Tracey Brooks for Congress 2008

Congressional Candidate Tracey Brooks today recognized the national observance of Equal Pay Day and called on Congress and the New York State Legislature to immediately pass equal pay bills.

"The concept behind Equal Pay Day is quite simple: women should be paid the same as men for the same work," said Brooks. "April 22^nd represents how much longer women have to work – nearly four more months – to receive the same pay as men and we're wearing red today to symbolize how far women and minorities are 'in the red' with their pay."

On April 2, Brooks met with feminist activist and author Gloria Steinem at the State Capitol to advocate for pay equity for women. Ms. Steinem spoke at the Legislative Office Building and then held a town hall meeting sponsored by the Capital District Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, and the New York State Pay Equity Coalition (NYSPEC).

Gloria Steinem said that "we won't truly have a democracy until Congress looks a lot more like the country. We need to elect Congressional candidates like Tracey Brooks -- smart, experienced, hard working and devoted to voting as if everyone mattered."

Tracey Brooks said that she was "proud to stand with Gloria Steinem, the Capital District Area Labor Federation, NYSPEC and others who believe in pay equity."

Equal Pay Day was created by the National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE) in 1996 as a public awareness event to illustrate the gap between men's and women's wages. According to statistics released in 2007 by the United States Census Bureau, women are paid, on average, 77 cents for every dollar their male counterparts are paid -- a gap of 23 cents.

"Forty-five years after the Equal Pay Act, women should not still be paid 77 percent of what their male counterparts make," said Brooks. "If we continue to allow this pay inequity, the current wage gap won't close until 2057 and that's just unacceptable."

Brooks noted that the NCPE suggests four ways to close the pay gap: First, keep affirmative action programs in place to make sure education, jobs and promotion opportunities are open and offered to qualified women. Second, employers must examine and correct their pay practices. Third, women must stand up for equal pay. And a fourth way to close the pay gap is through federal legislation such as the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Fair Pay Act.

The Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 1338 and S.766), introduced in March by Sen. Hillary Clinton and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, strengthens the Equal Pay Act of 1963. The bill expands damages under the Equal Pay Act and amends its very broad fourth affirmative defense. The Fair Pay Act, recently introduced by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), seeks to end wage discrimination against those who work in female-dominated or minority-dominated jobs by establishing equal pay for equivalent work.

"I support the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Fair Pay Act and strongly encourage Congress to immediately pass both bills," said Brooks. "I also support advocating for passage of the New York State Fair Pay Act (A.2712), which would ensure equal pay for equal work at the State level."

Tracey Brooks has received the full endorsement of EMILY's List -- the nation's largest political action committee and financial resource for women running for elected office.

Brooks has also been endorsed by the Women Under Forty Political Action Committee (WUFPAC), a nonpartisan political action committee that supports women forty years of age and under running for federal public office, and the Women's Campaign Forum (WCF), a non-partisan pro-choice, national membership organization dedicated to ensuring women become leaders in public life.

In addition, Brooks has the backing of several local unions including the Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers (BAC) Union Local #2 NYS, the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1321, IBEW #2 and Laborers – LIUNA Local 190.

"It's also important to note that women in unions earn 35% more than women in non-union workplaces," added Brooks.

As a lifelong resident of the Albany area and the Capital Region Director for Senator Hillary Clinton for the last three years, Brooks enters the race with working knowledge of the problems facing the region and experience in finding solutions to them.

Calls for Enhanced Environmental Protection and Energy Conservation Efforts and

Congressional Candidate Tracey Brooks today announced her support of Earth Day calling for enhanced environmental protection and energy conservation efforts and more funding for renewable energy development, alternative fuels and climate change research.

"Each year, we celebrate Earth Day as a reminder of what we can and should be doing 365 days a year to help protect our planet, preserve the environment and find cleaner, more renewable ways to fuel our cars, heat and cool our homes and produce the energy we need for economic development," said Brooks, a candidate to replace Rep. Michael McNulty in the 21^st Congressional District.

Earth Day, founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in on April 22, 1970, is now celebrated in many countries each year with a over a billion people participating in Earth Day activities in thousands of places around the globe.

"We in the Capital Region can take this opportunity to show the rest of the nation and the world that we're serious about issues like climate change, alternative fuels, wind and solar energy and protecting our environment by participating in Earth Day," said Brooks. "Now more than ever, we need to take important steps, both simple ones like turning off our lights and idling engines to the more difficult ones like pushing towards cleaner, renewable sources of energy."

Tracey Brooks is making environmental protection and renewable energy a major part of her platform and has already supported and promoted energy conservation efforts like "Earth Hour" created by the World Wildlife Fund when she invited all families and businesses in the Capital Region to join millions around the world in turning off their lights for just one hour.

Brooks also praised New York's recently announced plan to increase the use of renewable energy resources as an important step in addressing out-of-control oil, gas and home heating prices and fully supports a statewide energy plan and national comprehensive plans for renewable energy and environmental protection.

"I look forward to continuing these critical conversations about renewable energy, climate change, energy conservation, open space protection and other pro-environment efforts, as I continue to meet with families and businesses throughout the 21^st Congressional District," said Brooks. "In my view, these topics are 'green' not only because they are pro-environment but because they can and should also be pro-jobs, pro-savings and pro-economy which means pro-Capital Region."

Fundraising Strength, Important Local Endorsements, Labor Union Support, Volunteer Efforts and District Tours all add to Campaign Momentum

Congressional candidate Tracey Brooks today announced raising over $175,000 in just seven weeks, with all of her first quarter contributions designated for the Democratic primary. As of April 1, her campaign had over $152,000 cash on hand.

