Biden raises the minimum wage of those outsourced by the Government

Joe Biden, on the White House lawn.Evan Vucci / AP

What was a campaign promise by Joe Biden, to increase the minimum wage for all workers in the country from the current $ 7.25 to 15, is going to come true, in part, after the signing of a decree by the president on Tuesday. from the United States.

The president establishes with his decree that all those companies "under contract with the federal government pay a minimum hourly wage of 15 dollars" to their workers, as reported by the White House.

The week started with the signing last Monday of another executive order with which the Biden-Harris Administration (this is how the White House wants this Administration to be known) ordered the creation of a working commission to promote unionization. with a team that will be led by Vice President Kamala Harris. The idea is to use federal government resources to help stem a decline in union membership across the nation. Since coming to power, Biden has reversed the rules of Donald Trump's term that weakened worker protection.

In addition to the two previous initiatives, the White House is ready to execute with a strong hand that the American Treasury (IRS) recovers or recovers, over the next ten years, up to 700,000 million of unpaid taxes, to which will give the IRS more authority and 80,000 million dollars, with the ultimate goal that the money rescued, finance its ambitious economic agenda.

More information

• Biden Introduces Tax Reform to Raise $ 2.5 Trillion

• Joe Biden's Economic Rescue Package Will Boost Latin America's Economy

With this reinforcement of the Treasury, the president intends to apply a strong hand on corporations and on individuals who evade the payment of federal taxes. With the money raised - which had been eluded - the Biden-Harris Administration intends to finance the so-called American Family Plan, a program that it will announce before its first Union speech, which will take place this Wednesday in the US Congress. The American Family Plan is designed to provide hundreds of billions to child care -with an incidence on the scourge of child poverty- and that workers who fall ill have economic coverage when they cannot work, among other projects.

The measure to increase the minimum wage for workers who are hired by federal companies or subcontractors will begin to apply at the end of March 2022 for all new contracts. Then it will be done with contract renewals, which are generally done every year. Salaries will then be increased based on annual inflation.

In the United States, the current minimum wage is $ 10.95 an hour for these workers, who are not civil servants but work for the federal government of the nation through companies under contract with the State.

According to the White House, the measure will affect "hundreds of thousands of workers", from maintenance or upkeep workers in federal buildings, waiters in government cafeterias or assistants of war veterans.

The Administration has not indicated the exact number of beneficiaries.

The measure ensures that "hundreds of thousands of workers do not have to work long hours but live in poverty," the Biden Administration said.

Subscribe here to the

EL PAÍS América

newsletter

and receive all the information keys on the region's current affairs