Sometimes in America, when low-paid workers stand up and speak out, even the President of the United States takes notice. This is one of those moments.
This morning, the White House announced that President Obama will sign a "Good Jobs" Executive Order requiring government contractors to raise the minimum wage for their lowest-paid workers to $10.10 for all new and renegotiated contracts. The president will include this announcement in his State of the Union Address tonight.
Demos's research quantified the expansive size of the low-wage workforce supported by federal taxpayer dollars. We found that nearly two million Americans paid through federal contracts, grants, loans, concession agreements, health care spending, and property leases were paid less than $12 an hour. Worse, our later research showed that the government is spending an estimated $21 to $24 billion a year to pay private contractors for the compensation of top executives. These findings put together describe a major engine of inequality in the center of our economy-underwritten by our tax dollars.
The president has a responsibility to make sure taxpayers dollars are being used wisely, and research shows that better-paid workers are more productive, with less turnover. President Obama's decision today is in keeping with the precedent that ensures that employees working on America's behalf are treated fairly on the job, and that companies that have the privilege of doing business with the United States are upholding high standards of employment practices.
We're thrilled today to see the work of our partners across the country reach fruition-especially the brave federal contract and concession workers organizing with Good Jobs Nation who walked out on strike over and over again in the past year and outspoken members of Congress like Keith Ellison, Raul Grijalva, Eleanor Holmes-Norton, and Senator Bernie Sanders who stood up for people working on behalf of America.
I feel so fortunate that I, my indispensable research partner Robert Hiltonsmith, and all my Demos colleagues could be a part of it.
