House Progressives Ask for ‘Good Employer’ Contracting Preference

A group of House lawmakers is once again calling on President Barack Obama to provide federal contracting preferences to employers who offer higher pay and allow workers to bargain collectively.

“For those employers that are good employers, that provide a sustainable minimum wage at $15 an hour, that provide opportunities for workers to be heard collectively, I think they deserve the support of the federal government,” Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told reporters Nov. 10. “We are certainly going to push that agenda here in Congress and we are going to continue pushing that this week.”

Grijalva said the CPC will ask Obama to issue the executive order to help strengthen protections already created via two executive orders that the president issued earlier this year. The first raised the minimum wage for contractor employees to $10.10 per hour, while the second order required contractors to disclose to agencies violations of various federal labor and employment laws when competing for contracts.