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Biden to Raise Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors’ Workers, Restore Federal Worker Labor Rights

Senator Bernie Sanders wants a $15-an-hour minimum wage for everyone. President Joe Biden (hey, are y’all able to keep up with this guy? what happened to “Sleepy” Joe?) is ready to help with an executive order coming today that would ultimately require employers on federal contracts to pay their workers that Sanders minimum:

Biden plans to sign an executive order that will expand protections for federal workers, including putting federal agencies on a path to require a $15 minimum wage for contractors.

But that minimum wage won’t come right away. Instead, Biden plans to direct the federal government “to start the work that would allow him to issue” an order “within the first 100 days” that would require federal contractors to pay at least $15 per hour, according to the White House [Molly Nagle and Ben Gittleson, “Biden Executive Order Takes Steps to Require Federal Contractors Pay $15 Minimum Wage,” ABC News, 2021.01.22].

President Biden also plans to restore collective bargaining rights and protection from politically-motivated termination for federal employees.

As expected, President Biden is working for working people.

25 Comments

  1. Mark Anderson 2021-01-22 07:32

    Come on Cory, South Dakotan’s are free individuals who live in a right to work for less state. They don’t need no stinking collective bargaining rights. As an aside I used to play as a little boy at union meetings my father ran. He ran the IBEW in the state of South Dakota, a great union. I don’t know how Republicans have sold people that being free and poor is the way to go but they have.

  2. John Dale 2021-01-22 22:18

    Joe Biden just killed the lowered insulin prices for the poorest Americans.

    I’m holding Biden voters personally responsible for the fallout of this.

    What did you DO?

  3. jerry 2021-01-22 22:49

    More gibberish from Johnny cakes. Blather on…and wear a mask.

  4. Jake 2021-01-23 14:44

    jerry, he’s a little outasorts! His hero was dethroned and he slunk off to sulk in MaraLago, leaving his subjects with no ‘chaos news’ everyday. Withdrawal symptoms and all, you know.

  5. Jenny 2021-01-23 16:18

    John Dale is right, Biden, ever the faithful corporate democrat, is freezing the lowered insulin prices at community health center until March . Let’s keep it real, Biden must have really really been bought by Big Pharma. Screw big Pharma, they can go to hell.

    Yes, Trump actually did do something right with advocating and signing into law discounted insulin prices.
    Biden never was a true Democrat, the majority of Democrats in DC today are so far from the progressive side its not even funny.

  6. Mark Anderson 2021-01-23 16:29

    Come on john and jenny, all the last minute trumpisms are postponed, the price lowering and all. Which hasn’t taken place at all by the way. Too many foxie news watchers here. Even though some watch it just to see AOC.

  7. o 2021-01-23 16:30

    John Dale, can you elaborate on the increased insulin prices? I am not seeing the action your describe anywhere. Can you just point me in the right direction to read about it?

  8. jerry 2021-01-23 16:42

    Ms. Jenny, linky linky to that insulin thingy.

  9. jerry 2021-01-23 16:42

    o, it only exists on right wing blah blah

  10. Jenny 2021-01-23 17:03

    I don’t watch fox News, Mark. Look up the 340 B insulin pass through rule. After reading into it, this is what Trump was touting all last year about his lowering insulin prices. All it is a mandatory rule to have community health centers make sure they give the lowest discounted insulin prices to their patients and if they don’t, they won’t get any federal grants. The comm health centers were against this rule because they already give drug discounts to their paitent and it was just unnecessary beurocracy. I can see now why they would be against it. Biden, so his administration says, is freezing this rule so they can review it and their final say on it will be in March. This is a chance, with a Democrat majority in the House, Senate and the President to pass major drug pricing reform, but whether they take advantage of this moment, we will find out. When corporations buy our leaders, the corporations usually win.

  11. jerry 2021-01-23 17:07

    That says nothing, Ms. Jenny, to what you and Johnny cakes were referring to. Linky linky. Hint, there isn’t one.

  12. Jenny 2021-01-23 17:34

    I was wrong to agree with John Dale,okay? I read into the 340 B insulin pass through rule that Trump signed and what I summarize above is basically what it is and why community health centers were against it.
    I’m sorry for mistakenly agreeing with John Dale, okay ? I will pray 50 Hail Mary’s. 🙄
    I am not able to send links on my phone, either. Sorry.

  13. jerry 2021-01-23 18:17

    Excellent link mfi, there that should put the troll Johnny cakes back into his hole.

