By Albert Lin
In his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, President Obama announced that he plans to sign an executive order to raise the minimum wage for federal contract employees to $10.10 per hour, the next step in what he hopes will be a successful movement to raise the federal minimum wage to the same amount.
He told the story of a pizzeria owner in Minneapolis, John Sorrano, who recently decided to pay his employees $10 an hour. Obama mentioned that in the last year, five states have raised the minimum wage within their borders. “To every mayor, governor, and state legislator in America, I say, you don’t have to wait for Congress to act; Americans will support you if you take this on,” the President said. “And as a chief executive, I intend to lead by example. Profitable corporations like Costco see higher wages as the smart way to boost productivity and reduce turnover. We should too.In the coming weeks, I will issue an Executive Order requiring federal contractors to pay their federally funded employees a fair wage of at least $10.10 an hourbecause if you cook our troops’ meals or wash their dishes, you shouldn’t have to live in poverty.”
