On March 14, President Donald Trump quietly rescinded a Biden-era executive order that raised the minimum wage for private sector employees on federal contracts. The move is just one part of a wider war the administration has launched against the working class since assuming power.
Executive Order 14026 was issued by former President Joe Biden in 2021. In addition to increasing the minimum wage rate for federal contractors, it set adjustments to account for inflation. The Department of Labor (DOL) estimated that some 327,300 workers saw their wages go up, with an average wage increase of over $5,000 a year. The 2025 rate was set to be $17.75 per hour.
“Because federally contracted work so often takes place in long racially segregated industries in states where corporate lobbyists and their lawmaker allies have unjustly suppressed wages, this action will also help begin to close the racial wealth gap,” noted National Employment Law Project (NELP) Executive Director Rebecca Dixon at the time.
Trump’s move could result in thousands of workers losing their pay increases, but its overall impact may be much more severe.
A full overturning of the rule means that some federal contractors will return Obama-era wage of $13.30 an hour, but Trump could undo the minimum wage for these workers altogether, meaning that some contractors could make just $7.25 an hour in some states.
“Lower-wage federal contractors include janitors who clean government buildings, food service workers on...
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