  14. robin friday 2021-01-23 18:27

    The sources I read (they all seem to be from FOX) called the order a “freeze” (their word) on Trump’s order while it’s being reworked by the Biden admin.

  15. Jenny 2021-01-23 21:29

    Its not just fox news that is reporting the 340B insulin rule freeze. The national law review, Bloomberg law and Modern Healthcare are reporting it also.

  16. jerry 2021-01-23 21:59

    https://leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2020/08/fact-check-insulin-prices-under-trump-have-not-yet-gone-from-600-a-month-to-35-a-month-they-will-in-2021-but-only-for-some-seniors.html

    “Community health centers, patient advocates and other groups pushed back on the rule when HHS proposed it last year, saying the changes were unnecessary and could do more harm than good. The National Association of Community Health Centers has said the rule reflects “a fundamental misunderstanding” of federally qualified health centers and the 340B program. And providers worried the regulation could reduce patients’ access to care by cutting deeper into community health centers’ thin operating margins.”https://www.modernhealthcare.com/community-health-centers/hhs-freezes-rule-targeting-community-health-centers-drug-discounts

  17. Cory Allen Heidelberger Post author | 2021-01-24 07:50

    Hey, let the Biden Administration enact Medicare for All or Medicare as a public option, and we get a far more robust solution for the cost of insulin and all sorts of other treatments.

  18. Cory Allen Heidelberger Post author | 2021-01-24 07:56

    $15/hr minimum for federal workers and contractors: good.

    Restored labor protections for federal workers: good.

    Resumption of normal White House operations: good.

    But notice that the difference between Democrats and Trumpublicans is that we are equal-opportunity complainers: we keep pointing out the mistakes of the President even when the President is from our party and is doing all sorts of other good things. Trumpublicans just play for power, spotlighting their talking points and ignoring their guy’s failures.

  19. Jenny 2021-01-24 09:42

    Hasn’t Biden already said he’s against Medicare for All, as is most of the other Corporate Democrats?

  20. jerry 2021-01-24 10:17

    I’m not for Medicare For All either. Medicare For All doesn’t dollar out unless you raise taxes on working people, substantially. Medicare is not such a great deal when you’re old and on fixed income. You have deductibles, co pays, drug deductibles and co pays. It’s fine when you’re a spring chicken, but as you age, it’s a trap. Medicare For All would still have deductibles. So take a family of four and add the deductibles up and copays just for having it, not only for outpatient treatments but the deductibles for hospitalization (possibly 6 each year). Add the cost of the Part D for prescriptions and copays, then add the Medicare Supplement for each. All of this without subsidies.

    Social Security, universal healthcare, like Europe has, would be the solution. But, are we willing to pay for that package? Yes, if the workers are shown that disability, unemployment, maternity leave, and healthcare are all covered under their tax deduction. Same goes for the self employed who pay into Social Security.

    Better bang for the buck is to expand Medicaid for starters. I support Biden on this. Bring back the “Risk Corridor” that Little Marco Rubio took out and triple the income requirements to qualify for Market Place subsidies. Continue to allow the deduction of all healthcare premiums on taxes.

  21. jerry 2021-01-24 10:26

    In South Dakota, 24% of rural hospitals are on the verge of closing.
    “South Dakota Rural hospitals at high risk of closing: 11 (24 percent)

    So then what? Medicare For All will not keep these doors open, only Medicaid Expansion will do that. Will the two competing initiatives join together with an initiative that will take care of the needs for the vast majority of South Dakotan’s? Or will the gnome interfere to sandbag the entire process?

  22. o 2021-01-24 10:42

    Now that Biden is President and Democrats have majorities in both houses, I think we will see the Affordable Care Act used as backbone and strengthened for American health care. For the better part of a decade, Republicans allowed the ACA to wither — and actively attacked components where they could; they refused to allow any improvements to spite the Democrats. They labeled it “Obamacare” and were intent only on making President Obama a failure by making it fail. ANY major reform needs adjustments and tweaks to keep it doing what it was intended to do; now the ACA has the potential to fulfill its potential.

  23. Jason 2021-01-24 13:17

    Frank Puig explains how to fund a Medicare For All Plan. Hopefully the link below works:
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qtgZydc7w68

    A family of four that makes $60,000 per year would save about $3400 per year. Plus, all Americans would have free health care at the point of delivery. No copay s or deductibles.

    Elon Musk made about $100,000,000,000 last year. Musk would pay a $4,000,000,000 health tax under a Medicare For All Plan. I wonder if that is why we don’t have Medicare For All? :)

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