If Congress won't raise the federal minimum wage, you can. At least for people who work for companies that get federal contracts, subcontracts and grants.
So says a group of liberals in the House and Senate who want President Obama to sign an executive order requiring federal agencies to give preference in awarding contracts to companies that pay workers no less than $10.10 an hour. [...]
That's why 15 senators, led by Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and 17 members of the House, led by Keith Ellison of Minnesota, sent letters to the president urging him to exercise his executive authority.
"Profitable corporations that receive lucrative contracts from the federal government should pay all of their workers a decent wage," the senators wrote in their letter.
Demos, a liberal think tank, estimates such a move -- depending on how broadly it's structured -- could improve wages for up to nearly 2 million low-paid workers.
Read the full report: Underwriting Bad Jobs: How Our Tax Dollars Are Funding Low-Wage Work and Fueling Inequality