“The outpouring of donations from people across the Capital Region over the last seven weeks has been tremendous. We received nearly 550 donations from 455 individual donors,” said Brooks. “Our campaign is funded and supported by the people and our financial strength is matched only by our endorsements from important local leaders and unions, and the more than 500 grassroots and community volunteers who have joined our campaign team. One thing is clear: We have the momentum!”

The campaign also touted its online fundraising success, bringing in over $46,000 from 204 online donors, considerably more than any other announced or unannounced campaign to replace Congressman Michael McNulty.

Brooks said: “From the day we announced, we said our campaign would combine a tech-savvy approach to generating more interest and new voters with an old-fashioned grassroots effort. We’ve done that on the internet and in communities across all seven counties of the District.”

The campaign noted that 86 percent of the money raised came from donors who live and/or work in the District, while over 80 percent of donors live and/or work in the District.

Tracey Brooks is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 21st Congressional seat currently held by Democratic Congressman Mike McNulty who last year announced his intention to retire from Congress. Brooks has received several major local endorsements including Congressman McNulty’s father Jack McNulty, his sister Green Island Mayor Ellen McNulty Ryan who also serves as the Brooks campaign Chairwoman, Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings, Cohoes Mayor John McDonald and numerous local elected and Democratic Party officials.

Brooks recently received the full endorsement of EMILY’s List, the nation’s largest political action committee and financial resource for women running for elected office. Brooks also has the backing of the Women Under Forty PAC and several local labor unions including the Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers (BAC) Union Local #2 NYS and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1321.

As a lifelong resident of the Albany area and the Capital Region Director for Senator Hillary Clinton for the last three years, Brooks enters the race with working knowledge of the problems facing middle-class families in the Capital Region and experience in finding solutions to them.

Brooks Talks with Residents and Small Business Owners about Real Solutions to the Economic Problems Facing Local Families

Congressional Candidate Tracey Brooks today met with local residents and small business owners to discuss the impact of rising food and gas prices on household budgets across the Capital Region.

“We need to ease the squeeze on our local middle-class,” said Brooks, a Democratic candidate in the 21^st Congressional District. “From working families trying to make ends meet, to seniors living on fixed incomes, to individuals just trying to make it on their own, we can’t afford to wait any longer as seven years of Bush Administration policies have left us with out-of-control prices for gas and basic commodities that make it more difficult for most Americans to keep up, let alone get ahead.”

Brooks noted that local gas prices are creeping towards $4.00 per gallon, home heating and cooling costs are going through the roof, our local unemployment rate is now higher than the state average, and our local median annual household income is just over $40,000.

“What we’re seeing in the Capital Region and across the nation is the direct result of so many failed policies of the Bush administration,” said Brooks. “During the Bush years, the price of gas has more than doubled, health care premiums have gone up over 40 percent, home heating costs went up nearly 25 percent this year alone, while the inflation-adjusted income of a typical American household has fallen by $962 or 2 percent.”

Brooks continued: “The average middle-class family in the 21^st Congressional District makes much less than $50,000 per year and cannot relate to the fat cats who still throw money around and fiddle while the economy burns. They cannot understand how the Bush Administration can spend $10 billion a month on an unpopular war, while people are struggling at home, can’t afford health insurance, and can’t even put food on their table. We need change in Washington and we need to re-focus on the right priorities, right now, before it’s too late.”

While calling for a short-term stimulus package, Tracey Brooks has a three part plan for long-term growth. First, diversify our local economy and create new jobs. Second, support our growing technology industry, generating good jobs for today and better jobs for tomorrow. Third, encourage the development of alternative energy technologies; creating jobs that lessen our dependence on foreign oil and put our country on the road to energy independence.

As the Capital Region Director for Senator Hillary Clinton for the last three years, Brooks worked with local companies to add jobs, local unions to protect those jobs, and local families to help them make ends meet.

Gloria Steinem and Tracey Brooks Call for Equal Pay

Ms. Steinem says we need to elect candidates like Tracey Brooks

Tracey Brooks today met with legendary feminist activist and author Gloria Steinem at the State Capitol to advocate for pay equity for women.

“We won't truly have a democracy until Congress looks a lot more like the country,” said Ms. Steinem. “We need to elect Congressional candidates like Tracey Brooks -- smart, experienced, hard working and devoted to voting as if everyone mattered.”

Ms. Steinem spoke at the Legislative Office Building and then held a town hall meeting sponsored by the Capital District Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, and the New York State Pay Equity Coalition (NYSPEC). NYSPEC is advocating for passage of the New York State Fair Pay Act (A.2712), which would ensure equal pay for equal work.

“There is no excuse why equal work does not result in equal pay,” said Tracey Brooks. “That is why I’m proud to stand with Gloria Steinem, the Capital District Area Labor Federation, NYSPEC and others who believe that forty years after the Equal Pay Act, women should not still be paid 77 percent of what their male counterparts make. That's just unacceptable.”

Ms. Steinem went on to say that “jobs have too often been valued by the supposed social value of the doer rather than the importance of the job. In this bill, we have a very important opportunity to set things right.”

Tracey Brooks received the full endorsement of EMILY’s List, the nation’s largest political action committee and financial resource for women running for elected office. Brooks has also been endorsed by the Women Under Forty Political Action Committee (WUFPAC), a nonpartisan political action committee that supports women forty years of age and under running for federal public office.