Wed Mar 03, 2010 at 23:51:29 PM EST
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( - promoted by Sheila Webb-Halpern)
What if our government decided to look beyond the minimum wage and labor boards to help address unfair wages and labor practices? Lift families out of poverty? Change the nature of workaday life for millions of Americans? Could it shift the national attitude? What if the government led by example, awarding contracts only to businesses that pay fairly and have records unmarred by labor or environmental violations?
Well, it looks like we’re about to find out. The Executive Office has a plan... |
| Erica Brody :: I'll take the high road |
The Obama administration is planning to use the government’s enormous buying power to prod private companies to improve wages and benefits for millions of workers, according to White House officials and several interest groups briefed on the plan.
Because nearly one in four workers is employed by companies that have contracts with the federal government, administration officials see the plan as a way to shape social policy and lift more families into the middle class…..
By altering how it awards $500 billion in contracts each year, the government would disqualify more companies with labor, environmental or other violations and give an edge to companies that offer better levels of pay, health coverage, pensions and other benefits, the officials said.
In our own lives, we can often choose how and where to spend our money, using our buying power to support businesses that give back to our communities and treat employees fairly. Several local governments have already implemented this approach to awarding contracts to companies with worker-friendly policies, known as “high road” contracting. And while the debate has already begun in all its raucousness, it’s nice to think that when the federal government spends taxpayer money, it’ll be taking the high road, too. |
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