Members of the New York Jets Flight Crew cheerleaders perform during at a game in 2013.
On the eve of the official start of the NFL season, a group of women politicians -- led by Staten Island Senator Diane Savino -- sent a message to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell: Fair wages for cheerleaders!
In an open letter to the NFL, lawmakers are calling on the commissioner to put to rest the ongoing and sexist labor abuses against professional cheerleaders. In addition to Savino, New York Assemblywoman Nily Rozic (D,WF-Fresh Meadows) and California Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) are taking up the fight for the cheerleaders.
The letter details the rampant misclassification of cheerleaders as independent contractors instead of employees.
To date, cheerleaders have filed lawsuits against five teams: the Buffalo Bills, Oakland Raiders, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Cincinnati Bengals. The respective suits allege a variety of claims including but not limited to sub-minimum pay, failure to reimburse for mandatory expenses, fraudulent misclassification, and penalties for minor infractions with unlawful deductions from earnings.
"The fact that the NFL which is a multi-billion dollar industry is not paying fair wages to their cheerleaders is absurd and disgraceful," said Savino. "These women, just like the players, staff and management show up to do a job year round and should be paid as such. With most of its fan-base being primarily male, this would be the perfect opportunity for the National Football League to show not only the cheerleaders but their female fans, that they stand in support of the fight for not only fair wages but equal rights."
In June, Rozic and Savino introduced legislation to codify into law that cheerleaders are employees, not independent contractors, and entitled to all the protections thereof. Their bill mirrors Gonzalez's legislation, which was signed into law in July.
"All across the country, we're making important strides to ensure that women will no longer be shortchanged in the workplace, and it's time for the NFL to catch up," said Assemblywoman Gonzalez, a former high school and collegiate cheerleader. "The NFL has the opportunity and obligation to send a clear message to its teams, employees, and fans that mistreatment and discrimination will no longer be tolerated by the league."