar earned by men – progress, but not nearly enough progress.” 
Equal pay is not simply a woman’s issue – it’s a family issue. Families increasingly rely on women’s wages to make ends meet. When women bring home less money each day, it means they have less for the everyday needs of the families – groceries, rent, child care, and doctors’ visits. “The continuing 23-cents nationwide pay gap between what men and women earn highlights the importance of Congress finally enacting the Paycheck Fairness Act, of which I am a proud cosponsor,” Cartwright stated. “Over the past 50 years, the Equal Pay Act has never been updated. The Paycheck Fairness Act would update and strengthen the Equal Pay Act.” 
The Paycheck Fairness Act strengthens and closes loopholes in the Equal Pay Act, including by providing effective remedies to women who are not being paid equal wages for doing equal work and protecting employees from retaliation for sharing salary information with their co-workers. Democrats have worked for years to enact the Paycheck Fairness Act. 
In 2008 and again in 2009, the Democratic-led House succeeded in passing the bill, but unfortunately in both Congresses, Senate Republicans were successful in blocking the measure. “On this 50th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act, with a significant pay gap still existing between men and women, let us all vow to work together until we have achieved an America where women are truly paid equal pay for equal work,” concluded Cartwright.