Tell President Obama to Give Federal Contract Workers a Raise

Tell President Obama to Give Federal Contract Workers a Raise

Tell President Obama to Give Federal Contract Workers a Raise

While raising the minimum wage for all workers requires the cooperation of Congress, President Obama can unilaterally raise the wages of federal contract workers.   

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

As his 2014 State of the Union address nears, President Obama has said that he’s willing to use executive actions to circumvent a gridlocked Congress and to take real steps to fight inequality. He could start by giving a raise to millions of federal contract workers.

According to the National Employment Law Center (NELP), three out of four workers in service-industry federal contract jobs make less than $10 per hour and only eleven percent have employer-provided health insurance. Of the workers that NELP interviewed, fifty-six percent admitted to having trouble paying their monthly bills.

TO DO

The president has indicated that he’s considering an executive action and activists are hoping that he’ll make an announcement during his State of the Union address. To help keep up the pressure on the president, sign our petition urging him to give federal contract workers a raise.

TO READ

Last week, employees working under federal contracts—including around fifty food service and janitorial workers at the Pentagon—walked off the job. At Salon, Josh Eidelson covered the strike and the growing movement to improve the pay and working conditions of federal contract workers.

TO WATCH

This video created by Good Jobs Nation, the coalition behind last week’s strike and previous actions, looks at the organizing that got the movement to where it is today.

An urgent message from the Editors

As the editors of The Nation, it’s not usually our role to fundraise. Today, however, we’re putting out a special appeal to our readers, because there are only hours left in 2025 and we’re still $20,000 away from our goal of $75,000. We need you to help close this gap. 

Your gift to The Nation directly supports the rigorous, confrontational, and truly independent journalism that our country desperately needs in these dark times.

2025 was a terrible year for press freedom in the United States. Trump launched personal attack after personal attack against journalists, newspapers, and broadcasters across the country, including multiple billion-dollar lawsuits. The White House even created a government website to name and shame outlets that report on the administration with anti-Trump bias—an exercise in pure intimidation.

The Nation will never give in to these threats and will never be silenced. In fact, we’re ramping up for a year of even more urgent and powerful dissent. 

With the 2026 elections on the horizon, and knowing Trump’s history of false claims of fraud when he loses, we’re going to be working overtime with writers like Elie Mystal, John Nichols, Joan Walsh, Jeet Heer, Kali Holloway, Katha Pollitt, and Chris Lehmann to cut through the right’s spin, lies, and cover-ups as the year develops.

If you donate before midnight, your gift will be matched dollar for dollar by a generous donor. We hope you’ll make our work possible with a donation. Please, don’t wait any longer.

In solidarity,

The Nation Editors

Ad Policy
x