Equal pay for equal work was the refrain at Workers United union hall on Tuesday.
The Rochester chapter of Latina Equal Pay brought together leaders from around Monroe County to bring attention to the wage gap between men and women.
The group says it takes an average woman 15 months to make what an average white man makes in a year.
Katelyn Figueroa Plonczynski attended the rally. She says those numbers are all too real for her.
“I hear all the time that my co-workers are able to afford health insurance. I hear that they’re able to go on vacation,” she said. “Those are things I can’t do because I’m limited. I’m unable to actually do those things because I don’t have equal pay.”
Rochester City Councilwoman Jackie Ortiz, who’s a member of the local chapter of Latina Equal Pay, co-organized Rochester’s rally. Ortiz said she’s following in the footsteps of other Rochesterians who fought for justice.
“We are empowered by all of our local history for the world to recognize that women are worth the whole dollar,” Ortiz said
Ortiz and several other speakers expressed disappointment in the New York state budget that passed on Monday. Ortiz said that banning salary history and implementing equal pay for equal work were included in previous versions of the budget but were left out of the final version.
The group says that Latinas earn about 54 cents for every dollar a white man makes.
