Since the State of the Union, “President Obama has been flexing his muscle on behalf of labor. Obama banned federal contractors from discriminating against gay workers, expanded overtime, and he raised the minimum wage for federal contractors to $10.10 an hour.” Slate

And now, President Obama just “issued one of the most important orders of his presidency. The Fair and Safe Workplaces Executive Order outlines a set of requirements that are designed to steer federal contracts toward companies that respect labor and civil rights laws…” The Nation

“Companies that violate labor and civil rights laws will now have a tougher time doing business with the government.” The Washington Post

“He is not blazing a new trail as regards to the protection of the rights of federal contract workers…Consider the record: In 1941, under pressure from Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters union president A. Philip Randolph and a burgeoning civil rights movement, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, which required that defense contracts include provisions to bar private contractors from discriminating; In 1948, again under pressure from Randolph and his allies, President Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order 9981, which banned discrimination in the US military; In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued Executive 10479 to assure that federal contractors respected all anti-discrimination orders and initiatives; In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued Executive Order 11246, which expanded federal programs to combat discrimination and implement affirmative action programs.” The Nation

Just as the civil rights protests sparked Presidential action, today’s low-wage worker strike wave is creating momentum for President Obama to use the power of the pen. “Over the past year and a half there have been nine protests by low-wage federal contract workers over the conditions at their workplaces. Last year, workers at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Union Station filed complaints with the Labor Department alleging wage theft violations.” The Huffington Post

“The new executive orders regarding federal contractors are a victory not just for the striking workers, but also for the Congressional Progressive Caucus led by co-chairs Rep. Keith Ellison and Rep. Raul Grijalva…For over a year, they have been lobbying the White House and doing media appearances to talk about the need for lifting federally contracted workers’ labor conditions. But the CPC members have also been taking an unusual step for members of Congress: On repeated occasions, they’ve joined the picket lines of striking federally contracted workers.” MSNBC

“But there is still work to do. As part of their Good Jobs agenda, labor advocates and progressive Democrats also called for executive orders to give priority in federal contracting to employers who offer better pay than their competitors and who support collective bargaining. That is vital to ensuring that federal contracting is not a contest to see who can pay the least, but a rational process both for ensuring good jobs at fair pay and for setting an example for the private sector.” The New York Times

THE FIGHT FOR A GOOD JOBS NATION CONTINUES!

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