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February 13, 2014

Obama Includes Disabled in New Minimum Wage Hike for Contract Workers 
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President Obama has issued an executive order raising the minimum wage
for federal contract workers. Hundreds of thousands will see a wage hike
from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour. At the signing ceremony, Obama noted that
if the minimum wage reflected actual gains in the economy, workers would
be getting paid even more.

President Obama: "Not only is it good for the economy, it’s the right
thing to do. (Applause.) There’s a simple moral principle at stake
— if you take responsibility and you work as hard as these folks
work, if you work full-time, you shouldn’t be living in poverty. Not
in America. We believe that. (Applause.) A majority of lower-wage jobs
are held by women. Many of them have children that they’re supporting.
These are Americans who work full-time, often to support a family, and
if the minimum wage had kept pace with our economic productivity,
they’d already be getting paid well over $10 an hour."

A recent study from the Center for Economic and Policy Research says
that if the minimum wage were kept in line with productivity gains since
1968, it would now be more than double the $10.10 amount, at $21.72. In
a shift, Obama also announced the new wage increase will no longer
exclude workers with disabilities. Advocates were initially told the
executive order would not apply to disabled workers employed through a
special program that pays them sub-minimum wages. The decision prompted
an outcry that apparently led the White House to reverse course. In his
remarks on Wednesday, Obama said the principle of being paid a fair wage
"applies to all of us."

 

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