April, 27 2021, 12:00am EDT
One Fair Wage on the White House Issuing New Executive Orders Requiring Federal Contractors Pay Workers a $15 Per Hour Minimum Wage
This morning, the White House that President Biden would issue an executive order requiring federal contractors to pay a $15 minimum wage to hundreds of thousands of workers who are working on federal contracts.
WASHINGTON
This morning, the White House that President Biden would issue an executive order requiring federal contractors to pay a $15 minimum wage to hundreds of thousands of workers who are working on federal contracts.
The order will increase the hourly minimum wage for federally contracted workers to $15 per hour starting on January 30, 2022, continue to index the minimum wage to an inflation measure, eliminate the subminimum wage for tipped federally contracted workers by 2024, ensure a $15 minimum wage for federally contracted workers with disabilities, and restore minimum wage protections to outfitters and guides operating on federal land.
In reaction to the announcement of the executive order, Saru Jayaraman, President and co-founder of One Fair Wage, a national nonprofit that advocates on behalf of tipped workers earning the subminimum wage, issued the following statement:
"Today's executive order raising the minimum wage for federally contracted workers to $15 per hour and ending subminimum wages for tipped federally contracted workers and federally contracted workers with disabilities is a win for workers, a win for our economy, and a win for our country.
"On the campaign trail, President Biden promoted to lift up and empower workers, and fight for a $15 minimum wage - and today he delivered the first step for the millions of workers who helped put him into office expecting him to deliver on that promise.
"By also phasing out the subminimum wage for tipped federal contractors and ensuring that federally contracted workers with disabilities are paid equitably, President Biden is making sure that the federal government does not perpetuate the discriminatory wages that are most often paid to women, people of color, and people with disabilities.
"Change is possible. We urge Congress to follow President Biden's courageous leadership and make sure all workers - not just federally contracted workers, and - are given the same opportunity to thrive by passing the Raise the Wage Act and ending racist, sexist, and ableist subminimum wages in the United States."
One Fair Wage is a national organization of over 200,000 service workers, over 800 restaurant employers, and dozens of organizations nationwide all working together to end all subminimum wages in the United States and improve wages and working conditions in the service sector in particular.
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