CWA Public Service Members File Suit for Equal Pay

In July, CWA Local 1014, representing 1,600 public service employees working for Camden County, N.J., including over 150 emergency services dispatchers, filed a lawsuit against the county alleging systemic violations of New Jersey’s Equal Pay Act. The complaint accuses the county of paying female and minority employees less than their male or non‑minority peers who perform the same work.

The complaint alleges an estimated $10.5 million in lost wages to date and seeks not only back pay, but also to change county pay practices going forward to ensure fair treatment for all employees.

“We’ve made every attempt to address this issue, but we’ve gotten no meaningful response from the County,” said Garren Steiner, President of CWA Local 1014. “We’re not asking for anything crazy here—all we’re looking for is what’s right and what’s required by law. We want what’s best for this community, for taxpayers, and for our members who devote their lives to this job. The County offered us a nominal one-time payment to make this lawsuit go away. That’s unacceptable in light of the years of lost wages and emotional toll that this has taken on our members.”

Click here to read the full press release.

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This post originally appeared on cwa-union.org.