A Win for Workers: U.S. Executive Order on Federal Contracting
U.S. President Obama has signed the “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” Executive Order that will help to improve the lives of millions of Americans by requiring prospective federal contractors to disclose labor law violations and requiring agencies to consider labor violations when awarding contracts.
For too long, the federal government, the nation’s largest source of contracted work, has played a role in a race to the bottom by creating incentives for companies to cut corners and to short-change workers in order to win federal contracts. By strengthening and improving contractors’ compliance with the National Labor Relations Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act and other critical employment protections, this Executive order will help to ensure that the 26 million Americans who work for a federal contractor have decent wages, safe workplaces and fair treatment on the job.
The Executive order is the result of UNI affiliate Service Employees International Union (SEIU)'s determination, willingness to learn from previous efforts to push for similar orders, and years of work in partnership with the Obama Administration. The SEIU says it is proud that its incredible national movement to raise wages and to build power for workers helped to create the conditions for today’s Executive order.
This Executive order has the potential to alter how unions work with the federal government in campaigns over the long-term:
● The order will create new opportunities to both hold companies accountable that fail to abide by worker standards and to reward companies that adhere to high standards for workers.
● This order creates new, permanent staff with a connection to the Department of Labor at every agency. This means that, even after the Obama Administration ends, there will be permanent allies in every agency with a role in the federal contracting process.
● This is an important step along the way in holding the government responsible for how public dollars affect workers, their wages and their power to demand dignity on the job. Ultimately, we want every public dollar spent in support of jobs -- from home care to childcare to airports -- to be in support of good jobs, and this a significant step toward that goal.
As with previous efforts, the SEIU anticipates substantial opposition from the contracting and business community to the President’s Executive order. We urge you to be a strong voice in support of this Executive order today and in the coming weeks as this debate intensifies. We’ve attached talking points, clips and other information to this email. You can find more information from the White House at this link: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/07/31/fact-sheet-fair-pa....