Page 31 - Contract Workers News Today

Policy. i thought this was a good speech. it was a speech that was clearly working within limits. he recognizes where he is in the political cycle, the limits of what his power are. i think it was a pretty strong speech. >> he asked that the congress work with him and get big things done but with the proposals, he conceded ive been here five years, i guess youre not going to work with me on the big things i want to get done. we talked about raising the minimum wage for federal contract workers. ...

But hell be continuing that push today when he goes toe maryland speaks at a costco, highlighting the fact that thats a company thats taken it upon themselves to go ahead and increase this for workers as he also presses congress to do this for all american workers. [ applause ] >> reporter: for over an hour, more than 7,000 words. president obama telling his biggest auld yens of the year hes not waiting on congress to start his year of action. >> wherever and whenever i can take steps without le...

So basically putting congress on notice there. a couple of examples of what hes going to be doing with executive order, weve already heard about one today. that is raising minimum wage for new federal contract workers. one thing hes also going to be doing tonight, talking to sources who are familiar with this speech, hes going to be creating a new federal retirement savings program that people can contribute to out of their paycheck. well hear the president talk about that tonight. as for legisl...

You, but america does not stand still and neither will i. so wherever and whenever i can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more american families, thats what im going to do. i will issue an executive order requiring federal contractors to pay their federally funded employees a fair wage of at least 10.10 an hour because if you cook our troops meals or wash their dishes, you should not have to live in poverty. >> you know whats curious about that? yesterday on the program w...

More of the same policies that have caused, under the obama administration, the rich to get richer, and yet people who are struggling, young people, african-americans, single moms, millions lose their jobs and health insurance and he didnt acknowledge any of that. >> the first of your points having to do with the president taking executive action. he talked about raising the minimum wage for federal contract workers. not a huge step, but the argument from the white house is, look, the president ...

State of the union speeches have all the feel of campaign events. thats because the president still has a sales pitch to make to convince a skeptical public that with the stroke of a pen he can move the country in the right direction. after days of promising to use his executive powers, president obama put his pen to action at a pennsylvania steel plant. >> its done. >> reporter: and signed an order establishing a new retirement program. the new m.y.r.a., as the white house is calling them, will...

Then hes going to go ahead and highlight, look, weve got to do this for not only federal contract workers, but everybody, congress. are you on board? and half the hall will say no. it will cost jobs. >> what about setting the tone? the state of the union, the last consequential year i have in my administration arguably and now you want to get people on the same page to do something you havent done in six years and they gather together and get momentum behind him. why set the tone by setting this...

Florida in sarasota. number three, university of virginia. the findings are based on admissions, tuition and financial aid data. those are your headlines. brian, youre looking at colleges, right? >> yes. >> how much are those? you said its the best value. how much is it? >> im not sure exactly. im going to check it out. >> maybe theyll have that on imus. >> state colleges in general are much more bang for your buck. >> every school, plan on at least 50,000, right? >> steve knows. >> its a lot. >...

They are literally sitting around in their homes with blankets and coats. a huge issue when you go through temperatures like we are feeling right now. >> so what are government officials doing about this, ted? >> reporter: they are opening up regulations. they are basically saying that some of the transportation guidelines and rules can be temporarily broken during these times of states of emergency, if you will. 20 plus states have those now in place to allow at least for the transport of propa...

Bipartisan, comprehensive tax reform. i propose a fix it first program, to put people to work as soon as possible on our most urgent repairs. and finally pass the paycheck fairness act this year. >> reporter: still, there were some successes. >> so lets set party interests aside and work to pass a budget that replaces reckless cuts with smart savings and wise investments in our future. >> reporter: with that track record, aides say the president will focus more on executive actions including an ...